On February 14, 1939, in Hamburg, Germany, a public holiday was celebrated. Amid fervent speeches, cheering throngs, and the playing of patriotic anthems, the new battleship Bismarck was put out to sea. This the most powerful vessel afloat was a breathtaking spectacle of armor and machinery. Majestic in appearance, gigantic in size, awesome in firepower, the mighty colossus was considered then unsinkable. And all the British concentrated the strength of five battleships, two aircraft carriers, 11 cruisers, and 21 destroyers in an effort to find and to sink the mighty Bismarck.

During these battles, shell after shell inflicted only superficial damage on the Bismarck. Was it unsinkable after all? The Bismarck's appointment with destiny came more than two years later when a torpedo scored a lucky hit, which jammed the Bismarck's rudder. Repair efforts proved fruitless. With guns primed and the crews at ready, the Bismarck could only steer a slow circle. No rudder. No help. No port. The Bismarck had lost the ability to steer a charted course. British guns blazed at the German crew shelled and sank the once seemingly indestructible vessel. The hungry waves of the Atlantic first lapped at the sides and then swallowed it. The pride of the German Navy, the Bismarck was no more. We've been placed on earth in troubled times. We live in a complex world, with currents of conflict everywhere be find. Our Heavenly Father will not leave our sincere petition unanswered. As we seek heavenly help, our rudder, unlike that of the Bismarck, will not fail. To sail safely the seas of mortality, we need the guidance of that eternal mariner. Even the great Jehovah. We reach out. We reach up to obtain heavenly help.