Serving By Faith

//Testimony

Hebrews 3:10 says, "The just shall live by faith." Master Sergeant Gary Houser not only believes this verse, he has lived it for the past 30 years in the U.S. Air Force.

One Step at a Time

Danger lurked around every corner for Master Sgt. Houser during a three-month tour of duty in Iraq in 2003. While stationed in Balad at a former Iraqi airbase, Gary and Tech Sgt. George Gooch were assigned to carry out a short survey mission near the runways. As they began the survey, an officer told them to avoid stepping on anything metal because they had just cleared the area of mines.

Gary says it was enough to make their skin crawl, not knowing what their next step had in store for them. "We literally had to take steps of faith, listening to the Holy Spirit on the inside telling us to step here and not step there."

After successfully completing the survey, Gary learned that they had been in far more danger than they knew. There were booby traps and mines all over the base. But the area they had just surveyed had not been swept for mines!

He was told after the fact that the area they had just walked through was off-limits. Gary recalls that when he and George heard those words, they just looked at each other and said, "Thank You, Jesus!"

He Is Faithful

Fast forward 10 years, and Gary is still relying on the Hand that protected him in 2003. On

April 26, 2013, Gary returned from a six-month tour of duty during which he traveled 30,000 miles to Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar.

At one point during the trip, Gary was singled out to lead an engineering team to complete an installation project in Kyrgyzstan. The task: install 17 antennas on a 100-foot tower. It was the first time he had been given such an assignment. And just as before, he turned for help to the One Who had helped him faithfully in the past.

"It really took faith for me to believe God for wisdom and that no one would get hurt," Gary says. "God was favorable to us. I gave them an estimate of three weeks to get this project done. We got it done in two weeks."

That quick timetable turned out to be a blessing. When the team began the work, the temperature was in the 70s. The day they finished they had freezing rain, ice coated the tower, and the temperature dropped to 20 below zero.

The Lord has continued to demonstrate His faithfulness. On another project, this time for NATO, Gary and his team successfully completed an engineering assignment in two weeks. Smiling, he says, "We actually got a letter from a two-star general thanking us for getting the project done."

A Thankful Heart

While he is serving in the military, Gary carries the 91st Psalm in his pocket. The psalm begins, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust' " (Ps. 91:1–2 NIV 1984). Time and time again, the Lord has shown Gary He really does have him in the palm of His hand (Isa. 49:16; John 10:28–29). And looking back on his experiences, Gary is very thankful for that.

"The Word of God is the most important thing in my life," he says. "When you're hit with the trials of life—and we're all going to have them—you will find out if you're walking by faith or walking by sight. When you're over there in some of the situations I've been in, then it's too late to learn to walk by faith. You need to prepare yourself before you get in—before circumstances and situations come against you."

"I really believe the Lord called me to be in the military so that He could use me there. It is not just a job; it is a ministry."

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To learn how to build a strong faith foundation, visit khm.com/3yjs.