On the west side of the obelisk that serves as the grave marker for the Reverend James Caldwell, it reads:
Hannah, wife of the Rev. James Caldwell, and daughter of Johnathan Ogden, of Newark, was killed at Connecticut Farms by a shot from a British soldier, June 25th, 1780, cruelly sacrificed by the enemies of her husband and of her country.1
The popularity of Caldwell and his courage on the battlefield reads in a way where you can easily imagine that in the aftermath of his heroics, he would survive the war and go on to live happily ever after.
But that was not the case.
Not only would he lose his life as a result of an unwarranted gunshot fired by a sentinel who would later be tried and hung for murder,2 but just two weeks prior to the Battle of Springfield where Caldwell would utter the now famous words, “Put Watts into ‘em boys,” Caldwell would learn that his wife had been shot and killed by the British.3
As believers, we’re not exempt from heartache, sickness, death and anxiety. It’s part of the world we live in and pretending to be either immune or indifferent is neither healthy nor helpful.
The idea is not to ignore sin or its effects, but to remain focused on the One Who gives you the Power and Perspective needed to endure and overcome.
That’s what Jesus meant in John 16:33:
I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” (Jn 16:33)
Neither your witness nor your success is defined according to the lack of difficulty you encounter, rather they’re determined by the extent to which you allow Him to shape your perspective (Rom 12:1-2), fortify your resolve (Phil 4:13) and empower your performance (Is 41:10).
However intimidating the sin of the world may be, remember you have working in and through you the One Who brought the sin of the world to its knees.
1. “The Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution”, Benson J. Lossing, Harper & Brothers, Publishers, New York, NY, 1851, p326
2. “Proceedings of the Historical Society, Volume I 1845 – 1846, The Office of the Daily Advertiser, Newark, NJ, 1847, p83-84 (https://books.google.com/books?id=NWVIAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=Morgan&f=false)
3. “A Short History of the American Revolution”, Everett Titsworth Tomlinson, Doubleday, Page and Company, New York, NY, 1901, p286-287 (https://books.google.com/books?id=BhwTAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=watts&f=false)