John Paul Jones was born on this day in 1747.

Born in Scotland, John Paul Jones devoted his life to the sea and became known as the “father of the American Navy.” At age 13 Jones was apprenticed as a sailor. At 21 he received his first command of a ship. When the Revolutionary War broke out, Jones was in Virginia and joined the colonists. He was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Continental Navy and made his mark in American naval history attacking British ships.

During one particularly bloody battle, Jones’s ship the Bon Homme Richard had attacked the British ship the HMS Serapis in the North Sea off the coast of England. The Richard had been blasted in the side and began to lose much of her firepower and her crew. When the captain of the Serapis called out to Jones to ask if he was ready to surrender, Jones’ stirring reply echoed over the battle: “I have not yet begun to fight.” Despite the overwhelming odds, Jones and his crew fought on, even as their ship was sinking beneath them. Eventually it was the Serapis that surrendered.

It was in this same spirit that young David approached Goliath, the famous Philistine warrior who stood over nine feet tall! Despite the incredible odds against him David did not wave the white flag and give up. No, even as Goliath taunted him, David approached his opponent knowing full well whose battle it was—the Lord’s! “Everyone will know that the Lord does not need weapons to rescue his people,” David declared. “It is his battle, not ours.”

That’s good for us to remember as well. Next time you face overpowering odds or difficult circumstances, don’t wave the white flag. Instead, turn your battle over to the Lord to win.

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us (Romans 8:37, NLT).

To Do

Come up with a slogan that you can use to remember to give your battles to the Lord.

Also on this day . . .

This is National Be Nice to New Jersey Week.

1946—George W. Bush, the 43^rd President of the United States, was born.

1964—The Beatles’ first film, A Hard Day’s Night, premiered in London.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005).