Psalm 121:8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

I do not often talk about my war, Vietnam. There was way too much craziness to relate to a Christian devotional, but this psalm brought me into remembrance of listening posts.

Perhaps the scariest of all the things I have been asked to do, certainly the loneliest, was being sent out for night watch, in the jungle, alone, on a listening post. I was sent out first to establish a position of observation on a trail leading to and from our main encampment. I was about one hundred yards from the outer perimeter.

When the night ambush patrols went out, I watched with gun and radio in hand. I was to ensure no enemy was following them out of camp after sundown. All during the night I waited and listened. You have no idea how pitch black the jungle can be at night. Just before dawn the patrol would make its way back into camp.

I would receive a call on my radio that they were coming in. This was the scariest part. In the pitch black of night I had armed men walking at me with as much stealth as they could muster. I would not know if these muted sounds were friend or foe until they were right on top of me. I had to restrain my anxiety and count off the patrol as they walked past me.

Then it was my job to make sure the enemy was not following the patrol to camp. Alone.

Is this what God does for us?

If so, I take greater comfort to know it is God on the listening post of life and not me.