Complete in Christ

The phone call I had been dreading for four years came suddenly. Saddam Hussein had just invaded Kuwait. My husband had less than twelve hours to pack and get to the departure location for his deployment. In the early morning hours of August 8, 1990, I heard the squeal of a C5 taking off and knew he was on that plane headed for the other side of the world. My heart began to sink. I had no idea where he was going or when he’d ever be back. I was left all by myself to raise our six-year-old son.

Although a first for an experience such as this, I am used to facing life’s challenges. When I was eighteen years old I became a paraplegic as the result of a horseback riding accident. At the time of this writing I have used a wheelchair for mobility for 32 years. I learned from a very early age there is nothing we have that cannot be taken away from us. The only thing we have that cannot be taken away from us is our relationship with Jesus Christ.

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul repeatedly tells the people of Colosse they are complete in Christ. Questioning the Gospel Paul was preaching, they were determined to add to this Gospel. They were being told they needed more than Jesus Christ.

Today in our Western culture, we live in a society that also tells us we need more than Jesus: more clothes, bigger houses, luxury cars, more television stations, more cell phones… And we all need to look at least 10 years younger, don’t we?

How easy it is for us to buy into this way of thinking. When we are faced with the difficulties of daily life, we become extremely vulnerable to the world and its hollow and deceptive philosophies. Paul tells us if we are not careful, we will be taken captive. To be taken captive means to be taken as a prisoner, to be held in bondage. This is exactly what happens to us when we look to things other than Christ to make us complete.

Because I am complete in Christ, I can love my husband unconditionally. This unconditional love allows me to support him in his military career, no matter what that brings: four moves in fours years, long and dangerous duty assignments, single parenting. The list goes on and on. I am complete in Christ and it is He who meets all my needs. Not my husband, not my children, and certainly not the world in which I live.

Ladies, stay rooted and established in your faith. Study consistently, pray fervently, and praise God often for the life He has given you. It’s an honor to stand by our husbands as they protect the freedoms this country gives each and every one of us. I’ll never be able to wear a uniform and go to war, but I can stay home and take care of my household while my husband goes. And I can do that because I am complete in Christ.

In what ways do I find my completeness in Christ?

What is the evidence of my answer?

Lord,
Thank you that I am complete in You. You are all I need. You will supply all my needs according to Your riches in glory. I love my husband, but I cannot find in him the completeness that I find in You. Draw me closer to you this week, I pray.
Amen.

*The above devotion is an excerpt from the book Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (Moody Publishers 2008). Visit the Faith Deployed blog and bookstore.