BENCHMARK thanks Chaplain Nicholas Wright, U.S. Army, for taking the time to share his experiences with us. *The views presented are those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views of DoD or its components.*

We Can’t Do It Alone

Moving forward is about embracing the new things God is doing in our midst. If we don’t embrace change and what God is doing, He’ll be patient for a while, but the sooner we get on board, the better we are. We read in Isaiah 43:18-19 (ESV) “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Think about that for a moment. A way in the wilderness. Rivers in the desert. These verses speak of God’s constant renewal and provision, even in challenging circumstances. 

And to really appreciate what’s being said here, when this part of Isaiah was written, the people of Israel were in exile in Babylon. Their homeland had been destroyed, the temple leveled, and hope seemed distant. They were living with the weight of what had been lost and wondering if they’d ever see restoration. So when God speaks through Isaiah and says “forget the former things” and “I’m doing a new thing,” this wasn’t just poetic encouragement, it was a radical promise. God was telling a broken displaced people that he hadn’t forgotten them. That he was already at work preparing something brand new. A path through the wilderness, rivers in a desert, life where it seemed impossible. 

Sometimes we forget but the same thing is happening today. It’s happening for you, it’s happening for me. Those around us, the communities that are broken, the communities that don’t think they have anything wrong, it’s happening to all of us. We have a God who shows up in dry seasons. And in the wet ones, too. A God who still makes a way forward when everything around us seems uncertain. 

So, all people, which includes you and me, but specifically in my context, soldiers, often find themselves navigating their own wildernesses, facing their own deserts. And soldiers are human so we go through the same things you go through, right, but there’s a few other things that come through my mind that might be slightly different than you may face, which are pressures of deployment. And in the type of unit I’m in, we face no-notice deployments as well. You thought you were going to be having your daughter’s birthday celebration, and now you’re not. The strain on families, the invisible wounds of war – there are a lot of people suffering spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and they’ll be doing it for a long time, but it’s really hard to quantify that. 

I have been in the Army 23 years. I’ve unfortunately witnessed a lot of struggle. Lots of combat trauma and death. As a pilot, I’ve lost a lot of people. As a chaplain, I’ve lost a lot of people. We’ve lost people to training. Just this last year, we had a helicopter crash and 5 of our people died. Suicide, relationship issues, financial issues, lots of things. When people are in need, in addition to the help that they’re going to need, they need us to first listen and then identify what the challenge is that they’re facing, but then after that – what is it within themselves, what is it that they use to cling to hope, to cling to life. One of the biggest protective factors, research shows and that I have seen in my own life, is that sense of belonging – that you belong to something bigger than yourself. Even the strongest among us here, we need strength, we need encouragement, we can’t do it alone. 

What I’ve noticed is, BENCHMARK has helped connect us with each other, on a deeper level, fostering genuine relationships and a sense of belonging. In most units, you’re together for about 3 years and then you move on. In my particular unit, the soldiers can be together for 15 years. At nearly every BENCHMARK event, a soldier would realize that they have been working with someone in the same building for years and didn’t know them; the training event created connectedness from which they returned to work stronger. They get to truly be known by somebody else in their own battalion. 

The greatest thing on this side of heaven is to be known. When we are known by another, we feel loved, we feel heard, we feel understood, we feel like we’re important, we belong. May we all continue to move forward in His power, working together to refocus on His glory.