Into Darkness
Christmas 1939 came in the dark winter of fear for much of the world. Britain and France had declared war on Germany after Germany’s invasion of Poland. An eerie calm settled over Europe as armed conflict drew inexorably closer. To provide a word of encouragement to his subjects, King George VI made a radio broadcast heard by millions. Not usually an eloquent speaker, his words on that day resound for all time:
King George VI. (Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library)
I believe from my heart that the cause which binds together my peoples and our gallant and faithful allies is the cause of Christian civilization. On no other basis can a true civilization be built.
Let us remember this through the dark times ahead of us and when we are making the peace for which all men pray.
…I feel that we may all find a message of encouragement in the lines which, in my closing words, I would to say to you: “I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year, ‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’ And he replied, ‘Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way.’”
May the Almighty Hand guide and uphold us all.7
What more can any leader do in a time of crisis than to show his own belief in the source of ultimate safety in this world? By articulating this faith to your soldiers, your employees, or your own children you give them a source of strength and comfort that can be found nowhere else. However dark the situation God’s hand is always our light.
For you were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord… Everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible.
—Ephesians 5:8–10, 13–14