Manna issue 70 - So We May Boldly Say “The Lord Is my Helper”我們可以放膽地說：「主是幫助我的」
Relying on God while in the army.----在軍中全然倚靠主
Brian Lee—South Korea Brian Lee(南韓)
翻譯：Andrew
Hallelujah, in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ I testify. I am from
South Korea. Korea is not simply a
country of K-pop with stars like Girls
Generation or Super Junior; it is a
country full of God’s grace. Just like
in any other part of the world, God
is present among us. I would like to
share with you how God guided me
during my military service in Korea.
哈利路亞，奉主耶穌聖名在此作見證。
我來自南韓，
就我看來，南韓不單只是個有少女時代或Super Junior等明星的國家，
其實就像世界上其他國家一樣，南韓同樣充滿著神的恩典，祂的靈也存在我們其中，
我想在此見證主耶穌如何在我的軍旅生活中引領我。
Korea is a divided country and
men who are over eighteen years
old must do military service for a
year and nine months. The military
service is not easy. Nowadays, it is a
lot better, but previously, everyone
had to suffer beatings, insults and
wrongdoings from senior officers or
senior soldiers. From young, I have
heard many negative stories about
military service, so I was quite afraid
to enter the army.
在南韓是分裂的國家，18歲的男性必須服役21個月，
這段過程十分艱苦，雖然現在已經寬鬆許多，
但在以前的時代，每個服兵役的軍人必會在軍中飽受煎熬，體罰、辱罵、被長官陷害都是家常便飯。
還小的時候就常聽到一些軍中各種負面的故事，所以服兵役前的我十分害怕。
PREPARING FOR MILITARY SERVICE 服兵役前的準備
One Sabbath, when I was in twelfth
grade, I met a brother who was
doing military service. The next
week and the week after, the brother
continued to attend Sabbath service.
I was really surprised that he could
do so while serving in the military.
It turned out that he had applied to
be an officer, which allowed him to
take some days off on weekends. To
be an officer, you have to serve for
two years and six months, but you
have more freedom. I decided to
do the same and began to pray for
this matter. I prayed for three years.
Then a year before applying, I started
to prepare for the officer training
entrance test. I woke up at six every
morning, exercised for one hour, and
then studied military science.
高三那年，我在某個安息日我認識了一位正在服兵役的弟兄，
我非常驚訝，他每個安息日都可以向軍隊請假來聚會甚至參與聖工，
原來，他在軍中擔任軍官，周末是被允許可以請假離開軍隊的。
雖然軍官辦事員服役的時間30個月，但卻可以享有更多自由。
所以我決定也要在服役期間成為軍官，我為這件事禱告了3年。
在申請成為軍官的前一年，我開始準備軍官的受訓資格考試，
並且我要求自己每天6點起床，每天運動一小時，並努力為考試讀書。
I went through all this preparation
for the officer exam because I
wanted to keep the Sabbath. I felt
that if I did not go to church once
a week, I would not be able to
endure the harsh military life. But
my parents were not very happy.
At that time I was studying at Seoul
National University of Education to
become a teacher. They thought that
by preparing for the officer exam, I
would fail in my studies to become
a teacher. Thanks to God’s grace,
I passed both the officer exam and
the exam to become a teacher; a rare
happening at that time in Korea.
我做了這麼多的準備全是為了能繼續守安息日，
因為我覺得只要我一個禮拜不去教會，我一定負荷不了在軍隊裡如此艱辛的訓練，
但我的父母並不是很開心對於我一直準備考試這件事，
因為我還是大學生。我就讀的是首爾師範大學，
他們認為我準備受訓資格考試會影響我的學業表現甚至教師檢定，
但感謝主的恩典，我兩項都通過了，在韓國這是很稀有的事。
LUCKY BRIAN? 幸運兒?
Finally, it was time to join the army.
I was sent to serve in a place near
town, while many were sent far away
to the countryside. It was as if out
of one hundred people, ninety-nine
were sent to Iraq and I was sent close
to New York. So everyone envied me.
Some asked if my dad worked in the
army, but it was not the case. It is just
that I had God watching over me,
because I am His child. Luke 12:28
says, “If then God so clothes the
grass, which today is in the field and
tomorrow is thrown into the oven,
how much more will He clothe you,
O you of little faith? And do not seek
what you should eat or what you
should drink, nor have an anxious
mind.” Through this event, I could
experience that God, the heavenly
father, knows my situation better
than anyone in this world, and He
knows what is best for me.
