At the age of 17, he was arrested and sent off to Buchenwald, a Nazi concentration camp in east-central Germany. Eric was sure his fate would be no different than the other 55 thousand who were shot, starved, or hung there. But he survived and was liberated by American troops in April of 1945.

Fast forward to 1948. Eric was now 21, and the brand-new nation of Israel was fighting a war for its survival against invading forces from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. With the fire of the Holocaust still burning in his heart, Eric enlisted in the Israeli army.

He endured five weeks of training that lasted 16 hours a day, and then Eric and his platoon were sent out to fight. But on day two of the battle, their platoon commander was shot in the shoulder and could no longer fire a rifle.

Eric recalls, “They told me, ‘You’re taking over as Platoon Commander.’ When I asked why, they said, ‘Quite simply, there’s no one else!’” At Buchenwald, Eric had plenty of experience observing German and American forces. But nothing could prepare him for the battle they fought next.

“We came over the top of a hill and saw so many Egyptian fighters, I knew we were way outmanned and outgunned.” But Eric’s platoon persevered in hand-to-hand combat, notably where the Egyptians had bayonets and the Israelis had none.

Eric is now 98, sprightly, and still giving talks about his adventures. Asked about his most frightening experience, he chuckles and says, "The scariest moment was when I became platoon commander. In my fox hole, I lost control of my knees because they shook so much." But this was all kept secret from a fellow soldier, who interpreted Eric’s silence as strength.

"The spirit of the Israeli soldiers fighting that war reminded me very much of the American 1776 War of Independence. There was never a doubt. We had to fight. We had to win!"

Listening to Eric’s story makes me ponder the many biblical reminders that you and I are engaged in protracted spiritual warfare. There are moments when we all feel unqualified for the tasks to which we’ve been called.

But other believers are watching us, taking their cue from us. Even when our knees are knocking. Fight we must, and win, we shall! Not in our strength but in His.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

-Psalm 20:7