Blog about the highly-revered Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz…
considering his
profound insight into the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
“Thanks to Admiral Nimitz’s ability to see, we have, on record, a much better account of what actually happened at Pearl Harbor than the accounts told by the script writers of the movies TORA! TORA! TORA! (1970) and PEARL HARBOR (2001)." - Keith
Our part is to recognize that,
when it seems we are surrounded by troubles and woe,
in the words of the prophet Elisha, “Fear not: for they that be with us are
more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray
thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young
man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of
fire round about Elisha." (2 Kings 6:16-17)
The rare ability to see, instead of merely looking, is illustrated
in the true account of U.S. Navy Admiral Chester Nimitz’s profound insights as
he surveyed the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7,
1941. Admiral Nimitz had eyes that could see with respect to tactical naval
warfare. He was so well studied and experienced in the art of war that it did
not take him long to recognize where the Japanese had made three fatal mistakes
in their planning for and execution of their attacks on our ships at Pearl
Harbor. These three errors rendered them unsuccessful in their attempt to
utterly destroy the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet.
If you visit
Pearl Harbor, you will find boats ferrying people out to the USS Arizona
Memorial every 30 minutes. In the gift shop there you will find a book
entitled, “Reflections on Pearl Harbor” by Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. In
that book, you will read that on Sunday, December 7, 1941, Admiral Nimitz was
attending a concert in Washington, D.C. when he was paged and told there was a
phone call for him. When he answered the phone, he found that President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was on the line.
The President
told Admiral Nimitz that in light of the attack on Pearl Harbor Admiral Nimitz
would now be the Commander of the Pacific Fleet. Admiral Nimitz flew to Hawaii
to assume command of the Pacific Fleet, landing at Pearl Harbor on Christmas Eve,
1941. He found such a spirit of despair, dejection, and defeat that it would
seem the Japanese had already won the war.
On Christmas
Day, 1941, Admiral Nimitz was given a boat tour of the destruction wrought on
Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Big sunken battleships and navy vessels cluttered
the waters everywhere you looked. As the tour boat returned to dock, the young
helmsman of the boat asked, “Well, Admiral, what do you think after seeing all
this destruction?”
Admiral Nimitz’s
reply shocked everyone within the sound of his voice. Admiral Nimitz said, “The
Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could ever make or
God was taking care of America. Which do you think it was?”
Shocked and
surprised, the young helmsman asked, “What do you mean by saying the Japanese made
the three biggest mistakes an attack force ever made?” Nimitz’s explanation is
summarized below.
Mistake number one: The Japanese
attacked on Sunday morning. Nine out of every ten crewmen of those ships were ashore
on leave. If those same ships had been lured to sea and then sunk, we would
have lost 38,000 men instead of 3,800.
Mistake number two: When the
Japanese saw all those battleships lined in a row, they got so carried away
sinking those battleships, they never once bombed our dry docks that were
sitting across from those ships. If they had destroyed the dry docks, we would have
had to tow every one of the damaged ships to America to be repaired. As it is
now, the ships are in shallow water and can be raised. One tug can pull them
over to the dry docks, and we can have them repaired and at sea by the time it would
have taken to tow them to America; and I already have crews ashore anxious to
man those ships.
Mistake number three: Every drop of
fuel in the Pacific theater of war is in storage tanks on top of the ground
only five miles away. One attack plane could have strafed those tanks and
destroyed our entire fuel supply.
That’s why I
say the Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could make
or God was taking care of America. It was Admiral Nimitz’ many years of
first-hand tactical experience that gave him the ability to recognize that “The
Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could ever make.”
In turn, it was that same experience that equipped him to be able to see God’s
divine intervention where most saw only despair and defeat.
The young
helmsman and so many others looked at the devastation and were in many ways
crippled by the destruction and despair. On the other hand, Admiral Nimitz
looked at the same devastation and saw something completely different. He knew
how unlikely it was that the very capable Japanese war planners would miss
three such obvious tactical points while preparing their assault, and this made
it evident to him that God had intervened on America’s behalf on December 7, 1941.
As devastating as the loss of our brave men and women were that day, as Admiral
Nimitz states, the results would have been much worse if God had not intervened
on our behalf.
