Category Archives: Christian Life

Missionary anecdotes: prompted to pray

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Continuing a series about answers to prayer in missionary biographies, today’s entry focuses on a couple of remarkable incidents when folks were prompted to pray for a missionary. The following came from Goforth of China by Rosalind Goforth.

Jonathan and Rosalind Goforth were missionaries to China in the late 1800s and early 1900s. When they first went to China, Jonathan had a terrific struggle with the language, though he put in many hours studying. When he preached, the Chinese would point to his colleague, Mr. Donald McGillivray, and ask him to preach because they couldn’t understand Goforth. Things came to a crisis one day. Jonathan told his wife, “If the Lord does not work a miracle for me with this language, I fear I may be an utter failure as a missionary!” Rosalind writes that he looked heartbroken, then picked up his Bible and started off to the chapel.

Two hours later he returned, saying, “Oh, Rose! It was just wonderful! When I began to speak, those phrases and idioms that would always elude me came readily. The men actually asked me to go on though Donald had risen to speak. I know the backbone of the language is broken! Praise the Lord!”

Rosalind goes on to write, “About two months later, a letter came from Mr. Talling (his former roommate, still in Knox College), saying that on a certain evening after supper, a number of students decided to meet in one of the classrooms for prayer, ‘just for Goforth.’ The letter stated that the presence and power of God was so clearly felt by all at that meeting, they were convinced Goforth must surely have been helped in some way. On looking in his diary, Mr. Goforth found the students’ prayer meeting
Knox coincided with the experience recorded above.”

She goes on to say, “Some years later, Dr. Arthur H, Smith, one of the best speakers and keenest critics of the spoken language, said to Mr. Goforth, ‘Wherever did you get your style of speaking? For any sakes don’t change it! You can be understood over a wider area than anyone I know!’”

In the same book Mrs. Goforth tells of another incident when Mr. Goforth was on furlough. “While in London, he was taken to see an invalid lady. She told Mr. Goforth that when she heard of his proposed meetings in Manchuria, she felt a great burden laid upon her to pray for him. She then asked him to look at her notebook, in which was recorded three dates when a special sense of power in prayer had come upon her for him. A feeling akin to awe came upon Goforth as he recalled those dates as being the very days when he had witnessed the mightiest movements in Manchuria.”

Answers to prayer from classic missionary biogaphies: an urgent need for clothes

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I mentioned in a previous post that I wanted to start a short series telling about answers to prayer from classic missionary biographies in hopes that it would encourage us in our faith and in our praying.

I wanted to start off with something close to home. Missionaries don’t spend all their time on the front lines fighting spiritual battles or out on the streets witnessing to everyone they meet. They have to deal with the same mundane affairs of life that we all do, and often those mundane affairs are more complicated than they are in America. That was especially true in previous centuries.

The Goforths were missionaries to China in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Mrs. Goforth has written Goforth of China, a biography of her husband; How I Know God Answers Prayer (I was delighted to find what appears to be all or most of the text of this book here); and Climbing, which includes many anecdotes she was requested to share as well as some of her own personal struggles. The following comes from Climbing.

The Goforths had just escaped from the Boxer Rebellion in China to Shanghai. Until a ship left that they could find passage on, they had to stay in an empty house with little furniture. In the ten days they were there, her husband and son Paul bought some ready-made clothes, and she was able to have one dress made.

But the other three children! They were in rags given by the Chinese on the journey. How could I, without materials, without a machine, get an outfit made for even one, and the ocean voyage just ahead! Alone with the baby one morning I cast myself down by the little one and cried again and again to the Lord to send someone to help me. My distress was great. Help I must have, but I knew no one to whom I could turn. Then suddenly, while I was praying, the doorbell rang. On opening the door I found two women outside. They introduced themselves and told of having seen our names among those of the refugees. They were in charge of a Chinese girls’ school, but on account of the Boxer troubles, all the girls had been sent home. They then said, “We have nothing to do and thought you may need help.” Scarcely able to speak, I told them rapidly my story; how I was on my knees pleading for help when they rang the bell. A few moments followed in which we stood clasping hands, weeping, just too full for speech. Then they went away to get materials, for there was no time to lose.

