April 26. Charles Swindoll. Chuck is a former US Marine, an evangelical Christian pastor, an author, and an educator. He has pastored from the East Coast to the West Coast and has written more than 70 books. Chuck founded Insight for Living and a radio program with that name, which air on more than 2000 stations and in 15 languages. In 1994, he became the president of Dallas Theological Seminary.
None of Chuck’s accomplishments could be called easy. He once said, “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” In today’s story, we get to see Chuck in action facing off with a great opportunity.
Tough conditions can smother a guy, or they can break his stubborn will.
Chuck Swindoll had survived Marine Corps boot camp. He’d just finished his advanced-infantry training—and he got his first tour-of-duty orders: San Francisco.
Not bad for a young, newly married man. Who could complain about going to beautiful California? Not Chuck.
Chuck and his wife got to California and got all settled and go several months in their new digs—when unexpected new orders arrived. Destination: Okinawa.
It was like being gut-punched.
Chuck considered it “the most God-awful letter.” He’d be separated from his new wife. He’d be separated from his new home. He’d be separated from the peace of mind he’d counted on. A 16-month-long separation.
The first thing he did was make sure the orders were addressed to him. Then he—and his wife—cried.
Chuck’s trip was 17-days on a troopship to Japan and then on to Okinawa. Along the way, Chuck struggled to accept this path God had chosen. But Chuck had plenty of time to read a book his brother had given him—a book about missionaries who’d died in the line of duty. The book helped. For the first time since he’d been ordered to Japan, Chuck stopped resisting. By the time he arrived, he thought there might be a plan in this.
In Okinawa, Chuck lived in a hut with 47 other Marines. These heroic and selfless men had endured super-demanding training needed to do what was necessary to protect the free world. They were putting their lives on the line; they were brothers.
But, like ugly weather, the general atmosphere of crude talk, loose sex, cynicism, and ridicule bombarded him. To know what it was like, Chuck said, “ … just think of a pack of hungry junkyard dogs that have been teased until they’re snarling and foaming at the mouth. Add an endless stream of profanity, subtract all moral restraint, multiply by tropical heat and humidity, divide it by 365 days a year.” He was ready to serve with these guys, but it was tough. He hadn’t yet realized that God had called him to serve them.
Even so, God did not abandon Chuck or his bunkmates. “It was late on a Sunday evening,” Chuck said. “I was on one of those rickety old Oriental buses as it weaved and bobbed its way back to the base. Everyone else around me was in a drunken stupor or snoring …” Sitting in the back of the bus, Chuck used a flashlight as he thumbed through his bible. And he struck oil—the oil of the Spirit in the letter to the believers at Philippi.
“I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death,” (Philippians 3: 10, NLT).
“I thought, ‘That’s it … that is everything in one grand statement. I want to know Him … ’” Chuck said.
If Chuck were to experience God’s life-giving power, why shouldn’t he experience his suffering, as well? God made it clear that “suffering” was a whole-package deal—shooting, missing his wife, crawling through bug-infested tunnels, crude language, bombs, and guys who talked trash. God’s life-giving power was a whole-package deal, too. God was ready to help with any part of the suffering. Chuck just had to ask.
Chuck’s heart softened toward Okinawa and especially toward his fellow Marines. He felt compassion for them. He got to know them. And he befriended them. They were men created in the image of God, they were Marines, they were heroes, and they were all in this mess together.
“‘In the same way I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born,’ says the Lord,” (Isaiah 66: 9, NCV).
Struggling to accept the path God has chosen? Is there a stubbornness that needs to be surrendered? Tough conditions can smother a guy, or it can break his stubborn will.
https://www.insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/the-turning-point-part-two
https://www.amazon.com/Three-Steps-Forward-Two-Back/dp/0553273345
Story read by Chuck Stecker