On May 24, 1940, Hitler’s army advanced into France, trapping approximately 400,000 Allied troops on the coast of France, the beaches of Dunkirk. With the enemy only ten miles or so away, there would be zero possibility of escaping by land.
In his diary entry of May 25, General (Sir) Edmund Ironside wrote, “We shall have lost practically all our trained soldiers by the next few days – unless a miracle appears to help us.”
Resolved that their heroic sons would not go down without a fight, the citizens of England
– informally, via word of mouth – assembled a vast armada of public and private vessels and within six days from when the crisis at Dunkirk began, “an observer on a British destroyer saw on the horizon ‘a mass of dots that filled the sea’ as he approached Dover: steamers, drifters, fishing boats, yachts, hoppers, tugboats, sailboats, barges, etc…
Under continued attack by the German military, these small boats—861 in total—managed to rescue 338,000 troops in what Winston Churchill pronounced “a miracle of deliverance.”
And to his listeners’ cheers, he spoke some of his most memorable words:
We shall go on to the end…
We shall fight on the sea and oceans
We shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength…
We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing ground…
We shall fight in the fields and in the streets…
We shall never surrender…
In his work, Ministering to Twenty-First Century Families, Dennis Rainey believes we are experiencing the “Dunkirk” of the family, especially in today’s America. By this, he means there seems to be an ever-increasing cultural assault on our marriages, our children, and our homes.
But be encouraged!
Beginning with Genesis and continuing throughout every generation, God has made His commitment to the family clear. And if we take Him at His Word, I can’t think of a circumstance that cannot ultimately be conquered if we will apply ourselves to His wise and eternal counsel and instructions. (1 John 4:4)
Throughout May, particularly as we move toward summer, VBS, and all the other activities on our calendars, we’ll talk more about Rhythm #2, Family Worship, and building homes marked by love for Jesus and a passion for His Word.
It won’t always be easy, but it will always be worth it.
Churchill was right… We shall never surrender!