In the early morning of June 6, 1944, Allied Forces stormed five beaches in the province of Normandy, France. With nearly 200,000 allied troops involved in the operation, this was the largest naval invasion in history. Casualties on that first day topped 10,000.

Operation Overlord lasted nearly three months. Casualties were greater than 225,000, but at the end, the Allied Forces had freed Paris from the Nazi invaders, and began to turn the tide on the war.

D-Day, as it has been called, was followed by 15 months of intense battles which led to the end of the Second World War. This was the beginning of the end. Nazi Germany was not aware, but it had been defeated on that single day. There would be great sorrow and hardship along the way, but the Allies march to Berlin had begun.

The cost was great, and the objectives of the Allied leaders were not met on that first day, but people do not second-guess that strategy. I myself am not second-guessing. In fact, I am moved by the great sacrifice that so many made all those years ago.

I think it has not been second-guessed because we trusted our Generals. Normandy was our best option because that is what the Generals told us. Casualties were high, but did not compare to what would have been had we done nothing.

To be honest, I know very little about war, so I trust the men and women who are called to prepare for these eventualities. I am grateful they are there.

So why do I not trust God in the same way? I know very little about the world and the long-view plan of salvation over the course of millennia, yet I second-guess the Creator of all. Why is it so easy to accept the plans of Generals, yet doubt the plans of the Almighty to recapture the world?

If there was a better way, wouldn’t God take it? On some level, I know he would, but I still wrestle with it often. But I also don’t know his criterion for a better way. Was he looking for the easiest plan? The most efficient? The one with the fewest casualties? The one with the most success? How does he measure success?

Why not just forgive us? Why was the cross necessary?

There are many theories as to the specific mechanism of salvation, but all we truly know is that Christ will “reconcile us to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” (Ephesians 2:16). We know somehow Christ and the Cross brought all of humanity into union with God. All that is left is to trust that it is so.

We are not involved with the specifics of this rescue operation, but does that mean it is not happening? The citizens of Europe were not consulted on the best path to defeating the evil regime of Nazi Germany.

At some point we need to recognize that God is for us, and is coming to rescue us. He is reconciling us to him and to each other through relationship.

The Kingdom of Heaven, like the Allied army, has come. He is on Omaha beach. Evil is still covering the landscape, but it has lost. It is unaware the battle is over. All that is left is the reclaiming of territory− the heart of each individual human.