THE BREAD BASKET

So that Pharaoh would let the Hebrew people leave the land of Egypt, God brought ten plagues upon that nation. The waters of the Nile River turned to blood. Frogs, lice, and flies descended on the land. Later, a pestilence infected Egypt's cattle, and then came hail, locusts, and utter darkness. Even so, Pharaoh's heart was still hardened, and he would not permit the Children of Israel to leave Egypt. In the final plague (the death of the firstborn throughout Egypt), however, Pharaoh finally let the Hebrews go—but later he changed his mind and pursued them until he trapped them between his own army and the uncrossable waters of the Red Sea. But the God of the Impossible that day performed a wonderful miracle, permitting the Children of Israel to pass over the Red Sea on dry ground (Exodus 14:22).

In May of 1940, Adolf Hitler's armies were overrunning Europe in a domineering way. In the process, they trapped almost half a million British and French troops against the English Channel at Dunkirk, France. The terrified troops must have felt like the Hebrews did thousands of years before! The British army estimated that they could safely evacuate no more than 30,000 to 40,000 of these troops and take them to England. Alas, the rest would be captured or killed on the beaches by the German army and air force.

But the God of the Impossible was at work! 1) For whatever reason, Hitler turned his tanks toward Paris, leaving the job of destroying Dunkirk mostly to his air force. 2) Smoke from factories that the Germans themselves had bombed began to blow across the beaches, hiding the escaping forces. 3) The normally stormy English Channel became as calm as glass, and fog covered it for nine days! The fog grounded the German planes, but allowed a fleet of over eight hundred boats from England to rescue not 30,000, but over 338,000 troops. Just a coincidence, you ask? Not so. In this time of crisis, Britain's King George VI called his country to a National Day of Prayer. Thousands of Britains filled churches, humbly asking God to save their nation from the loathsome Nazis.

Never underestimate God! Both at the Red Sea and at Dunkirk, the God of the Impossible was at work! And even today, God will do the same for us!