In a very short time, they returned with a pile of materials of from three- to five- yard lengths. I cut out and gave directions for a number of garments. The women took all away and, with the help of some friends, made practically everything needed except for the baby, who, in the rush of getting others provided for, was forgotten! The day we sailed, I gathered a quantity of material together, planning to make the most necessary things for him on board ship. Then came the most beautiful proof of God’s overshadowing care.

We had been passing through the Inland Sea and were nearing Yokohama. I had been trying my utmost to get some necessary things ready for baby W., but my hands trembled so I could scarcely hold the needle. I struggled on, realizing my strength was going, but kept sewing til I could no longer see the needle. Rising, I folded the work, and, going down to the cabin, put it quietly, numbly into the trunk, saying, “Lord, I have done all I can. I can do no more. As you provided for the others, do so now for baby.” I then went on deck and lay down on a long chair exhausted. How long I lay there I do not know, but suddenly someone touched me and said, “There’s a large bundle come off the lighter for you: it is in your cabin.” Dazed at first, I could not take it in. Then it flashed into my mind, “It’s the answer.”

In the cabin, I found a letter attached to the bundle from Mrs. O. E., of the China Inland Mission, whose husband was at that time risking his life in China, seeking to bring out to safety women of the mission who were in peril. The letter stated that her little son, the same age as my baby, had died some months before and she felt it laid upon her to send me, for my child, his outfit. I opened the bundle to find not only a most beautiful, complete outfit for my little one, but also many things I needed for myself and the other children. It was indeed one of the Lord’s exceedingly abundant answers. Is it any wonder that those words written so long ago by the psalmist have always had a deep thrill of response in my heart?

I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. – Psalm 116:1-2.

Limitations

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Elisabeth Elliot’s writings just bless my socks off. I know she would not want to be glorified for herself: the blessing that comes through her is a result of the Lord’s working in her life and teaching her for these many years. Because she’s walked the road ahead of us she can encourage us not just by theory but by experience that God is faithful and His path of obedience the best path.

I receive a daily e-mail devotional from from Back to the Bible taken from some of her writings. A couple of days ago the topic was limitations, and she wrote

Yesterday as I was reading my brother Tom’s book, The Achievement of C.S. Lewis, I was admiring again the scope of his knowledge, his ability to comprehend another’s genius, and his wonderful command of English. By contrast my own limitations seemed severe indeed. They are of many kinds–analytical, critical, articulatory, not to mention educational. But my limitations, placing me in a different category from Tom Howard’s or anyone else’s, become, in the sovereignty of God, gifts. For it is with the equipment that I have been given that I am to glorify God. It is this job, not that one, that He gave me.

For some, the limitations are not intellectual but physical. The same truth applies. Within the context of their suffering, with whatever strength they have, be it ever so small, they are to glorify God. The apostle Paul actually claimed that he “gloried” in infirmities, because it was there that the power of Christ was made known to him.

If we regard each limitation which we are conscious of today as a gift–that is, as one of the terms of our particular service to the Master–we won’t complain or pity or excuse ourselves. We will rather offer up those gifts as a sacrifice, with thanksgiving.

I have thought often in regard to dealing with the after-effects of transverse myelitis, “Lord, I could serve you so much better without this.” But it’s as if He were saying, “No, this is what I am using to shape your service for Me.” Most people who have gone through any type of trial or affliction in life would say that, although they didn’t welcome the trial itself, they were drawn closer to the Lord, and the lessons learned were invaluable.

Even limitations that are not from some type of trial but rather from the seasons of life shape what our ministry is supposed to be. I remember as a mother of young children often having this desire to do something — I wasn’t sure quite what — and I was discouraged that I was too busy trying to keep my head above water in everyday life to try to figure it out. The Lord had to keep reminding me that that was His ministry, my service for Him, at that season. I needed to focus, to relax and enjoy it. And now, getting older (that sounds so much better than aging! 🙂 I’m still in the middle of middle age) I can already foresee that there will be different limitations in the coming seasons of life that will shape who I am and what I do for Him.

