Over
the ages of mankind there have been fights, battles and wars. Each side in every skirmish had its reasons
to go against the other side. Each felt its
own reasons were the more valiant and righteous ones and quite often one of the
reasons was the concept of “freedom”. I
am sure each had its military leaders giving rally cries to their troupes to
encourage and inflame them to give all they had to obtain the victory. I think the best address I ever read was
the order to implement “Operation Overlord” given by General Dwight D
Eisenhower to start the Normandy
invasion. This invasion, coined as “D
Day”, was a major force in turning the tide of World War II but when General
Eisenhower gave the order no one knew that outcome. General Eisenhower did. You can hear the confidence in his words and he
ended his the order with an appeal to the One Who could make the difference:
SUPREME
HEADQUARTERS
ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE
Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the
Allied Expeditionary Force!
You are about to
embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months.
The eyes of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with
our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the
destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the
oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for
ourselves in a free world.
Your task will not
be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened.
He will fight savagely.
But this is the
year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United
Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to
man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and
their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an
overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our
disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free
men of the world are marching together to Victory!
I have full
confidence in your courage and devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will
accept nothing less than full Victory!
Good luck! And let
us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.
SIGNED: Dwight D.
Eisenhower
Order of the Day
June 6, 1944
Fellow
believers in Jesus, soldiers of the Cross:
today we face a vast force. Our
task is not an easy one. Our enemy is
well trained, well equipped, and battle hardened. He fights savagely. It is the time of wars and rumors of wars;
the time of earthquakes, famines, and great pestilences in diverse places; the
time where believers are falling and being led away from the Truth. Lawlessness and iniquity have increased. Yet we have an encouraging word from our
Supreme Commander. We know His word is
Truth and always comes to pass. He has
said that in the culmination of these days His sign will appear in the sky and
He will send his angels to gather us from one end of the earth to the
other. Until that day He calls for us to
give strict attention, be cautious and actively expect Him (Matthew 24).
The
forces that stormed the beaches of Normandy
did not know the final outcome of the war, but we know our final outcome. It is ordained and in the hands of our
Heavenly Father who loves us so dearly He would do anything to gain and keep
us. And He did, by allowing His ONLY Son
to die in our place so that we could live forever with Him.
I
do not know about you but this Independence Day I will be celebrating two kinds
of independence: the freedom gained by
the spent lives of many American soldiers, and the freedom gained by the cost
of my God pouring out His own life for me.
How about you?