終於到了服兵役的時刻，
很幸運的，我被分發到鄰近鎮上的軍營，
在當時是有很多人是被分發到比較偏遠的地方的，
我就好像是百中一選，像是99個被送到伊拉克作戰但卻只有我留在紐約附近，
所以很多人忌妒我，有些人甚至問我是不是父親在軍隊擔任職務，
但事實當然不是這樣，只是因為我是祂的小孩，有神在看顧我。
路加福音12章28-29節記載：
28你們這小信的人哪，野地裡的草今天還在，明天就丟在爐裡，神還給他這樣的妝飾，何況你們呢！
29你們不要求吃甚麼，喝甚麼，也不要罣心；
因為這件事，我就體驗到，神，我們天上的父親，比世上任何人都更加清楚我們的情況，
祂知道什麼是對我最好的。
My unit was a twenty-minutes
car drive away from the nearest
True Jesus Church. As an officer, I
needed to be on duty during some
weekends, but, thank God, through
prayers, I was granted permission to
go to church every Saturday. When
my friends learned of this, they
started calling me Lucky Brian. But
was I really lucky?
我的單位距離最近的真耶穌教會開車需要二十分鐘，
作為一個軍官，在某些周末我仍須值班，
但感謝主，透過禱告，我被允許每個禮拜六都能去教會。
當我朋友知道這件事，他們就開始稱呼我「幸運兒」，
但我真的是幸運的嗎？
TRAINED AND SUSTAINED BY GOD 靠主站立得穩
As an officer, I had thirty soldiers
under my command. All had serious
problems. Some were affected
by troubled single-parent family
backgrounds, while others even had
criminal records. I do not discriminate
against them, but they tend to be
relatively more unstable and insecure.
People called my platoon the “bomb
platoon”; they felt that something
could go wrong at any time.
作為一個軍官，我指揮三十位軍兵。
在隸屬我的軍人中，有些來自單親家庭，有些甚至有犯罪紀錄，
我並不因此歧視他們，但他們卻常情緒比起其他部隊傾向較不安定且常出錯，
所以人們都稱他們「炸彈部隊」，他們常覺得自己隨時都可能做錯事。
In addition, I worked together with
my senior officer in the same unit. He
was very harsh in character. From day
one, he interfered with everything
I did and made me do his work.
Whenever he could, he insulted me
and verbally attacked me. I also had
to share a room with him. Usually,
after training, I would return to my
room around 11 p.m. If I went to bed
before him, he would play his K-pop
music very loudly or talk to me. He
was also obsessed with cleanliness;
in the summer, I could not open
the window because he didn’t want
dust in the room. I had to do all
the cleaning, laundry, and cooking,
which is how I learned to cook very
well. Even though he mistreated me,
I obeyed him. I did not resist or file a
complaint to my superiors because in
Ephesians 6:5, we are encouraged to
“be obedient to those who are your
masters according to the flesh, with
fear and trembling, in sincerity of
heart, as to Christ.”
除此之外，我也和我的上級長官一同在同單位共事，
他的個性十分嚴厲，從我入伍那天起，他就時常干涉我的做的決定並要求我做他指定的事務，
只要他開心，他甚至會指責我甚至用言語攻擊我，
更慘的是我還必須和他睡同一個房間。
通常訓練十一點多結束，我就會直接返回房間，
如果我比他早睡，他就會很大聲的放流行音樂叫我起床陪他聊天；
他甚至有潔癖，夏天時我不能開窗因為他不想讓房間有灰塵，
我還必須作所有的清潔工作、洗衣，還有煮飯，而我的廚藝就是在這時學來的。
就算他再怎樣對我不好，我還是都乖乖遵守，我並沒有呈報上級或是檢舉他，
因為以弗所書六章5節說:
「你們做僕人的，要懼怕戰兢，用誠實的心聽從你們肉體的主人，好像聽從基督一般」。
During this period, I also had
to go to drinking parties. Initially,
there were lots of drinking parties,
sometimes up to four a week. The
army in Korea has a very authoritative
culture. If your superior tells you to
do something, you have to obey him,
even after your shift is over. That’s the
rule. So I had to attend these drinking
parties, but I never drank any alcohol
because I am God’s child. However,
merely having to attend these parties
was very stressful. But God helped
me avoid drinking parties. There
would often be parties when I was
on leave or sent to another place for
training.
