PEACE ON YOUR D-DAY

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

Joe jumped out of the landing craft into the cold frothy surf of the ocean. He held his rifle high above his head as he attempted to maneuver against the ocean waves. It felt as if giant hands were grabbing and pulling at his legs as he struggled towards the beachhead. The seawater had a deep reddish tinge to it from the spilt blood of his comrades in arms. Bullets whizzed by his head and a large shaft of water shot up from a mortar shell that landed near him. Water poured over him as he saw man after man fall to the onslaught of lead pouring down from the cliffs along the shore. As he escaped the grasp of the sea, panic attempted to invade his mind as he strained to make his way across the sandy beach. Bullets whizzed past his head and shells exploded around him. He had been a sitting duck in the water, but the beach was not any safer. At least he could maneuver better. As he ran on the shifting sand he was aware of the total chaos around him. Men screamed. Some screamed in pain. Others, in an attempt to gain courage shouted obscenities at the enemy. It was a horrendous concert of mayhem and destruction. The orchestra of shell and grenade explosions dominated the cacophony, but machines gun and rifle fire competed for their share of the stage. It was hell on earth.

 

Joe managed to reach the shore and took refuge behind a mortally wounded tank. He proceeded as quickly as possible up the beachhead striving to reach a point where he could engage the German soldiers who held the cliffs. A bullet caught the upper part of his right shoulder but it passed through clean. His flesh burned from the pain, but he knew he must continue or die. He fired again and again scoring a hit here and there. He moved south along the beachhead with other soldiers striving to penetrate the German defenses. He rounded a small grassy sand dune and that’s when the grenade went off. Two of his friends were killed and Joe lost part of his cheek. He could feel the blood trickling down the side of his face and neck. He was glad he couldn’t see what he looked like. He continued on doing his job, his duty.

 

He and several others managed to make it over the top of the cliffs only to be strafed by a machine gun. He took two hits, one in his left arm and the other in his right thigh. He went down but heard his buddies blow out the machine gun nest. Joe managed to crawl to the roadside to lie in a ditch to rest and hide. He was not battle worthy any more. Survival was all he had left to accomplish.

 

The area exchanged hands several times over the rest of the day and into the night. Joe saw a German patrol coming down the road up ahead. He was too stiff and weak to move. They stopped right beside him. A German officer looked at him, stole his cigarettes and told the others to save their bullets because he would die soon anyway. They walked off and in a few minutes he heard gunfire in the distance and assumed they had met their fate. Joe mustered up a smidgen of strength and attempted to search the bodies of soldiers for some weapon for protection. He found a machine gun. He heard the rumbling sound of a motor in the distance. Coming down the road was an allied ambulance. He couldn’t stand up but fired shots in the air and the medics stopped and picked him up to care for his wounds.

 

When asked after the war how he had managed his sanity Joe stated, “God was looking out for me and I had a peace that He would protect me as I did the job I had to do.” This true story of one soldier on D-Day is a situation most of us have never had or every will experience. While that may be a blessing, we all face our own D-Days in one way or another. Whether it is a lost job, bankruptcy, divorce, death, disease, illness or emotional trauma, we all face situations that seem overwhelming at times. Just like Joe on D-Day, we sometimes feel life has wounded us in numerous ways and in a variety of places. We struggle on striving to survive, sometimes screaming in pain and at other times shouting in an attempt to gain courage to cope. Often we lay by the roadside, wounded and bleeding hoping help will come. Sometimes in such times, incarnate evil visits us here in our weakness to spit in our face and call to question our faith in God. We wonder if God has forgotten us and strive to believe and have hope. The only thing, the only thing, we can rely on in life is that God NEVER forgets us. He is the only one that we can ALWAYS know will seek us out. Friends may fail us but God NEVER, EVER FAILS!

 

What is required of us to keep hope alive while we lay wounded beside the roadside of life? I would say there are two crucial ingredients that are necessary to sustain us when we feel like we are mortally wounded. They are faith and peace. Faith is defined for us in Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Faith is being sure of our hope for help from God that comes in the form of His mercy as well as His strength to continue. Faith is being certain of our hope in our God’s trustworthiness even though we cannot see Him. Faith takes our focus off of what we see in our circumstances and directs it towards the unseen power and sufficiency of our Lord and Master. Sometimes when we are wounded deeply in the battles of life the only thing left for us to grasp with our last ounce of emotional strength is faith in our Savior Jesus Christ. Where does this faith come from? It comes from God Himself and from His Word. Romans 10:17 says, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” This tells us that unless we expose our minds to the Word of God, it is impossible for a faith in God to be planted in the soil of our hearts where it can nourish our spirit and trust in Him. Unless we accept Christ as our Savior the Holy Spirit cannot comfort or counsel us with God’s Word adequately so that faith can grow in our lives. Once faith has been given to us the next crucial ingredient for coping with live begins to form in our lives.

 

Peace with God and with life is a by-product of living a life of faith. Romans 5:1‑2 tells us, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” When we accept Christ as our Savior we are allowed access through faith to the grace imparted to us from God. When this commitment is made, a peace begins to fill our lives. We are no longer in rebellion against God. We no longer have to carry the overwhelming burden of our sins. Life takes on a different perspective because now we are a child of God. We have a Father who is both majestic in power and overflowing with love. We have an advocate for us. We are no longer alone in life. God is on our side and the horrible battles, ominous struggles and deeply-felt frustrations we experience are faced with our Savior standing by us. The peace that is a fruit of this relationship is often hard to fully comprehend, harder to explain, but soothes our wounded heart and mind like a medicinal suave on a raw wound.

 

Philippians 4:4‑7 illustrates for us results of a life of faith and peace. It states, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Here we are commanded to rejoice. Why? Because the Lord is near to us. We are told here that we should not be anxious or nervous. We should never fret or worry. Why, because the peace of God transcends any of our earthly understanding. It is a peace that is difficult to comprehend. When we have faith in God leading to this peace no one, including ourselves will understand why we are at peace with our battle, with our wounds and with our situation. It is a peace that flows from a close relationship with our Savior and Heavenly Father. It is a peace that is given us when the Holy Spirit within us is allowed to minister to us and through us. This peace comes when we pray and petition God with our needs. This peace is not given without action on our part. We must seek to foster and grow our relationship with our Lord. We must respond appropriately to temptations and tests that come our way as discussed in James 1:2-4 and Romans 5:3-5 so that our faith can mature.

 

So are you currently lying by the roadside of life bruised, bleeding and broken? Seek the Lord. Pray. Ask Him to grant you the faith that will stimulate the peace that passes all understanding. You may think you are beyond a prayer or undeserving of such peace, but you will be surprised what can happen when a humble prayer is whispered even weakly in the direction of the ear of God. He will hear you and respond with an outpouring of love and compassion. He will grant you the faith necessary to give you His precious peace that will anoint your wounds and make you strong again. God is bending over you, placing His attentive ear to your lips, waiting to hear the words of your request.