In 1985 a terrorist known to the world by the name Abu Abbas put together a plot to hijack an Italian cruise liner, the Achille Lauro. On October 7, 1985, the three terrorists Abbas tasked with the hijacking came aboard Achille Lauro in Alexandria, Egypt. Most of the ship’s 670 passengers had disembarked at Alexandria. Remaining aboard the cruise liner were approximately 90 passengers and a mostly Italian and Portuguese crew of 340. Ten of the passengers were American; among these were sixty-nine-year old Leon Klinghoffer and his wife, Marilyn.

The Prime Minster of Italy at the time, Bettino Craxi, refused early offers of help from the Reagan administration. Sometime in the early evening, the information evolved that there were American citizens aboard the ship. They were clearly in danger. Craxi’s firm refusal no longer mattered. Under international law, the US is within its rights to board and seize a vessel under the control of pirates, and the decision was made to deploy the highly skilled maritime counterterrorism unit, SEAL Team Six.

As planes carrying SEAL Team Six neared the Mediterranean staging base, the terrorists made their presence known. To show their earnestness, the hijackers selected twenty passengers and sat them in a circle on one of the decks. Sometime after three, the lead terrorist decided it was time to send a message. He clomped down the stairs to the deck where wheelchair-bound Mr. Klinghoffer was seated and fired two shots into his chest at point blank range and then ordered that his body and his wheelchair be thrown into the sea.

The tense negotiation between the US, Egypt and Italy over who would take control over this situation and who would take the terrorists into custody dragged on for hours. SEAL Team Six was ultimately ordered to “stand down,” and the terrorists were taken into Italian custody. The mastermind behind the hijacking, Abu Abbas, was given diplomatic immunity by Yugoslavia so he flew there, then to Yemen and finally came safely to his final stop in Baghdad. (Information taken from Warrior Soul, by Chuck Pfarrer).

Bureaucratic wrangling kept SEAL Team Six sidelined during the exact type situation for which it was created. They certainly could’ve helped, but were never allowed to. Have you ever felt like you’ve been given the order to, “stand down” when you know that your help could’ve made a difference? It’s agonizing, isn’t it? Not only has it happened over and over again to US Special Operators, but it also happens over and over again throughout the Bible.

When Christian service is being rendered in the proper motives and with the right heart, it can be withheld just as freely as it can be given. That’s a hard statement to accept – but it ultimately has everything to do with our level of trust in God. Does God really need me, and only me, in order to get his will accomplished? Isn’t it possible that I don’t see this situation from the same perspective as the Lord sees it? Can I trust him to even cause this to work together for my good?

It was because of questions like these that Peter fled from Jesus, after swearing that he’d never leave him. Peter’s meltdown wasn’t a lack of courage or a sudden fear for his own safety. When Jesus was being arrested, Peter pulled his sword and attacked. Peter had one of only two swords, and they were outnumbered – a “multitude” against four. Peter wasn’t afraid to die. In Matthew 26:52, we read that Jesus has to tell Peter to put away his sword. Stand down, Peter. Like most of us who follow Jesus, had he been given the order to attack, Peter would have run boldly into that mission. But what do we do with the order to stand down? What do we do when God does something we never guessed he’d do? Do we patiently trust him or do we melt down and “run for it?”

Jesus says in Matthew 26:56, “But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” In other words, “Don’t sweat it guys. God is still in control here. This is the way things have to go right now. I could fight if we needed to, but this is better. This is what you need, whether you realize it or not.” Here’s an incredibly difficult passage to live by:

Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; For the LORD will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught (Proverbs 3:25-26, emphasis added).

There may be no tougher order than the order to Stand Down – to let go of our control and our own perception of the future and the “will of God.” I’m learning that God is pretty good at looking after his own will, and he doesn’t need a lot of help from me to hold things together.

Here’s the best advice that I can give, at this level of my spirituality: Don’t live as though you have God all figured out. The moment you’re sure it’s his will for you to draw your sword and start fighting for your life, he’ll order you to stand down and submit to his wisdom. I’ll conclude this with the often debated-over word of the Lord to Paul, from 2 Corinthians 12:9-10: “ ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (Emphasis added).

I hear God telling Paul, “My strength is perfectly matched to your area of weakness.” Even if I stand down, he’s still at work – displaying strength in a fight that would’ve overwhelmed me. I think what Paul finds such pleasure in, is not the distress or the infirmity, but in the excitement of watching how grace meets those battles and how strength emerges out of an apparent weakness.

On the evening of April 15, 2003, US Special Operations Forces raided a villa on the outskirts of Baghdad. As Saddam’s regime crumbled under Operation Iraqi Freedom, Abu Abbas was snatched from his bed by members of the US Joint Special Operations Command and taken into custody. The mastermind of the Achille Lauro hijacking is presently undergoing questioning at a US military facility. You never know how things will work out!

Peace.
SJB