During Napoleon’s Austrian campaign his army advanced to within six miles of Feldkirch. It looked as though Bonaparte’s men would take Feldkirch without resistance. But as Napoleon’s army advanced toward their objective in the night, the Christians of Feldkirch gathered in a little church to pray. It was Easter Eve.
The next morning at sunrise the bells of the village pealed out across the countryside. Napoleon’s army, not realizing it was Easter Sunday, thought that in the night the Austrian army had moved into Feldkirch and that the bells were ringing in jubilation.
Napoleon ordered a retreat, and the battle at Feldkirch never took place. The Easter bells caused the enemy to retreat, and peace reigned in the Austrian countryside.
Again, our personal experiences are less dramatic but none the less important to individuals. We want to be delivered but God says, “No, I’m going to feed you right in the presence of those who oppose you.”