Desmond Stephenson was a British paratrooper wounded and captured by the Germans in Holland. He was taken to a makeshift, overcrowded hospital that came under attack from artillery fire. Shells were exploding everywhere, blowing out the hospital’s doors and windows. As he huddled with others in a stairwell, he had an amazing and uplifting experience:
A voice seemed to say to me, “Why not call on the Lord and ask him to take care of you,” and I did. I prayed to him for protection and guidance and immediately my shattered nerves were steadied and I was able to look at others and steady them without feeling the same. I had a new life and in the midst of all this noise and tumult I had a peace of mind unknown to me before. It was wonderful to have a joy unspeakable, and since then my Jesus has stood by me most wonderfully.488
Desmond’s faith provided him reassurance and spiritual comfort through many ordeals. He was taken to a prison camp near the Polish border where he was held until the Russian advance forced an evacuation to the west. In the coldest part of the winter of 1944 he walked for twenty-eight straight days and slept in the snow every night, huddled together with other prisoners for warmth. Whoever had to sleep on the ends of a row often did not survive the night. Food was practically nonexistent.
Throughout this desperate experience, Desmond continued to pray and to put his faith in God’s providence. Whenever he found shelter or food, he gave God the credit and his profound thanks. Looking back he was able to say, “I feel sure that he brought me through all this to prove to me his goodness and mercy.”489 Desmond’s life after the war was one of service to his church and fellow men, in gratitude for his own salvation on the battlefield.
He guarded him as the apple of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions. The Lord alone led him.
November 24
Winter in the Ardennes Forest meant overcast skies, deep snow, and frigid temperatures. In the Battle of the Bulge the German Army attempted to use these conditions to their advantage. The element of surprise and lack of Allied air cover almost gave them the victory in this last-ditch campaign to stave off defeat. The fighting was brutal, and the struggle to survive the elements was equally intense. One unit of the 101st Airborne Division was reduced from 170 to 58 men within a few days of constant enemy contact fighting around Bastogne.
It was an individual soldier’s battle, as one related: “If you’re fighting a war in a ditch, the whole war is in that ditch… When you’re in a hole, pinned down by mortars and machine guns have you in a crossfire, it’s impossible to get a sense of the overall picture.”490
The toll was heavy on these isolated soldiers, fighting the enemy and the elements: “ We went seventy-two days we didn’t shower, we shaved with cold water out of a steel helmet, and washed one foot at a time; in case Germans hit us again, or you got called to attack… We had lice, scabies, and I had trench mouth so bad I could move my teeth around with my tongue.”491 On seeing these battle-weary men, a reporter observed, “Everyone seems about the same age, as if weariness and strain and the unceasing cold leveled all life.”492 The same reporter summarized the Battle of the Bulge and eloquently gave credit for the outcome where it was due:
There were many dead and many wounded, but the survivors contained the fluid situation and slowly turned it into a retreat, and finally, as the communique said, the bulge was ironed out. This was not done fast or easily; and it was not done by those anonymous things, armies, divisions, regiments. It was done by men, one by one your men.493
We live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
November 25
In August 1944 the tide of the war had turned against the Axis forces. A German soldier wrote his parents a heartfelt letter expressing his concern for them and faith in God’s protection:
Dear Parents,
A time of uncertainty, apprehension and fear is now beginning for you as well. I pray sincerely that God gives you courage each day, and that you don’t sink into worry but hold onto the certainty that your prayers will be heard. Rest assured and be happy! That is my wish and my plea to you. Don’t be afraid, even during the days when you hear nothing and can know nothing about how things are for me. Everything that I experience and am permitted to live through in these times reassures me that I will be kept safe for you, for God does nothing by halves. I shall come through these dangers. God granted me life through you. For that I am always grateful to you.
The prayers of this soldier and his parents were not answered in the way they wished. Friedrich was killed in September 1944, days after writing this letter. We know that thousands of other Christian families, both German and American, were disappointed in the same way during this horrendous war. Does this mean that all those prayers were in vain? I fervently believe that this was not the case. God heard every one of those prayers, and those praying received a blessing of more lasting significance than life or death on this earth. It is the amazing nature of God, the almighty creator of the universe, to also be our loving Father who allows us to approach him in our private thoughts. Through our prayers we have an opportunity to grow closer to him and to understand his desires for us. A few minutes in his presence are worth a lifetime outside of it. He doesn’t guarantee our safety, but he does guarantee to hear us and to be with us no matter how terrible our circumstance.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
