Shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the United States Air Force Academy dedicated a nine-foot bronze statue to retired Brigadier General Robinson Risner. Although he wasn’t an Academy graduate, he forever remains a yardstick for heroism, leadership, perseverance, and faith to future Air Force officers who walk by the memorial every day on their way to class. At the bottom of the statue is a familiar Scripture, “Who will go? Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8).
James Robinson “Robbie” Risner’s notoriety soared from his exploits as a fighter pilot and “flying ace” in three wars, including World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. In Vietnam, he was a double recipient of the Air Force Cross, the US Air Force, and the Space Force’s second-highest decoration for valor.
On September 23, 1965, while on his 55th combat mission, Risner’s plane took heavy fire over North Vietnam and burst into flames. He ejected from the plane, was captured, and became a prisoner of war (POW) at the infamous Hoa Lo Prison, known to Americans as the “Hanoi Hilton” where he would spend the next 7½ years of his life. During his long imprisonment, and as the senior American officer, Risner was constantly beaten, starved, isolated for years in solitary confinement, and tortured to the point of death, often losing consciousness from the excruciating pain inflicted on him.
In his 1973 memoir, The Passing of the Night, Risner said that he survived his POW experience by his faith in God and the power of prayer. On his first night in prison, he said he prayed for the Lord to use him as a witness for Jesus Christ to his fellow POWs and the prison guards. He writes in the book, “To make it, I prayed by the hour. It was automatic, almost subconscious. I did not ask God to take me out of prison. I prayed he would give me the strength to endure it. Though the physical pain increased to where I did not think I could stand it any longer, He kept me.”
God kept the Apostle Paul as well. Imprisoned in Rome and awaiting execution, he writes a final letter to encourage Timothy and other believers about the unflappable faith that he experienced throughout his life as a follower of Jesus Christ. Despite the dire circumstances he was currently facing, Paul confesses, “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that I might fully preach the word and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth” (2 Tim 4:17).
Chaplains, regardless of what is happening in your life and ministry, despite what this new year has in store for you and your loved ones, remember that God has kept you. He has stood with you. He is with you now, in every situation and circumstance. The Lord stands with you to strengthen and encourage you, especially when you’re weak, tired, and ready to quit the ministry He commissioned to you before you were even born.
You have God’s supportive presence and supernatural strength for your most critical life mission: to fully proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to those He has placed in your life. Though you, too, like the Apostle Paul and General Risner, experience circumstances that may seem beyond your endurance capacity, remember: He stood with you countless times in the past, and He will continue to stand with you. God will keep and lead and strengthen and hold you…until He brings you safely home!