Illustration: Trusting God

In an article in the most recent Christianity Today, Mark Galli writes: "At one point in the movie Patton, Gen. Omar Bradley tells Gen. George Patton that Patton may be given a crucial assignment: leading troops in the invasion of Europe. Though he had played a decisive role in the battle for Africa and in the invasion of Sicily, Patton at this time was cooling his heels in England, having been disciplined for slapping a soldier in a field hospital. So Patton is anxious to get back into the thick of battle, and when he hears about the possible assignment, he can hardly contain himself.

"Bradley tells him no decision has been made, that it's in the hands of Gen. George Marshall. Patton is a man of action, who took initiative while others stood around deliberating their options. But when he heard that his fate lay in the hands of Marshall, he calmed down. 'He's a good man,' he said of Marshall. 'At least he's a fair man. I'll let it sit with him.' He said this based on his knowledge of who Marshall in fact was and how he comported himself in action.

"The God we know, the God we've seen in action has done this: He died for us. It is because of this that we say with confidence, 'He's a good God, He's a fair God. All these questions that torment us—we can let those sit with this God.'" (CT, April 2012, p. 35)