to a spiritual victory, as well as a physical one. And until that day, be with those at home—strengthen them for whatever may lie ahead… In Jesus’ name I ask it. Amen.524
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
December 16
Darlene Deibler spent four long years in a Japanese prison camp. Separated in 1942 from her missionary husband, she never saw him again. She was still a captive when she learned more than a year later that he had died in another camp. At the end of the war, a friend brought a letter from her husband written to her on his deathbed. Along with expressions of love he wrote poignantly of one regret: “My darling, I have wished 1001 x’s that I had taken you away from here. I am concerned for your safety.”525 Darlene’s reaction to her husband’s letter revealed the strength of her faith:
It took me a long time to finish the letter. I didn’t want to stain it with tears. I was so grieved that he felt he should have taken me away. Both of us had agreed that we should remain, and that decision was reached only after much prayer. “Lord, I trust that You reminded him that it was You Who impressed upon both our hearts that we should not leave. I have been safer here, overshadowed by Your love, than I would have been anywhere else on this earth, outside of your will!”526
It is difficult to appreciate the power of this statement without knowing the full extent of the hardships and danger faced by this woman during her captivity. Suspected of spying by the Japanese secret police, she was starved and beaten repeatedly. She frequently thought that her execution was imminent. She survived debilitating diseases and frequent bombing attacks. For her to declare that during all this she was safer there, in God’s will, than she would have been elsewhere is one of the most amazing testaments of faith I have ever read. It is inspiring to witness the power of such a sure relationship with God. After praying for guidance and listening for an answer, Darlene Deibler was confident that she was doing what God wanted her to do. With this knowledge she was able to face every hardship without regret.
Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
December 17
During his first two months as vice president, Harry Truman seldom saw Franklin Roosevelt and received little information on critical wartime developments. He knew nothing about the atomic bomb or problems with Russia, problems that suddenly became his to solve when Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945. Shortly after taking the oath of office, he told reporters, “Boys, if you ever pray, pray for me now. I don’t know if you fellas ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me what happened yesterday, I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me.”527
Harry Truman also prayed for himself. He was a life-long Baptist, believing that his church gave “the common man the shortest and most direct approach to God.”528 He had a favorite prayer that he had used since high school, as a bank clerk, farmer, public official, and, now, as president of the United States:
Oh Almighty and Everlasting God, Creator of Heaven, Earth and the Universe:
Help me to be, to think, to act what is right, because it is right; make me truthful, honest and honorable in all things; make me intellectually honest for the sake of right and honor and without thought of reward to me. Give me the ability to be charitable, forgiving and patient with my fellow men help me to understand their motives and their shortcomings even as Thou understandest mine!529
Harry Truman was known as an honest and plainspoken man. His religion was an important part of his life although he didn’t put much value in the form of it or in intermediaries. As he put it, “I’ve never thought that the Almighty could be impressed by anything but the heart and soul of the individual.”530
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.
December 18
On July 26, 1945, the United States, Great Britain, and China issued the Potsdam Declaration defining acceptable surrender terms with Japan. It was somewhat brutal in its directness and threatened Japan’s “prompt and utter destruction” if not accepted. However, it also proposed a road to recovery and reconciliation. The following are excerpts:
We do not intend that the Japanese shall be enslaved as a race or destroyed as a nation, but stern justice shall be meted out to all war criminals, including those who have visited cruelties upon our prisoners. The Japanese Government shall remove all obstacles to the revival and strengthening of democratic tendencies among the Japanese people. Freedom of speech and religion and of thought, as well as respect for the fundamental human rights, shall be established.
The occupying forces of the Allies shall be withdrawn from Japan as soon as these objectives have been accomplished and there has been established in accordance with the freely expressed will of the Japanese people a peacefully inclined and responsible Government.531
Within days this declaration was rejected forcefully by the Japanese prime minister and was followed by days of continued conflict and devastation. It nevertheless eventually formed the basis of American policy toward postwar Japan and provided the structure for one of the most successful reconstructions in history. It was a reflection of America’s oft-reiterated war aims to defeat tyranny and restore freedom. Neither conquest nor revenge was part of this agenda.