Our limitations are God’s tools. As Elisabeth said, “For it is with the equipment that I have been given that I am to glorify God. It is this job, not that one, that He gave me,” and they “become, in the sovereignty of God, gifts.”

Thursday Thirteen: Reasons to read the Bible

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I go back and forth on “Thursday Thirteens” between funny and serious ones. I didn’t realize at first that my thoughts about this post and the Works For Me Wednesday post were running along the same tracks.

Thirteen Reasons to Read the Bible

1. To learn of Christ

John 5:39: Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

2. To increase our faith.

Romans 10:17: So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

3. Guidance.

Psalm 119:105: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

4. Doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness.

2 Timothy 3:16: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

5. To give us hope and comfort.

Romans 15:4: For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

6. To help us avoid sin.

Psalm 119:9: Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

7. To compare what we are hearing with what God has said.

Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

8. Fruitfulness, stability.

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

9. Quickening.

Psalm 119:25: My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.

Psalm 119:50: This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.

10. Understanding.

Psalm 119: 103-104: How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.

Psalm 119:130: The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.

11. Our rejoicing.

Psalm 119:162: I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.

Jeremiah 15:16: Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

12. Our sanctification.

John 17:17: Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

13. To see Scripture fulfilled.

Matthew 26:56: But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.

John 2:22: When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. (See also Matthew 21:42; 26:54; Mark 12;10; 14:49; 15:28; Luke 4:21; 24:27; John 7:42; 13:18; 17:12; 19:24, 28, 36, 37; Acts 1:16; 18:28; Romans 1:2; Galatians 3:8; James 2:23; I Peter 2:6 – to name a few). 🙂

See More “Thursday Thirteen” lists here and here.

Thursday Thirteen banner courtesy of Lisa.

Encouragement for mothers of young children

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prayingmom

My heart goes out to mothers of young children in many ways, but today I’m thinking of the area of trying to have any kind of time in the Bible. The time of life when my children were small was one of the hardest in which to have devotions.I hit one of my worst spiritual slumps after I had my second child. When my first child was asleep, I would try to decide between catching up on housework, reading my Bible, or sleeping. Often sleep won out. 🙂 With my second baby, I also had a little preschooler, so “quiet time” was at a premium. I would get to the end of the day and tearfully say, “Lord, I just don’t know when I would have had time to have devotions!” I felt I began to “dry up” spiritually. I don’t think anyone noticed anything from the outside — at least, no one said anything. But I knew on the inside that I was just going through the motions.

The following is an excerpt from Climbing by Rosalind Goforth. This book shares a very human view of a woman after God’s own heart who also was “of like passions” as we are.

A devoted Christian missionary, Mrs. S, was holding a series of special meetings for our Christian women at Changte. On one occasion, this dear woman, who had no children, told me that I could never have the peace and joy I longed for unless I rose early and spent from one to two hours with the Lord in prayer and Bible study.

I longed intensely for God’s best — for all He could give me, not only to help me live the true Christian life but also for peace and rest of soul. So I determined to do what Mrs. S. had advised.

The following morning, about half-past five o’clock, I slipped as noiselessly as possible out of bed. (My husband had already gone to his study.) I had taken only a step or two when first one and then another little head bobbed up; then came calls of, “Mother is it time to get up?”

“Hush, hush, no, no,” I whispered as I went back, but too late; the baby had wakened! So, of course, the morning circus began an hour too soon.

But I did not give up easily. Morning after morning I tried rising early for the morning watch, but always with the same result. So I went back to the old way of just praying quietly — too often just sleeping! Oh, how I envied my husband, who could have an hour or more of uninterrupted Bible study while I could not. This led me to form the habit of memorizing Scripture, which became an untold blessing to me. I took advantage of odd opportunities on cart, train, or when dressing, always to have a Bible or Testament at hand so that in the early mornings I could recall precious promises and passages of Scripture.

