Medal of Honor recipient Desmond Doss was an unlikely hero during WWII. He was a conscientious objector who would not carry a gun so he ended up as a medic. On the Island of Okinawa, at Hacksaw Ridge, Doss successfully rescued 75 men trapped at the top of the escarpment by lowering them with a special knot he knew. He had miraculously not been wounded and stayed in the fight with B Company. On May 21, Doss was wounded several times by grenade fragments and a sniper’s bullet through his arm.
As the illness progressed his left lung had to be surgically removed along with five ribs. For the rest of his life, he survived on a single lung, until it too failed. At the age of 87, Corporal Desmond Thomas Doss, an unlikely hero, died on March 23, 2006.
To the Jews, Jesus was an unlikely messiah. They had been waiting on a messiah that would give them world domination. Jesus was born in a stable, grew up as a carpenter, never left Palestine, and was crucified. To the Jews that was not the messiah they had long awaited, but something happened that had never happened in the history of mankind; Jesus rose from the dead. He physically appeared to many people and after 40 days ascended to heaven where He is alive today.
In many ways we are all unlikely to do many of the things that we have been enabled to accomplish through our lifetime. There can be a power greater than us that is working in and through us.
Psalms 139:14; David said; “I will praise you, (God), for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
When we allow the Spirit of God to lead and guide us through life, we will indeed accomplish things that without Him we could never do. How can a man like Desmond Doss single-handedly rescue 75 other soldiers? Because Jesus opened a line of communication into the throne room of God and Desmond was able to pray after he had lowered each one down to safety; “God help me to rescue one more.” And God did just that!
These are the facts of life that we look into at the Gathering Place every Wednesday evening at 7 and Sunday morning at 9:30 and 10:30. We have youth group and recovery class at 6 Sunday evening. Come and join in.
