The Spirit Guided His Escape To England

     I read mostly non-fiction – history and biographies – and I like rare and out-of-print books.   So I was touched recently when a close Christian friend gave me a rare biography from England.  It’s the story of Wing Commander Edward A. “Ed” Howell’s escape from enemy occupied Greece during World War II.  More importantly, it’s the story of how he was converted from an atheist to a Spirit-filled Christian.[1.  Howell, Edward A.  Escape To Live.  London, UK: Longmans, Green, and Company, 1947.]  The book is an explicit, detailed, wonderful account of how the Holy Spirit can guide Christians each day if they’ll let Him do it.

     Ed had been a fighter pilot in the Battle of Britain, but had ended up defending the island of Crete with a pistol as German paratroopers landed in the grass all around him.  He was badly wounded (both arms were crippled), was captured, and was moved to a prisoner of war camp in Athens, Greece.  He was in terrible physical condition, and nearly died several times in the camp hospital.

     Over the months, lying in his dark cell at night, alone and in horrible pain, Ed thought about his brother and parents who were Christians, and about how happy and peaceful they always were.  So one night he prayed to become a Christian himself.  He said, “As I lay there in the darkness and despair of my prison cell, I gave myself and all I had to God … I trusted Him with my life, my possessions, my career, and my family and friends.  I committed myself to choose what was right to do, and to be, from then on.”[2.  Adapted from pages 74-75 of Escape To Live.]

     Thus, like so many millions of people before him, Ed had a profound Spiritual conversion.  He said it was like switching on a light in a dark room:  “My heart was filled and overflowed.  This was home at last … I was free, and no walls or sentries could take my freedom from me.”[3.  Also from pages 74-75 of Escape To Live.]

     But that was only the beginning.  Next, the Holy Spirit took Ed on a miraculous adventure of escape and evasion through the mountains of Greece, and returned him to England and to active duty.  The key to Ed’s story is that he paused at each decision and asked the Holy Spirit what to do.  That’s the key to living a Spirit-filled life for all Christians, and Ed’s story is one of the most specific examples of it I’ve read outside the book of Acts.

     When Ed first felt he should escape, he prayed about it for days because he was still desperately wounded (both of his arms were useless), and because the other prisoners said he’d never make it due to his weakness and the thousands of enemy troops in Athens and the countryside.  But Ed felt the Spirit prompting him to go.

     So one night, with two useless arms and a small bundle of possessions, Ed climbed a ramp, laid the bundle down, stretched out on the prison wall, and tumbled off into the alley below.  He stood up, and his bundle fell into his hands.  The armed guard standing nearby didn’t seem to see him or hear the noise.  Ed then walked out of the alley and up the main street in front of the prison, whistling a happy tune to let the other prisoners know he was free.  Once again, the armed guards at the front gate didn’t seem to see him or hear his whistling.

     What followed was an incredible Spiritual adventure.  Ed “strolled” (to use his word) through hundreds of miles of enemy territory, enjoying the scenery and the people, and never once being seen by enemy troops.  He lived off the land, and was fed, sheltered, and hidden by Greek homeowners or Greek guerrilla fighters at each stage of his journey.

     The most wonderful part of the story is that at every decision along the way, Ed prayed for Spiritual guidance.  For example, if he came to a fork in a trail, he asked the Holy Spirit which branch to take.  (And the branch he took was always the right one.)  If he came to a village, he asked the Spirit if he should go in or bypass it.  (And what he did was always right.)  If he entered a village, he asked the Spirit which house he should approach for help.  (And the door he knocked on was always a friendly home – any of the others would have betrayed him.)

     After months of these incredible adventures (and being guided each hour of each day by the Holy Spirit), Ed ended up in a smuggler’s sailboat.  The smuggler took him across the Aegean Sea to Turkey, where he walked to the nearest British Embassy and was finally safe.  He was eventually flown to England, made a full recovery, and returned to flying Spitfire fighters.

     But – as exciting as it was, the true meaning of Ed’s story is that it proves the Holy Spirit can guide us hour by hour, day by day, week by week.  It proves the Spirit can give us clear and specific answers for all our daily decisions, regardless of how large or small.  We see that in the book of Acts.  We saw that in Ed’s story.  And we can see it in our lives today.  The Spirit’s guidance is every bit as real today as it was in Acts and in World War II.

     So now let’s agree that our lives are as important as Ed’s, and that the Holy Spirit is just as interested in us as He was in Ed.  Our decisions may not be the same as Ed’s.  But they’re just as important to us as his were to him.  Let’s start today letting the Spirit comfort us and guide us the way He did the Christians in the book of Acts, and the way He did Ed Howell in war-torn Greece.

     All we need to do is pause before each daily decision, and ask, “Holy Spirit, what should I do here?”  After all, that’s why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to earth so many centuries ago, and that kind of supernatural guidance is our birthright as Christians.