Browsed by
Tag: strength

Conquering the Unconquerable

Desmond Doss tackled unconquerable battles with an unwavering faith.

By Maritza Brunt.

 

Picture this: it’s May 1945. The B Company of the 1st Battalion, 307th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division, is about to scale a 400-foot-high ridge. Waiting for them over the crest is a minefield of several thousand Japanese soldiers with machine guns, snipers and submachine guns.

For the US soldiers, even armed with their own rifles and weapons, it was a challenge of immeasurable proportions.

But for one medic, it was virtually impossible.

Desmond Doss ran headfirst into this inexorable battle without a single weapon or concern for his personal safety. From the point of his fellow troops, it was inconceivable; there was no way he’d survive the battle without a weapon. But Doss knew that he didn’t need a gun to fight his battle. He only needed his faith to know that he was already more than a conqueror through Christ, who loved him (Romans 8:37).

The Battle of Okinawa, one of the most brutal battles of World War II, was won by the Allied troops in June of 1945. The soldiers overcame. Desmond Doss singlehandedly saved the lives of 75 of his fellow soldiers following one particularly intense encounter during the battle — there were many more he saved during the rest of his service in the Army. The insurmountable challenge was completed.

Although you may not run headfirst into a war setting without a weapon, we all have our own Battles of Okinawa: tasks and challenges that we face that — at first — may seem unconquerable. What can we do in these cases?

Doss’s solution was simple: never let go of your faith. He didn’t back down from his convictions and stood up for what he believed in even in the face of adversary. He prayed constantly, asking God for strength. He treasured God’s Word and valued it above all else.

He tackled unconquerable battles with an unwavering faith.

And he conquered — every time.

 

Heroism or foolishness: What is selfless courage?

He never carried a weapon, but Desmond Doss didn’t enter the war unarmed.

By Linden Chuang.

 

Here’s something to consider: what if Desmond Doss had only rescued seven men instead of 75 on that night at Hacksaw Ridge? What if he had been killed on the first day of battle without a single saved soul to show for it? Would we have called him courageous or a fool?

We often associate courage with acts of heroism, but courage is really about the state of the heart.

Dr Brené Brown says, “courage is a heart word.” After all, the root word for “courage” is cor, the Latin word for heart. Doss’s bravery, then, is not so much about what he accomplished at Hacksaw Ridge, but his willingness to climb up there in the first place.

So why did he do it? Why did he run into the battlefield when everyone else was retreating?

Two reasons: faith and love.

Doss wasn’t ignorant. He was a medic, not a Marvel superhero, and he knew his limitations. But he also had faith in a very big God who promised to strengthen him, help him and never leave him (see Isaiah 41:10, Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:9).

Paulo Coelho once wrote that “an act of courage is always an act of love.” The two are inseparable. The Bible, Doss’s self-described “source of strength,” builds on this idea, saying to “stand firm in the faith, be courageous” and “do everything in love” (1 Corinthians 16:13 NIV).

Faith, courage and love.

Heart.

Doss was no fool. He never carried a weapon, but he didn’t enter the war unarmed.

“My strength has the strength of ten because my heart is pure.”—Alfred Lord Tennyson