Even as Admiral
Nimitz looked at utter devastation and could see the grace of God at work on
the behalf of our great Nation, we have the same opportunity to look beyond whatever
it is that we may be going through and see the redeeming power of God working
on our behalf as well. As the Scripture says in Romans 8:28, “And we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose.” These are not empty words: God means every
one of them, and He wants us to trust Him to do His part.
God promises
that in every trial He will provide the way of escape. He also promises to
never leave us or forsake us. We need to believe Him and we need to seek Him early,
so that when we do find ourselves in trouble, He will open our eyes that we may
truly see: because eyes that look are common; eyes that see are rare!
For more on this
topic, and many others, see "TTM Magazine,"
celebrating 40 Years of Service at Toward The Mark, Inc. (coming soon for view on our website at TowardTheMark.com).
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And remember... stay steadfast, immovable, and uncompromising in the faith of Jesus Christ, keeping true to your life's God-given vision. And, now more than ever, no matter what Keep PRESSIN' IN!
You might consider using our book LETTERS FROM THE FRONT, the special collection of keys to defeating hindrances that have kept many of God's servants from walking with the confidence and authority that Jesus Christ died to provide for us! Twelve life-changing chapters include:
To help you further your fight to victory through the battles that confront every one of us in these turbulent times we live in, get your copy of our book, " LETTERS FROM THE FRONT." In this collection of 12 letters written from the front lines of battle fought in the spiritual, natural, and theater of the mind, Keith's Scripture messages will build your faith and help you reach God's full potential for your life.
"LETTERS FROM THE FRONT"
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Mail tax-deductible contributions by check or money order made out to:
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Thank you in advance for sowing your financial seed into the fertile soil of this ministry! We pray God bless you with a 100-fold return for your generosity!
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Sin Makes Ya Stewpit!
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The Cart's Before the Horse
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The Crisis of Eroding Integrity
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The Fruit's on the End of the Limb
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Too Quick to Compromise
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The Rarest of All Breeds!
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Please...Stop Stinkin'
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Three Keys to God-Pleasing Faith
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Let It Go
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Understanding the Fear of The Lord
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Into the Secret Place
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Give to Give
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To help you further your fight to victory through the battles that confront every one of us in these turbulent times we live in, get your copy of our book, " LETTERS FROM THE FRONT." In this collection of 12 letters written from the front lines of battle fought in the spiritual, natural, and theater of the mind, Keith's Scripture messages will build your faith and help you reach God's full potential for your life."LETTERS FROM THE FRONT"
available at TowardTheMark online.
We pray God uses this message, and all of our resources, to fan the flame in your heart for Christ Jesus, His wonder-full Ways, and His Plan and Purpose for you in this life. We are eternally grateful for our loving Toward The Mark Family of sponsors who make this blog, and all of our resources, possible by their faithful prayer and monthly financial support! If you have any questions about our work, or if you would like to make a special tax-deductible donation, place a special order for any of our books, magazines, or CDs, or to share a testimony or prayer request with us, please e-mail us. Also feel free to write a letter and mail it to TOWARD THE MARK, P.O. Box 1152, Yorktown, VA 23692-1152.
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Your Servants in Christ Jesus,
Your Servants in Christ Jesus,
To Show GOD BIG in
a World that Sees Him small…
sums up the reason Keith stepped out in faith to focus on reaching the lost and strengthening believers everywhere, through Toward The Mark, Inc. Keith and Brenda's prayer is that you will be encouraged and edified by the Secrets from God's Word that Keith recounts in our written and recorded products.
sums up the reason Keith stepped out in faith to focus on reaching the lost and strengthening believers everywhere, through Toward The Mark, Inc. Keith and Brenda's prayer is that you will be encouraged and edified by the Secrets from God's Word that Keith recounts in our written and recorded products.
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This blog message, along with the complete collection of original podcasts, music, blogs, books, CDs, and other Bible-based resources of Toward The Mark, Inc. is made possible by the faithful prayer and financial support of the TTM Sponsorship Family. We'd like to invite you to come on-board, to become a part of the TTM Family as well, by becoming a monthly financial partner. Your support will go toward fulfilling our God-given calling to help provide effective, contemporary outreach tools that are available to everyone, the churched and un-churched alike, all who desire to know more of the love, truth, and salvation of Jesus Christ. We invite you to partner with us, as we, "press Toward The Mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14)
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