On June 6, 1944, the Allied Forces stormed Normandy Beach in an attempt to liberate Europe against Germany. This day was later known as D-Day and it represented one of the major turning points of World War II.
Before the Normandy Landing, General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed commander of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, and gave a rousing and inspiring speech, which I believe deserves our attention for a few moments.
He said in a deep, battle-hardened military voice over a radio broadcast:
You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months.
The eyes of the world are upon you.
The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you…
Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped, and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely…
The tide has turned. The free men of the world are marching together to victory.
I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory… And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.
Imagine if you are among those soldiers who are about to embark on the battlefield. You never know whether you will still be able to come home standing on your feet or lying in a casket.
The horrors of war are no doubt unbelievable. A lot of people were maimed, injured, and killed because of the destructive force of warfare.
However, we must also understand that we are also soldiers and just ordinary soldiers, but spiritual soldiers.
Every day, we face our spiritual battles against our human nature, the world, and Satan. The Bible tells us:
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12
There’s no doubt that we are fighting spiritually each day and how we fight is witnessed by many people around us.
Like General Eisenhower mentioned, “The eyes of the world are upon you.”
Above all, the eyes of God are upon us as well. However, God is not looking at us waiting for us to fail. Instead, he looks upon us with love, care, and grace.
Like the soldiers of D-Day, we are engaged in a spiritual battle. As long as we are on God’s side, our victory is already assured.
With Yahweh’s help, we will become victorious and ultimately, reign in God’s future Kingdom here on earth!
If you wish to learn more, I strongly encourage you to read, “The Spiritual Lessons We Learn From D-Day.”
