Few people living today experienced the events of June 6, 1944. D-Day on Omaha beach was a risky attack that we should never forget. The Battle of Normandy was deadly, but it also revealed the determination of the military leaders to overcome the many obstacles between them and success.
History tells us that over 200,000 Allied troops were killed, wounded, or went missing during the battle. In many cases, more than 50% of any one particular infantry unit didn’t make it through the battle. Although some unforeseen obstacles like high tides, overcast, and major logistical problems appeared, there were plenty of risks the commanders had anticipated. The Germans had been preparing for this potential battle for a while, loading the beaches with steel ramrods, logs, and other debris, with landmines and barbed wire. The Allied generals knew the German’s use of the “blitzkrieg” strategy, which would expose their enemy’s weakness when they flinched, but they pressed on anyways.
General Eisenhower was instrumental in convincing the other Allied commanders to take the risk and take the beach. If they could overcome this obstacle the direction of the war would change as well. Eisenhower boldly said at a briefing after the attack was underway, “The present situation is to be regarded as opportunity for us and not disaster.”
A lot could be said about the bravery of those soldiers facing death. But more than just their bravery was their ability to see past the obstacles before them and have a plan that looked beyond the battle and looked to the end of the war.
Sometimes in our own lives we have to realize our obstacles are just strategies of Satan to keep us from reaching our goals. Paul faced many obstacles in his mission, which seemed to be “convert Rome, change the world.” He made it his ambition to be able to present the gospel to those who many Jews viewed as the enemy. Because of his efforts, the Jews falsely accused him and arrested him before he even got out of Jerusalem. “The people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. At once he took along some soldiers and centurions and ran down to them; and when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul” (Acts 21:30-32).
Soon afterwards Paul would have to be smuggled out of Jerusalem because of a death threat made by the Jews in which they had made a pledge to “neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul” (Acts 23:12).
While en route, he constantly defended his position. He says in Acts 28:17-19, “Brethren, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. And when they had examined me, they were willing to release me because there was no ground for putting me to death. But when the Jews objected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar…” Paul spent the better part of the remainder of his life in prison; why? He took the mission spoken about him in Acts 9:15-16 seriously. “Paul is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake.”
Did he reach his goal? I think we can confidently say, “Yes.” We read in Philippians 1:12-14, “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.”
What if we were as determined as Paul to let our light shine to the world? Paul didn’t look at his obstacles as problems, but opportunities. To have that kind of focus requires an understanding of WHY. It’s critical to understand the WHY in our battle for godliness. The world needs to see the “light of Christ” shining brightly. Perhaps the best place for us to start is in the words of God. He tells us why in the bible. Do you “have an answer for the hope that is in you?”
Throughout scriptures we can see many other people that eventually gained a confident oldness from truly understanding how God was using their circumstances. People like Joseph who told his brothers as they begged for their lives. “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? What you meant for evil, God meant for good in order to save many people’s lives” (Genesis 50:19-21). Also people like David, Daniel, Hosea, Jeremiah, Elisha, and many more. God’s word reveals God’s purpose for our lives, and we are the ones blessed for it. Let’s become diligent students so we can know why we must “GO.”
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