Slapton Sands
Volume 2, Day 8
On England’s southern shore is Slapton Sands. This beautiful beach area carries a tragic memory from its past.
On 28 April 1944, during World War II, Allied soldiers were engaged in Operation Tiger, a training exercise in amphibious beach landings in preparation for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Suddenly enemy gunboats appeared and killed over 700 servicemen in a surprise attack. Today a monument stands on Slapton Sands to commemorate the sacrifice of those young men who died while training for battle but were never able to enter the conflict.
This tragedy is a metaphor that warns the believer in Christ. We too are involved in combat with an enemy who is powerful and deceptive. That is why the apostle Peter warned: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Like the soldiers on Slapton Sands, we face an enemy who desires our undoing. In the service of our King, we must be on the alert. The call to be effective in battle (2 Tim. 2:3-4) challenges us to be ready for the surprise attacks of our spiritual enemy—so that we can endure to serve another day.
Author
Bill Crowder
