Washington D.C. smoldered. Dr. William Beanes was captured. The British moved on to Baltimore. But Francis Scott Key did not give up.
Together with Col. John S. Skinner, he sailed after the British fleet. If they could get there on time – if they could negotiate the prisoner’s release – Don’t let the good doctor hang!
The men accomplished their mission, but the British would not let them go until after the Battle of Baltimore. They peered through the darkness. Bombs blasted. Rockets whizzed through the air. Fort McHenry had not surrendered.
But then silence. Was this defeat? The sun’s rays peeked over the horizon. A flag flapped in the wind. Its stars and stripes spoke triumph to the weary men.
We, too, are in a battle. Satan and his minions attack everyday. Many are watching. Will we stand? Will we fall? How will they know?
An old Sunday School song says it all: “Joy is the flag flown high from the castle of my heart when the King is in residence there.” God promises us a joy that the world cannot understand. In the midst of trials and tribulations, the joy in our eyes says, “Satan has not won. God is on the throne.”
May I ever fly that flag!
