In the summer of 1940, the Germans were poised to overwhelm more than 350,000 mostly British soldiers trapped in the French seaside town of Dunkirk. When a British naval officer reported their plight to London, he cabled just three words.
“But if not.”
The words came from a story in the book of Daniel. Three Jewish men were threatened with death in a fiery furnace for refusing to bow to a Babylonian idol. They replied (as the King James Version puts it), “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Daniel 3:17-18).
“But if not.”
In an era when people were accustomed to hearing and reading the Bible, people only needed these three words to recall the biblical story and to understand what the cabled message meant. Their boys urgently needed help, but even if it didn’t come, the troops were determined not to give in.
Soon, a makeshift armada of merchant marine boats, pleasure cruisers, and small fishing boats started across the English Channel. Miraculously, they evacuated more than 338,000 soldiers before the Germans could complete their conquest of Dunkirk.
Like the soldiers, the three Hebrew men in Daniel 3 believed God could miraculously rescue them, but they also knew that you can’t order a rescue like ordering a meal from a waiter. God can do anything we ask, but he may choose to say no.
One day you’ll be backed up against the sea in your own personal Dunkirk. It may be some heartbreak with your kids, or a betrayal by a marriage partner, or a pink slip at work, or a doctor’s report that changes your entire world. When that happens, ask for God’s help. Then, give him the glory if the rescue comes, but refuse to abandon your faith if the rescue doesn’t come.
Let’s study more about this on Sunday. Join us at 10am on campus or online!
Tom
Tom Goodman serves as pastor at Hillcrest Church in Austin, Texas. His sermons are available on YouTube and the HillcrestToGo Podcast and you can find him on Facebook and Twitter. If someone forwarded this email newsletter to you, sign up here to receive Tom’s weekly devotional in your email inbox.