“For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?” – Esther 8:6

On December 16, 1944, the German army started their offensive push in the Ardennes Region of eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg. Three powerful German armies quickly rolled through the area. The German goal for this “Battle of the Bulge” was to reach the sea, trap four allied armies, and force a negotiated peace on the Western front. The weather had been extremely cold and snowy that winter, forcing Allied aircraft to be grounded and giving the Germans the advantage. On December 22, General Anthony C. McAuliffe, was outnumbered 4 to 1 by the Germans. He had been ordered to hold the Belgian road hub of Bastogne against the bitter Nazi counteroffensive. He and his 10,000 men faced the German tanks with food running short, medicine and ammunition almost exhausted. When a German officer arrived with a surrender ultimatum, McAuliffe defiantly scrawled, “To the German Commander?Nuts!” The next day, the weather miraculously changed for the better and Allied aircraft were able to fly again. General Patton heard of McAullife’s reply and drove the U.S. Third Army through the snows and mountains to reach McAuliffe on December 26. For his perseverance under the most arduous situations, General McAuliffe was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

God in Christ gives His people the power to persevere and resist. Are you facing unbearable circumstances? Today in prayer, turn to the Lord and pray for His strength and help and know that He will sustain you.

“I exhort you and beseech you in the compassion of Christ, faint not, weary not. There is a great necessity of heaven; you must have it.” – Samuel Rutherford

God’s Word: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” – 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2002, Devotional E-Mail DEVOTIONS IN EZRA, NEHEMIAH, AND ESTHER pkennedy@devotional.com