“A great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries” (I Corinthians 16:9).
“Is this vile world a friend to grace to help me on to God?” (Isaac Watts, “Am I A Soldier of the Cross?”)
This is a quiz. Name the enemies George Washington faced in the Revolutionary War.
If you answered, “The British,” you’d be only partly right.
Washington did fight the British, as the thirteen colonies asserted their independence from the Mother Nation. But Generals Howe, Cornwallis, and Clinton and their armies were only the most visible of the forces Washington had to contend with.
He had to fight the weather. Think of Valley Forge and even without knowing the full story, your mind immediately conjures up images of a harsh winter with all the snow, ice, sleet, and freezing temperatures that includes.
Washington had to deal with starvation and deprivation. No one knows how many thousands of his soldiers perished from the cold and starvation at Valley Forge and how many deserted in order to save their lives. Many surrendered to the British at Philadelphia in the vain hope that the conquerors would feed and clothe them.
Washington had to deal with a Congress that was either ignorant, misinformed, or outright hostile to his situation. He wrote letter after letter detailing the misery of his army and pleading for help. Finally, a delegation came from the national capital, temporarily at York, PA, to see for themselves, after which congress began to act.