From Victim to Victor 1

Hello Everyone,

It was May 1940.

The allied French and British forces had been badly defeated by Germany in the Battle of France.

Around three hundred fifty thousand men, including the entire British army, were backed up against the sea at the port of Dunkirk, on the coast of France.

They were sitting ducks.

Their days were numbered.

They were certain to be wiped out at any moment.

Three hundred fifty thousand men.

Far too many to evacuate by sea.

And the Germans were certain to press their advantage.

German planes had only to bomb and strafe the troops from the sky.

The British commander at Dunkirk issued a cryptic three-word message to the people of England: “But if not.”

It was a reference to the three Hebrews in the book of Daniel, who refused to bow to King Nebuchadnezzar’s image, saying, “The God we serve is able to save us … but if not, we will not bow.”

It was a message of courage and defiance against impossible odds.

The king of England issued a call for prayer, and a call for help.

The weather forecast changed, grounding German planes.

And soon nearly eight hundred fishing boats, yachts, and merchant vessels joined the navy to ferry those soldiers to safety over the course of ten tense days.

To this day, it is called the “Miracle at Dunkirk.”

It turned certain annihilation into a reason for hope.

Apparent victims lived to fight another day…and eventually emerged victorious.

It is a story that still defines and inspires the British nation, as many of the stories of the Bible define and inspire us.

·        They explain where we’ve come from.

·        They shed light on who we are.

·        They guide our steps as we move forward in life.

         That is why we are retelling some of those stories.

The story we will learn from this week is the story that inspired that three-word cable from the beaches of Dunkirk that I mentioned earlier.

It is the story of a time when the entire nation of Israel was reduced to nothing to rubble to victims.

But God had a plan, as he does for every one of us.

His plan was to work their salvation, in such a way that turned them from victims to victors; the same plan God has for you and me.

The stories in the book of Daniel give us some inspiring insights into how God’s “great salvation” changes us from victims to victors.

Greater Things Are Still To Come!