April 15

Psalm 56, 120, 140-142
Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg worked together to create a realistic rendering of the Normandy invasion that took place near the end of World War Two, in the movie, "Saving Private Ryan." The film opens with the U.S. troops storming the beach, while the entrenched German army is killing them in record numbers. It is a horrific scene, displaying all the horrors of war. After my wife and I had seen in at the theater, I told my good friend, Harmon, about it while visiting at church the following Sunday. Harmon is an actual veteran of that invasion. I explained that he might find some of the language in the film to be objectionable, especially in those opening scenes displaying all the carnage. He smiled and told me that the language he remembers, from actually having been there, is quite different from this Hollywood fiction. Because, the language he remembers was far from removed from the vulgarity in this film. Harmon will tell you that he heard a lot of prayers. This is supported by David. As he is being pursued by his enemies, and suffering all the indignities of warfare, David reaches out to the only real source of comfort available. God is always there in our times of need and distress! David, along with every other veteran of war, knows this, and so should we.