October 16
Bombs
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.––John 14:12-14
Between September 7, 1940 and May 16, 1941 the German Luftwaffe dropped tens of thousands of bombs on England, killing roughly 40,000 people with slightly more wounded. Ultimately, the Nazi high command abandoned the Blitz—short for blitzkrieg, or “swift victory”—because it failed to break the will of the British people, and because it did not significantly interrupt the UK’s war production. (However, the Germans bombed Great Britain relentlessly between 1939 and 1945.)
One of the dwindling number of living survivors, 99-year-old Millie Matthews recently recounted her story to journalist John Nichol, the author of Blitz: When World War Two Came Home. Even now, 85 years later, the trauma of huddling in bomb shelters and losing loved ones comes flooding back to Millie. “When I get on the bus, I have to sit right at the very front so that, if anything happens, I can get off easily without being stuck behind a crush of people.”[1]
This also reminds me of my good friend Kyle Duncan, who traveled to Ukraine right after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, to interview aid workers, soldiers, war chaplains, and refugees who had just escaped bombed-out cities like Kharkiv and Mariupol. (He recounts their stories in his book Hope for Ukraine: Stories of Grit and Grace from the Frontlines of War.) World War 2 and the War in Ukraine—two wars 80 years apart, but with much in common. Even as I write this—4.5 years into the war—women and children continue to die every day from bombs and drones from above.
It’s hard to imagine what it feels like to scan the sky for Shaheed drones as you walk your kindergartener to school in their new Chucks and Spider-Man t-shirt. And it’s just as wild to think that that is an everyday reality for people like you and me, right now, in “modern-day” Europe. Just yesterday Kyle received a message from his friend, Yuri, who lives in central Kyiv with his wife and two young daughters. “Yuri told me that his youngest daughter has known nothing but war, and doesn’t even look up from her crayons when the air raid sirens go off,” Kyle said.
On an emotional and spiritual level, we’ve all been hit by bombs. The church leader who let us down. The parent who left “for a little while” and never came back. The spouse who, after 20 years of marriage, told us, “I don’t love you—and I’m not sure if I ever did.” Granted, we may not have the physical scars of a drone strike, but non-physical bombs can do just as much damage beneath the surface.
Man of God, Jesus told His followers that when He left, God would send a Helper (the Holy Spirit), and that they (His disciples) would do greater works than Jesus. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, God would use His children to lay hands on the sick and see them healed, pray for the 90-year-old atheist on their deathbed to accept Christ, and watch the heroin addict kick a 20-year habit and go on to found a drug rehab center. That is the kind of power that flows through us. But, we must be sober-minded regarding the power that God has given to us as His beloved children. The power to be a vessel of healing for the Holy Spirit, but also, a vessel of hurt if we are not careful.
We have the ability to drop bombs on those we love—through betrayal, abuse, or simply through harsh words. Or, we have the ability to defuse and dismantle the bombs we encounter in life. What emotional or verbal bombs have you dropped on your friends or family recently? (I can think of a few of my own.) Take a moment to ask the Holy Spirit what bombs you’ve dropped recently, and to also acknowledge any bombs that have been dropped on you.
He is our Healer and our Helper. Turn your list over to Him now, and ask Him to bring healing. It may mean stepping out and saying you’re sorry; it also might mean having to confront someone who has “bomb-dropped” you.
Lord, please reveal the bombs I’ve dropped lately, and help me take the tangible steps to seek forgiveness. Also, heal the trauma caused by any bombs that have been dropped on me—either recently, or a long time ago.
[1] “I lived through the Blitz. Aged 99, I still struggle with PTSD,” John Nichol, The Telegraph, May 17, 2026.