Somehow the Lord helped me to change from that mindset of depression because there was no time to what Dr. Walter Fremont calls a “positive faith attitude.” I realized that if this was something I needed and that God wanted me to do, then there would be time somewhere in the day. I began to pray at the beginning of the day for the time and for the ability to recognize it.

Normally I need for things to be relatively quiet when I read my Bible, but He enabled me to be able to get something vital from the Word with children playing at my feet. I thrive best on some kind of regularity of schedule, but He enabled me to catch the odd moment here and there.

When there was a minute free and I wanted to relax with the newspaper or a book or the TV, and the Lord reminded me I hadn’t had time with Him yet…I am ashamed to admit my reaction was not often a spiritual one. A former pastor once said that one of his best times of prayer occurred when he had to begin by confessing he didn’t feel like praying. So sometimes I would have to put aside the book or magazine or remote control and confess that lack to the Lord. And so often He would give me something precious in those few minutes.

A friend with three little ones used to keep her Bible open in her kitchen and read a little off and on throughout the day. Some nursing moms have found that they could prop a Bible up on a nearby end table and read a little while feeding the baby Some listen to the Bible on CD while they dress or drive.

As my children got older, I could again get up for that early morning time (my preferred time – some people prefer later in the day), I would get discouraged if one of them woke up early and toddled out. But a friend told me an experience she had of accidentally walking in on her mom while she was praying and of the impact that had on her. So I thought then perhaps this might be of the Lord — maybe the sight of of mom in prayer and in the Word would be a blessing to my children. Often in that half-asleep state, they were content just to cuddle up beside me or on my lap, and I could continue quietly reading or praying. Sometimes when they were with me I would read and pray aloud. Even though I still preferred to have devotions alone with no distractions, God enabled me to put that aside and to concentrate and have some precious times with Him.

I just want to encourage you that somehow the Lord will meet you in your need. I had to realize that the regular schedule I thrived on just wasn’t going to be possible, and I had to trust the Lord to open up those little opportunities throughout the day and that He would meet with me then and give me what I needed. Even though I still prefer my “quiet” quiet time and my routine, those early-baby experiences stayed with me in later days when the usual schedule was overturned for some reason. He wants to meet with you as much — actually more — than you want to meet with Him, and He’s willing to do so at odd hours. And, as Elisabeth Elliot has written, He doesn’t mind of you bring your children along.

When I need to be taken down a peg or two….

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I get a daily e-mail devotional from the writings of Elisabeth Elliot. I have read probably most of her books, and they often minister to my heart. One devotional I received earlier in the week hit me right between the eyes, not only because of what it said, but also because of its timeliness:

Jesus gave responsibility and power to those who were willing to take the path He took. They were to represent the kingdom wherever they went–their peace to rest on those who received them. Those who rejected them were actually rejecting Christ. His followers would have power over snakes and scorpions.

There are principles here for us today, I believe. Surely every believer represents Christ and his kingdom. We are promised power from the Holy Spirit. But as soon as his power is manifest, another spirit is there instantly to tempt us to take credit to ourselves. If we are thanked for something we were merely the instrument for, it can become a heady business. Wow! we say, imagining that we deserve the credit.

Jesus warned the disciples not to be impressed when spirits submitted to them. It was not by their might or power that the enemy was subdued. They were nothing more than bearers of the kingdom. He told them to rejoice, not that they had performed a miraculous feat, but that their names were written in heaven.

Open my eyes, Lord, to recognize that the power is always yours. What is mine is the privilege, given from above, for your glory.

It was timely because just the very night before receiving it, I had been sorely tempted to get all “puffed up” because of some tiny, silly, insignificant thing. The flesh’s constant craving for attention, approval, praise, and glory is one of my most discouraging continual battles. Reading these words from Elisabeth Elliot encouraged me not only because it it helped me get my focus and perspective back in the right place, but also because it reminded me I am not alone in this struggle, that it’s a common one.

