It can be done
“…And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Job 1:21 KJV
This has been a very rough week for me. I could feel the effects coming on Sunday, but I just wrote it off as a stuffed up nose or something minor. Then Monday came and it hit me with full force. Not one to go to the doctor’s office easily, by Tuesday I was in the doctor’s office. She seemed to think it was a sinus infection, but, boy have I had a rough time with this one.
I’m sure there aren’t too many people who like being sick. Many a prayer has been said while lying on ones back looking up at the ceiling and being afraid to move because of the effects that movement might cause. And there have been times when I’ve closely examined the royal porcelain throne and pleaded, “Lord, please just take me now.”
He came from a much privileged family that probably knew few wants. He went to the best schools. Yet, despite the riches, he had chronic back pains that would sometimes sideline him for weeks at a time. But we were at war and he wanted to do his part. The Navy had the perfect place for these rich, young kids. It was the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Training Center in Melville, Rhode Island. Here these rich junior officers could use their skills they acquired by running their high-powered speedboats. The rigors of all those long sailing races would help, too. This would suit him fine because his brother and he were part of the victorious Harvard intercollegiate sailing team in 1938.
He was nicknamed “Shafty.” Everyone noticed that every time he got a bad assignment he would say, “I’ve been shafted.” He was soon put in charge of his own PT boat and had a crew of twelve. Still, his back problems continued. He would put a sheet of plywood under his mattress to try to help relieve some of the pain while he was on the ship.
He was a man who God greatly blessed with riches. In addition, God gave him a large, seven sons and three daughters, family. Everything seemed to be going his way. Satan basically complained to God, “Of course, he obeys You. You give him everything and more that he could possibly ever need.” God disagreed and assured that he was faithful and obedient because he loved God. God even allowed Satan to test his faithful servant. Little by little Satan grabbed at those things he thought bound his loyalty to God. First, vandals came and took his ox and donkeys. Then they killed his servants. Finally, a great wind came and blew over the house all his kids were in. It killed them all.
Then Satan went after his health. His skin itched so bad that he had to scrape it with broken china. Then for over 30 chapters he listened to four “friends” and a nagging wife that wanted to tell him everything he was doing wrong and that until he corrects that, God would never relieve his pain. He refused to fall into their traps and his faith in God would never waiver.
One night Shafty and his crew of twelve were sent to patrol the Blackett Straights. They were to attack the Japanese conveys that might pass through and then speed off safely. It was August 2 and it was pitch black dark over the waters. They kept just one engine running to help them from being detected. Suddenly, a dark object appeared and it was headed straight for them. With only one engine running they couldn’t get the boat turned quickly enough. It was a Japanese destroyer and it cut right through their PT boat. Shafty remembered thinking, “This is how it feels to be killed.”
Shouting to find his crew amidst the rubble, only five crewmen answered. After being thrown hard onto the deck, he left the five in search of the others. Despite the back pains, he was able to find the chief engineer, Pappy McMahon, in some burning rubble. Pappy was badly burned. Pappy told Shafty to leave him and to just save himself. Shafty refused and grabbed Pappy by the life jacket and headed back to where he left the five others. Soon ten of the twelve were found. They spent the rest of the night calling out for the other two. Those two would never be found. They knew they couldn’t stay there and so it was decided to head to the closest island, even though it might be inhabited by the Japanese.
One major problem came up: half the crew didn’t know how to swim. Shafty decided the best chance lied in getting nine of them to hold on to an eight foot plank. Shafty then cut part of Pappy’s life jacket strap and put it between his teeth with the intent of towing him to shore.
Job had four friends and a nagging wife talk to him while he was ill. One by one they accused Job of doing wrong and that he should seek forgiveness from God for that wrong. Job basically said to his friends: “What’s wrong with you? Do we only take the good that comes into our lives? Is life only about the blessings? No! There is good in life and there is bad in life and I truly believe God is there to get me through both.”
As John F. Kennedy started to head for the shore, one of the crew expressed his fear that they wouldn’t make it. Kennedy turned in disagreement and simply stated, “It can be done!” All ten survived and were eventually rescued, even though there was probably more than one that thought, “Lord, please just take me now.” When Kennedy arrived back in the States, he had two back surgeries, neither of which offered much relief for his suffering. When a friend visited him in the hospital after the surgery, he refused to believe Kennedy when Kennedy said he was feeling great. Kennedy then confessed, “Great, considering the shape I’m in.”
Sometimes it’s easy to think there is no way we can carry on. Whether it is an illness, a death, a bad job, a broken relationship, or some major failure, hope seems such a distant thought. Personally, I’m thankfully for the hopeful souls, like JFK and Job, who refused to give up. My hope is that their examples can be reflected in my life.
Prayer: Dear Mighty Father, Thank You for a day that I’m up and moving again. Illness and other events sometimes cloud my view. Please always be that bright sunshine that burst through those cloudy days. Amen.
