History often calls our attention to dark hours and Providential Intervention, which turned the fate of nations into victorious stories of survival. Let me open the window of the past and fill you in on what historians have said regarding such signature occurrences. One of the most memorable is the story of the Battle of Waterloo. Victor Hugo, in the novel Les Miserables, said of the Battle of Waterloo: "an unseasonably clouded sky sufficed to bring about the collapse of a world." Napoleon had set his sights on becoming the King of the East. He was a demagogue of the highest order, with a desire to become the Ruler of the World. I find it interesting that it was his ego fighting against the unseen Sovereign, which was his undoing. Standing in the way of Napoleon and France taking England, was a man named the Duke of Wellington, Sir Arthur Wellesley. He was a pivotal figure in 19th-century European history. Wellington was the son of an Anglican Minister, which I find interesting, or should I say Providential.
From my early fascination with this subject, I remembered the weather as a Providential part of the story.
We know the year 1816 was called "The Year Without Summer." There were areas in Great Britain that did not produce crops because of the peculiar events of that year. Scientists have claimed a volcanic eruption in Indonesia contributed to Napoleon Bonaparte's downfall at the Battle of Waterloo. New evidence suggests electrically charged volcanic ash altered the Earth's weather in 1815, causing a June downpour of heavy rain across Europe. The wet and muddy conditions played a key role in the French emperor's defeat at Waterloo, an event that changed the course of European history. Two months before the battle, the volcano Mount Tambora erupted on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa, killing 100,000 people and sending huge amounts of ash 62 miles into the atmosphere. Electrified ash "short circuited" the ionosphere, the upper atmospheric layer responsible for cloud formation, the new research has shown. The resulting "pulse" of cloud formation led to heavy rain across Europe, according to lead scientist Dr. Matthew Gene, from Imperial College London. In a letter written by a Private of the Kings Infantry - Private William Wheeler of the 51st Kings Infantry, comes this excerpt, "...and as it began to rain the road soon became very heavy...the rain increased, the thunder and lightning approached nearer, and with it came the enemy...the rain beating with violence, the guns roaring, repeated bright flashes of lightning attended with tremendous volleys of thunder that shook the very earth..." My friends, just consider this: even war was different back then. Eye to eye, hand to hand with their enemy, a battle to the death, often seeing your opponent gasping for his last breath.
Forty Seven Thousand soldiers died that day and it was the day Ole' Napoleon met his Waterloo. There were several considerations as to why it was called a PROVIDENTIAL VICTORY in history books. Historians record that the allied armies of Prussia, who joined the battle just at the right time, to weaken an already weary and fatigued military of Napoleons some 67,000 troops.
There had been 23 years of war, beginning with the French Revolutionary wars in 1792, and continuing through the Napoleonic Wars. Waterloo marked the end of the Emperor's final bid for power and the final chapter in his remarkable career.
I realize that some would want to know why I would use this story in this devotional. It is easy for me to let you in on the reason; It is because when I was very young, this is the story which God used to open up my eyes to the word Providence. I could not escape it, not that I ever wanted to. It was like a beautiful door that opened to me a world of meditation, and led me to how important providence is. Through the years and hours of study and personal experiences, I was led into the power of providence. My favorite illustration of what providence is, was given by Samuel Logan Brengle, a Salvation Army Preacher. He believed in the power of God. He said, "I believe that those who seek God "burst into flame" when they first touch Him, and that they can bring those "left out in the cold" to His light." He taught, "Providence is the hand of God slipped into the life of a man or woman, like a hand slipping into a glove, whereby he fulfills His will and purpose in the earth."
My prayer is that God will slip His hand into your life today, working in and through you for the same reason. Have your way in me. Have your way in me till I'm conformed to the image of Christ.
Wellington was "In His Grip",
Cleddie Keith
From my early fascination with this subject, I remembered the weather as a Providential part of the story.
We know the year 1816 was called "The Year Without Summer." There were areas in Great Britain that did not produce crops because of the peculiar events of that year. Scientists have claimed a volcanic eruption in Indonesia contributed to Napoleon Bonaparte's downfall at the Battle of Waterloo. New evidence suggests electrically charged volcanic ash altered the Earth's weather in 1815, causing a June downpour of heavy rain across Europe. The wet and muddy conditions played a key role in the French emperor's defeat at Waterloo, an event that changed the course of European history. Two months before the battle, the volcano Mount Tambora erupted on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa, killing 100,000 people and sending huge amounts of ash 62 miles into the atmosphere. Electrified ash "short circuited" the ionosphere, the upper atmospheric layer responsible for cloud formation, the new research has shown. The resulting "pulse" of cloud formation led to heavy rain across Europe, according to lead scientist Dr. Matthew Gene, from Imperial College London. In a letter written by a Private of the Kings Infantry - Private William Wheeler of the 51st Kings Infantry, comes this excerpt, "...and as it began to rain the road soon became very heavy...the rain increased, the thunder and lightning approached nearer, and with it came the enemy...the rain beating with violence, the guns roaring, repeated bright flashes of lightning attended with tremendous volleys of thunder that shook the very earth..." My friends, just consider this: even war was different back then. Eye to eye, hand to hand with their enemy, a battle to the death, often seeing your opponent gasping for his last breath.
Forty Seven Thousand soldiers died that day and it was the day Ole' Napoleon met his Waterloo. There were several considerations as to why it was called a PROVIDENTIAL VICTORY in history books. Historians record that the allied armies of Prussia, who joined the battle just at the right time, to weaken an already weary and fatigued military of Napoleons some 67,000 troops.
There had been 23 years of war, beginning with the French Revolutionary wars in 1792, and continuing through the Napoleonic Wars. Waterloo marked the end of the Emperor's final bid for power and the final chapter in his remarkable career.
I realize that some would want to know why I would use this story in this devotional. It is easy for me to let you in on the reason; It is because when I was very young, this is the story which God used to open up my eyes to the word Providence. I could not escape it, not that I ever wanted to. It was like a beautiful door that opened to me a world of meditation, and led me to how important providence is. Through the years and hours of study and personal experiences, I was led into the power of providence. My favorite illustration of what providence is, was given by Samuel Logan Brengle, a Salvation Army Preacher. He believed in the power of God. He said, "I believe that those who seek God "burst into flame" when they first touch Him, and that they can bring those "left out in the cold" to His light." He taught, "Providence is the hand of God slipped into the life of a man or woman, like a hand slipping into a glove, whereby he fulfills His will and purpose in the earth."
My prayer is that God will slip His hand into your life today, working in and through you for the same reason. Have your way in me. Have your way in me till I'm conformed to the image of Christ.
Wellington was "In His Grip",
Cleddie Keith
Posted in Providence