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God’s Wisdom
September 1, 2012
By Pastor Tim Richards
I receive a daily inspirational piece called, “American Minute with Bill Federer.” Recently Federer wrote about General Norman Schwarzkopf, an American hero who epimerizes intelli-gence, hard work and patriotism. He served in Vietnam and commanded our forces in Grenada and Desert Storm. He has been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and was even knighted by the Queen of England. He is one of a very select group who have been awarded four stars.
The story I’m sharing today was told by the general in an interview conducted after the Gulf War. Schwarzkopf related how he had asked his staff to meet him in the war room 30 minutes before “H hour.” He recalled how he read them a message, asked a chaplain to pray, and then played the patriotic song, “God Bless the USA.” He said, “I think it characterized the pride that all of us have in our profession, and in what we were, and there’s a line in there that says ‘I would proudly stand next to you, and defend her still today’ and that’s what it was all about.” At the end of the song he told those gathered, “Now, we all know what we need to do. Now let’s get on with it.”
In a 1991 interview with David Frost, General Schwarzkopf recalled an extreme flanking maneuver designed to cut off the Iraqi retreat. He said, “When my forward commander radioed that they had reached the Euphrates River... I waited... ‘General,’ he said, ‘I’ve got to tell you about the casualties.’ I braced myself. ‘One man was slightly wounded.’” The general concluded, “That’s when I knew God was with us.”
All of us who believe in God face moments when we need to be reassured of His presence. If you read the Bible you probably know that He promises to be with us. Hebrews 13:5b says it this way, “…God has said, I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” (NLT)
There are certainly times when we don’t feel God’s presence. There are even moments when it seems God is a million miles away. I’ve experienced many of those during my 52 years and expect to experience them again.
What I’ve gradually come to realize is that even when I feel abandoned, I haven’t been. When I feel alone, I’m not. Just because I can’t see God doesn’t mean He’s not there anymore than the fact that a wise adult may not step in to solve a three year old child’s problems the instant she asks for help. Wise parents know that children often learn more from challenges they must face than they do when adults step in too quickly. God knows the same thing about us and He’s a very wise Father.
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