在這段期間裡，我也必須參加軍中喝酒的派對，
一開始入伍，就有很多派對，有時甚至一個禮拜就有四場。
在韓國有一個非常權威式的文化—如果你的上級要求你做事，你就必須完全服從。
即使你已經值完班了，也要參加，這就是一種潛規則。
所以每一場派對我都比必須到場，但我絕對滴酒不沾—因為我是神的孩子。
然而，僅僅是參加這些派對就讓我備感壓力，但神幫助了我，
派對時常舉行在我出差或離營的時候。
Once, there was a drinking party
while I was on duty. The partygoers
became very drunk and caused
some trouble; everyone except me
were punished. In 1 Corinthians
10:13, Paul says: “No temptation
has overtaken you except such as is
common to man; but God is faithful,
who will not allow you to be tempted
beyond what you are able, but with
the temptation will also make the
way of escape, that you may be able
to bear it.” Through the trials and
temptations that I had to encounter,
committing my way to the Lord was
my way of escape.
有一次，在我值班時正在舉行派對，有些人喝醉了，發酒瘋並惹了麻煩，
全部參加派對的人除了我以外都被處罰，
哥林多前書十章13節說:
「你們所遇見的試探，無非是人所能受的。神是信實的，必不叫你們受試探過於所能受的；
在受試探的時候，總要給你們開一條路，叫你們能忍受的住」，
在面對這些試探和試煉時，我能勝過的方法是全然交託給神。
Because I had much work and
training, I could not sleep more than
four hours a day. My mind and my
body became tired, but God trained
me. I woke up early in the morning
and prayed in another room or
underneath the blanket. Sometimes,
while I was undergoing training,
I would say a quick prayer in the
bathroom. I carried a small Bible with
me, and read a chapter every day.
God’s Spirit and word enabled me to
endure my military service. I did my
best in my duties and God guided me
and answered my prayers.
因為有太多訓練及差事要做，我一天睡不超過四小時，
我身心俱疲，但我知這是神的操練。我都很早起到另一個房間禱告，或是躲在毯子下禱告，
有時我在訓練中，我會跑到廁所做簡短的禱告。我隨身帶著一本小聖經，每天讀一章，
神的聖靈和聖經的話語幫助我，讓我得以忍受軍隊的生活，
我在我所負責的盡最大的努力，並且還有神引領我、回應我的禱告。
THE LORD IS MY HELPER 主是幫助我的
After two and a half years,
miraculously, the soldiers who were
under my command were discharged
without any problems. The senior
officer who harassed me failed to
be promoted and had to spend the
rest of his military service in another
location under a senior officer who
treated him worse.
經過兩年半的時間，奇蹟似地，我的部隊居然沒有任何問題可以順利退伍，
而對我很不好的長官也沒有被升職，
而他剩下的服役期間，反被派到另一個地方為一個對他很差的上級做事。
Today, I have been discharged
safely, and I am able to share God’s
grace with you. So, do you think I
am lucky? Should I be called Lucky
Brian? Let us read Nehemiah 4:9:
“Nevertheless we made our prayer
to our God, and because of them
we set a watch against them day
and night.” Nehemiah prayed and
guarded the wall day and night. In the
church of God, there is no such thing
as luck. We live under God’s grace.
Yet we cannot simply live under such
grace without putting in any effort.
We have to pray day and night, be
on our guard and strive to receive
His grace. Despite the tribulations
and temptations we face, through
steadfast prayers and through our
good conduct, we can confidently
say, “The Lord is my helper” (Heb
13:6). May we all be filled with God’s
wonderful grace.
如今，我很平安的退伍了，所以我可以在此分享主的恩典，
你認為我幸運嗎?我該被稱作「幸運兒」嗎?
讓我們來看尼希米記四章9節：
「然而，我們禱告我們的神，又因他們的緣故，就派人看守，晝夜防備」。
尼希米守著牆日以繼夜禱告，在神的殿中，沒有所謂幸運。
我們活在祂的恩典之中，然而，我們不能活在恩典中卻不做任何努力，
我們必須每天禱告，警惕自己且盡全力祈求得到祂的恩典，
儘管面對苦難和誘惑，但靠著我們堅定的禱告和好行為，
我們可以很肯定放膽的說：「主是幫助我的」(來13：6)，
願我們都能被祂美好的恩典充滿。
小頁 markvmax@hotmail.com
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