Why Am I Being Attacked?

In 2004 I was in Iraq. I was at an air base called Balad around 30 miles north of Baghdad along the Tigris River. We got mortar attacked every day. If we ever missed a day then the three times we got mortared the next day would make up for it.
Mostly these were mortars and rockets. More often than not they wouldn’t hit anything important. The reason we moved to Balad was because it was open and anyone trying to come into range to shoot a mortar or rocket could easily be seen because there were no buildings or heavy tree coverage to hide in. This forced attackers to have to set up their firing positions so far that they couldn’t really be accurate. They would vaguely fire in the direction of the base and more often than not the explosions would happen in open fields and away from anybody or equipment. They did, however, get lucky shots. I recall one time a truck got hit with nobody in it. A couple times the flight line would get an explosion. And then there were the times they really got a hit. One time they launched nine rockets that all hit our PX. Two guys died in that attack. One was supposed to go home the next day. On September 11th 2004, I remember because of the infamous date, a lone Senior Airman was standing on a street corner in the middle of our “tent city” living quarters. A 57mm rocket practically hit him. He was wearing all his body armor, his helmet was on his head and he had his vest on. The shrapnel brew off his left arm, his right hand and both his legs. At Balad we had the MASH hospital so he was quickly saved.

I have many stories like that. One night a rocket skewered one of our living trailers. It did not explode because, as the EOD team explained, the attackers were incompetent and didn’t arm the warhead properly but the engine was still going and lit a bed on fire.
As for a personal story I was standing one day I was coming back from getting a hair cut at the barber trailer when this US Army Sergeant First Class came up to me and asked, "Hey. Where's your chow hall at?"
I was giving him directions when behind me an explosion went off. (Later found out it was a 57mm mortar.) It hit, I would say 50 yards from where I was standing. I say 50 yards. It seems to get closer every time I tell the story. It definitely wasn't further than a football field. Maybe seventy five yards. I don't know. The point is...
I spun around and the dirt was still in the air and the smoke. Lemme tell you something about what it's like to have a real bomb explode nearby. It's LOUD. You also feel it. You feel the vibration in your feet and legs through the ground.
Well, I tucked and rolled and shucked and jived and got behind this little building that was nearby and was crouched behind that.

This army guy never flinched.

He's just standing there looking over in the direction of where that mortar hit.
I'm crouched behind this wall sucking my thumb and he strolls over to me and says, "How often you guys getting popped around here?"
I said, "Every day."
He says, "Yeah at Al Taji we get it about every other day."
Silence.
"So where's your chow hall at?"
I'm like, "Dude. You're a mile away. It's down there then go right at the long street and then the first right. About a hundred yards and there's the chow hall."
Then the alarm red sirens started going off. I'm thinking I really don't want to be stuck behind just the wall of this building. I'd like to have some sand bag coverage over my head. Right across the street is tent city and there's barricades and some bunkers. So I made the decision to run across the street and make for a bunker.
I'm getting up and start to go and the Army guy points to one of the bus stops. "Is that your shuttle bus stop?"
"Yeah. That's the shuttle bus stop."
The alarm red sirens are wailing.
I ran for cover.
He went to go catch a bus.
Go Army dot com.

But what I want to say is this, in all those attacks and all that diving to the bunkers there was one particular question that I never heard anybody ask. Not even once.
In all those attacks and all that fear nobody ever asked, “Gee, I wonder why they’re shooting at us?” Nobody asked that. Nobody needed to ask that. Everybody knew exactly why they were shooting at us. We were in their country and they wanted us out. If we had been of no threat they never would have attacked us.

So why do Christians ask this question daily? “Why am I being attacked?”

Because we’re at war.

James 4:4
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Or at least we should be.

But this war is not the same as mortars and rockets…

2 Corinthians 10:3-5
3For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

We fight with the gospel, with the truth and we get attacked with lies, deceit, and we get attacked in the spiritual realm.
Why? Because we are in the enemies country and he doesn’t want us here.

Matthew 10:24-25
24 "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

This should not surprise anyone.

1 Peter 4:12-13
12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

What should be disappointing in our Christian walk is when we endure no troubles at all.
If we endured no attacks then we can be sure we are no threat to the enemy.

The attacks are the sign that you are not welcome by Satan. They are your “war stories” of when you were in the war.

And, God bless them, they are making you better.

James 1:2-3
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

Your armor is found in Ephesians 6:11-17.
Wear it every day. Do not take it off. Stop wondering why you’re being attacked.

Matthew 5:11-12
11 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

You should be more worried if you aren’t being attacked.