GOD LEAVES NO FOOTPRINTS

GOD LEAVES NO FOOTPRINTS
Tuesday, August 15, 2017 by Ron Susek

Your faith in God is revealed in how you interpret events. See what I mean by the unusual story told in today's edition of FaithWalk: Courage for the Journey.

God Leaves No Footprints
by Ron Susek
@Golden Quill Publications

Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.
(Psalm 77:19)

William Cowper [1731-1800] opened a poem with this stanza, "God moves in a mysterious way / His wonders to perform; / He plants His footsteps in the sea / And rides upon the storm." This grand insight is well illustrated by one story told by Elmer Bendiner in his book, The Fall of Fortresses [1908].

Bendiner was a navigator in a B-17 during World War II. He tells of a WWII bombing run over Kassel, Germany, and the unexpected result of a direct hit on their gas tanks.

"Our B-17, the Tondelayo, was barraged by flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. That was not unusual, but on this particular occasion our gas tanks were hit.

"Later, as I [Elmer] reflected on the miracle of a 20 millimeter shell piercing the fuel tank without touching o ff an explosion, our pilot, Bohn Fawkes, told me it was not quite that simple. On the morning following the raid, Bohn had gone down to ask our crew chief for that shell as a souvenir of unbelievable luck.

"The crew chief told Bohn that not just one, but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks. Eleven unexploded shells, where only one was sufficient to blast us out of the sky! It was as if the sea had been parted for us. A near-miracle, I thought. Even after thirty-five years, so awesome an event leaves me shaken, especially after I heard the rest of the story from Bohn.

"He was told that the shells had been sent to the armorers to be defused. The armorers told him that Intelligence had picked them up. They could not say "why" at the time, but Bohn eventually sought out the answer.

"Apparently when the armorers opened each of those shells, they found no explosive charge. They were as clean as a whistle and just as harmless.

"Empty? Not all of them! One contained a carefully rolled piece of paper. On it was a scrawl in Czech. The Intelligence people scoured our base for a man who could read Czech. Eventually they found one to decipher the note. Translated, the note read: 'This is all we can do for you now . . . using Jewish slave labor is never a good idea.'"

What is your reaction to this story? Some will see it as random luck, blind fate or mindless chance. Others will see it as an act of God, leaving no footprints.

Why does God not leave footprints? Perhaps it is to reveal what is in our hearts about Him. That is revealed by how we interpret events, such as those in Elmer Bendiner's story.

This brings fresh light on the opening stanza of Cowper's poem: "God moves in a mysterious way / His wonders to perform; / He plants His footsteps in the sea / And rides upon the storm."

     Always remember: Immanuel: God is with you!

Your friend,
Ron