May 13, 2013 (Monday)
“We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”– Winston Churchill, June 4, 1940
Upon becoming Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill made a brief speech to the House of Commons on this date, May 13. The year was 1940. Memorable words from that speech are:
“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”
He continued:
“We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: victory; victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.”
Robert A. Guisepi wrote, “His thundering defiance and courage heartened Britain, and his two fingers raised in the “V for Victory” sign became an international symbol for determination and hope.”
In the weeks and months after that momentous speech, Germany conquered one nation after another, and reached the English channel, but the British people, inspired by Churchill and emboldened by love of country, stared back at Hitler and would not flinch. Through all the bombings and rocket attacks, they stood strong. At the end of 1941, in a speech to the Canadian Parliament, Churchill said he had been told, “England will have her neck wrung like a chicken.” He then concluded, “Some chicken; some neck.”
Devotional Thought: Churchill’s voice, as inspirational as it was, was not the first great voice that inspired people to “fight on.” After Jesus’ resurrection, just prior to his ascension, he told his disciples, “All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples!” As an old hymn says, “The fight is on, O Christian soldiers..” It is spiritual warfare, a battle for the minds, hearts and souls of human beings all over the world. Our weapons are spiritual; our victory is assured, because we are following Christ, who has already become victorious over the forces of evil by the sacrifice of Himself at Calvary and His glorious resurrection from death. As another old hymn boldly declares, we have “Victory in Jesus.”