Recently, I finished a wonderful book about WWII and prisoners of war in the Pacific theater. The book is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, the same author who wrote Seabiscuit. Unbroken is the heroic story of Louie Zamperini, an Olympic runner and an amazing, heroic man. At some point, I want to write more about Louie Zamperini’s story.
His story of hope and an unwillingness to give up reminded me of the WWII story of Admiral Chester Nimitz, the commander of the Pacific Fleet. President Roosevelt made him commander on the day Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese.
The people from that time describe the atmosphere at Pearl Harbor as one of “despair, dejection, and defeat.” One man said, you would have thought the Japanese had already won the war.
In that circumstance, Chester Nimitz was the right man for the job. He arrived at Pearl Harbor on Christmas Eve, 1941. On Christmas day, he inspected the damage. Everywhere he looked he saw big sunken battleships and navy vessels cluttering the waters.
As the tour boat returned to dock, the young helmsman of the boat asked, “Well Admiral, what do you think after seeing all this destruction?” Admiral Nimitz’s reply shocked everyone within the sound of his voice.
Admiral Nimitz said, “The Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could ever make, or God was taking care of America. Which do you think it was?” Shocked and surprised, the young helmsman asked, “What do mean by saying the Japanese made the three biggest mistakes an attack force ever made?”
Nimitz explained what he meant. The first mistake was the attack taking place on Sunday when nine out of ten crewmen were ashore on leave. The Admiral explained that if those ships had been lured to sea and sunk, America would have lost 38,000 men instead of 3,800.
He described the second Japanese mistake was in attacking ships but not the dry docks. Had they destroyed the dry docks, the ships would have to have been towed to the mainland for repair instead of being repaired in Hawaii. Nimitz had crews ready to do the repair in the time it would have taken to get the ships to America.
Mistake number three was in not destroying the fuel supply five miles away. All of America’s fuel in the Pacific could have been destroyed on December 7, 1941.
Admiral Nimitz was the right man for the job. He gave hope to the U.S. Navy and to the American people. He had a positive spirit, seeking solutions rather than complaining about problems.
We Christians need to do that for America today. Rather than complain about the problems, we need to remind America that our God is a God of hope. He changes lives; He blesses people. He gives strength to the weak and courage to the fearful.
This is why preachers should ask God for a hopeful outlook about life. We need people who focus on the God who redeems rather than the problem to be solved.
As the old saying goes, “Don’t tell God how big your problems are; tell your problems how big your God is.”
Our God saves. Let us proclaim Him and His power.
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10 Responses
Yes indeed. As I was sharing with a caregiver earlier this week, “He’s got the whole world, all of us, in His Hand.” Blessed art Tho O Lord, our God, King of the Universe. There are time we think we are the only ones. It is good to be reminded we are not.
I am reading, quite slowly, Kenneth C. Hauck’s Journeying through Grief, Stephen Ministries. I called to God for help in December. A young angel who happens to be the mother of several children came. The first person that I can remember who showed up affiliated with FBC. After all, it is her job. It is interesting when a job and vocation are in sync.
Right now there is a roof leaking… Can’t do a thing about it.
Blessings
Great post, I’m going to look for that book TODAY!
Ed, I am so sorry your roof is leaking, I wish there was something I could do to help, I’m barely helping myself right now, will certainly pray that God sends someone to help repair your leaky roof. God bless you dear man, in the meantime, put a pot or something to catch that water til help arrives! : – )
What a great message for these time. Thanks for sharing this, Waylon.
Thanks for the encouraging word.
Thanks Brenda. You make the point well. While Mother was alive I had power of attorney. I knocked on a number of doors to set up a trust to avoid contentious probate issues. When those who agreed to hear me learned of my sister’s history with me, they all backed off either by just saying I’m sorry I can’t help, I’m not a family counselor or just not returning calls or taking anything more than self-serving action..
While I have had issues with the roof over my head, it is not leaking at the moment. The roof at the Museum is leaking and the roof at Mother’s house is leaking. Both issues out of Isaac that have been on hold with pots, buckets, cans, etc. under them till help arrives; and it may no longer be “my problem.”. Now the lawyers will have to have their due, since the Sunday after Mother’s Funeral Service at Metairie Ridge Presbyterian Church the sibling signed papers to have me served. Her Lawyer, a fellow elder there, and to me a fellow Mason that turned away this widow’s son when I asked for help many years ago, is probating the Will.
I have been in a bit of a fog these last many months. Perhaps it will lift soon. Thank God for the prayers of the Saints such as you and the messages of Dr. Bailey. And, the confidence of His presence even when I feel alone.
How can we help you Brenda?
Blessings…
Oh thank you Ed, I’ll be fine. I was surprised to see Metairie Ridge in your post, my kids went to pre-school there, it’s a lovely place on the outside and a great little school for children. Sorry you are having trouble with your family member, it’s really all junk, stuff, crap and clutter anyway, and then when lawyer$ get involved, oh brother! Get well dear man and I will pray for an ammicable resolution to your problem, brenda
A timely message.
In my line of work, I am responsible for identifying potential problems across the organization. I find that some organizational leaders tend to dwell on the identified problems rather than the solution to the problem.
We must live John 3:30. ( He must increase but, I must decrease. )
My brother gave me that book last year. Great story. Great application in today’s post.
Great positive message Waylon. I love the way that you include bits of history or examples of real people to make your point. You are awesome!
Read “Unbroken” a year or so ago. Great story of the power of God’s forgiveness and grace. Such wonderful lessons to learn from lives lived courageously and with such integrity in some of history’s most challenging times. How we need more men like Zamperini and Nimitz.