Luck Or God?

I grew up during the World War II years.  In 1941 to ‘44 the radio reports contained very little good news.  Hitler still owned Europe and the Japanese continued their march across the Pacific toward Australia and New Zealand.  Hitler was working on an atomic bomb, his army was rolling across Russia, and his technicians were working on a fighter plane that would outperform anything we had.    
 
When the Allies prepared to invade Europe, they knew the price would be high.  The Normandy coast was bristling with defenses that might repel the 156,000 men who would attempt to set Europe free.  Prayers were uttered.  Everything was ready.   But hope was mocked by a storm.  Weather cooperated with Nazi Germany, so the invasion would have to be put off two more weeks.  The surprise would be lost.  Field Marshall Erwin Rommel saw the storm as an excellent time to return to Germany to celebrate his wife’s birthday.  The German High Command decided to have a meeting to discuss tactics.  German field units were left without their top commanders.  Hitler had put his Panzer tanks under his explicit command and pulled them away from the coast.  They could move only at his personal say-so.  He was asleep with orders to not disturb him.  A sudden break in the weather on June 6, 1944 changed everything.  General Eisenhower made the decision, and all was “Go.”  The Germans thought the invasion was a decoy to cover one further north.  Indecision among the German High Command and fear of waking Hitler was a plus for the Allies.  The beaches were not walk-ins.  Despite their surprise, 1,200 Americans died on Omaha Beach alone.  There were 10,000 casualties with a total of 2,500 Allied soldiers being killed.  Victory could have been won by the German defenders, but they lost due to human error.
 
Did the Allies owe their victory to luck?  Did God not have anything to do with the outcome?  Sometimes we figure out how God ought to answer our prayers and when He doesn’t play along, we award the outcome to the gods of luck rather than Him.
 
We are now in a war with a virus.  There will be casualties because it will infect a large number of the population.  There will be a fallout affecting our economy and each household.  Some will meet their Maker sooner than others.  Grief will visit both believers and unbelievers. Perhaps it is a test to see who is on the Lord’s side?  Sin can affect more than the sinner.  Sometimes the innocent is included.  Yet, trust in God delivers the soul.  Some will mark this war as one waged on the lucky and the unlucky.  They believe one’s survival is just a matter of chance.  Others will see it as an opportunity to put their trust in God.  Whether we remain or we exchange a finite home for an infinite one, it all comes down to our choice.

- Ray Hawk