Prisoner of War
Jake DeShazer was the bombardier on the last of Doolittle’s B-25’s to launch from the
Hornet. His aircraft crashed in China where he and others of his crew were captured by the Japanese. He was beaten, half-starved, and subjected to solitary confinement. Three of his buddies were executed by firing squad. He said that at that time, “The bitterness of my heart against my captors seemed more than I could bear.”62 He eventually was taken to Tokyo where he remained imprisoned throughout the war.
In May 1944 he was given a copy of the Bible, which he began to read feverishly for the first time. The more he read, the more he became convinced that what he was reading was true and relevant to him. He said, “On 8 June 1944, the words in Romans 10:9 stood out boldly before my eyes: ‘If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.’ In that very moment God gave me grace to confess my sins to Him, and He forgave me all my sins and saved me for Jesus’ sake.”63
This amazing story is a witness to the power of Scripture to change lives. God’s Word alone penetrated this man’s miserable circumstances to convict him of the true way to salvation. By reading and hearing the Word, he was able to take this step of faith and become a new man. Even though still in prison, his heart changed toward his captors. His bitter hatred became “loving pity” when he realized that the people who were so cruel to him had not even heard of Jesus Christ.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
—1 John 1:9