Charles Swindoll tells of the extraordinary story of an B-17 pilot who was part of a bombing mission in Germany towards the end the World War II.
The plane was repeatedly hit by Nazi anti-aircraft guns. Some were directly striking the tank of fuel. Amazingly the B-17 bomber safely landed, instead of crashing into an explosion.
When the crew returned after the trip, 11 unexploded twenty millimeter shells were found in the tank for fuel. After the shells were removed all were amazed to find that all were devoid of explosives. A note in Czech language, was found inside one of the shells that provided the reason.
Translated into English, the note read “This is all we can offer you right now.” The note was found to be the case that members from the Czech underground working on a line of assembly in the Germany factory for munitions, had left the explosives in the shells.
It is unclear if the untold workers were aware the efforts they made to subvert their efforts to undermine the Nazi war machine had any impact on the outcomes in the conflict. They certainly did for this pilot of the B-17 and his crew.
The author Phillip Yancey writes that we may be asking, “What can one person accomplish? What difference can my little effort create?” He recalls watching a series on public television that interviewed soldiers about their experiences on the day of World War II.
“Mostly the day was as any normal day of an infantryman fighting on the frontline,” says Yancey. Certain soldiers were involved violent firefights, while others sat in a foxhole, shooting occasionally at an German tank passing along.
“Later they found out that they’d just taken part in one of the biggest and most crucial battles of the war: The Battle of the Bulge. It didn’t seem decisive to anyone at the time, as none knew the events elsewhere. The greatest victories come by ordinary people who perform the task they were assigned,” Yancey concludes.
I was once reading an report on Emma Daniel Gray who cleaned the Oval Office at the White House every evening for 24 years. When she sat down at the chair of the president she would stop and pray a short prayer to ask for blessings, wisdom and security for every president she worked for.
Someone that many would think of as to be ordinary, Emma Gray was described by her family members as an ordinary Christian woman who “always believed that there was an underlying power that you could hold onto that could elevate you above your circumstances.” Emma reminds me of the words spoken by Jesus to an unbeliever in the Bible “She has done all was in her power” (Mark 14:8).
Jesus selected twelve men of ordinary background to be His followers. The author John MacArthur describes them as “a small group of fishermen as well as a disdainful tax official, a impulsive political fanatic ….hopelessly human…but open and willing to obey Jesus’ instructions.”
God has something for us all to complete. There’s a saying I was given some advice that is practical, “Start where you are. Utilize what you’ve got. Use what you have.”
Jan White has compiled a collection of her columnists in her book “Everyday The Faithful Daily Life.”
The article God makes use of ordinary human beings, like me and you appeared at The Andalusia Star-News.