In one of my all-time favorite books, Climbing by Rosalind Goforth, she tells of struggling with this also:

[After receiving word that she was asked to take a meeting that afternoon], What could I do? There was the baby to nurse, and some message must be thought out. Hastily taking up the baby, I opened the Bible and placed it on a chair near enough to see, but at a safe distance from little, grasping hands. (Every mother knows a baby fights against divided attention!) Just then my husband opened the door. He exclaimed, “Well, Rose! It puzzles me how you can address a meeting with so little preparation.”

I replied, “Jonathan, if I had time like you, I could not expect to get a message in so short a time, but the fact is the Lord suits His help to me as a mother!” And oh, so often He did. (That afternoon the Lord gave a blessed message.)

I remember how when home in 1910 I addressed, during that furlough, over two hundred and fifty meetings. I had five children to care for then, and many times it was not till I was dressing to go to the meeting that, as I cast myself down on my knees for a moment, there came to me a clear-cut outline of the message I was to give. It was wonderful! It was D. L. Moody who once said, “The Christian on his knees sees more than the philosopher on tiptoe.”

Sadly and humbly, I must confess that many, many times when I had cried to the Lord for power in speaking and evident power was given, I had not left the platform before the thought would come, “I” have done well today. Then would come the cry for forgiveness.

That’s all too often been my experience — crying out to the Lord for help in some area, then feeling so proud of myself when someone shares with me how the Lord has used me in some way.

My dear mother-in-law once said that she had such a struggle with spiritual pride that she eventually began to stop doing any kind of ministry that could be seen by others. I understand that sentiment….yet, I don’t think that’s quite how the Lord would have us deal with this temptation.

It helps to remind myself that I’m just a conduit through which He can work. The glory doesn’t go to the pipe that brings water into the house!

It also helps to remind myself that since the glory for anything accomplished for the Lord is His, then I am stealing what isn’t rightfully mine when I want glory for myself. I also remind myself that that was Satan’s initial downfall.

I’ve been meaning for some time to put together a list of verses that will help keep the right perspective in this area, so I am going to do that here:

And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not. Jeremiah 45:5b.

And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? I Samuel 15:17.

For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? I Corinthians 4:7.

Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake. Psalm 115:1.

He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30.

God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. James 4: 6b, 10.

…Be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. I Peter 5:5b-9.

10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. I Peter 4:10-11.

Sundays

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I know that the New Testament doesn’t specify how to spend Sundays, though we’re told that believers met together then. As NT Gentile Christians we’re not under the OT stipulations about the Sabbath. But some years ago I came across the last few verses of Isaiah 58, and they profoundly affected my thinking about the Lord’s Day:

13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

I began to realize that the “rules” concerning the OT Sabbath weren’t just about a day of rest from physical labor, though that was a part of it: but it was primarily a day for the Lord. There is a lot of emphasis in those verses on not doing “thine own pleasure,” but rather delighting in the Lord and in a day set aside for Him.

I had already been in the habit of not doing any work on Sundays other than what was necessary for meal preparation and clean-up (unless an emergency came up, like the time we came home church to find a leak had sprung in the pipe in the bathroom wall, or the Sunday morning before church when an upstairs bathroom overflowed and “rained” downstairs. We figured those were ox-in-the-ditch kinds of things. :))

But after discovering these verses, I began to take it a step further and tried to think of it as truly the Lord’s Day, and tried think of ways to truly make the day revolve around Him. As a wife and mom, I don’t think that passage means to close myself off in a room alone and spend great amounts of time in Bible reading and prayer. There may be seasons of life when that might be the case, but for now I don’t feel that’s the right application.

Of course, most of the day is taken up with church-related activities and meals. And for years Sunday afternoons have included a nap. I don’t function very well without a nap on Sunday afternoons, even though I don’t take an afternoon nap most other days. When our kids got old enough that they didn’t need a nap, they still had to do something quiet during that time. But Sunday evenings after the evening service I began to use for various restful and spiritual activities. Sometimes I would write letters (how is that spiritual activity done as unto the Lord, you might ask? Well, a lot of the day is given to “assembling yourselves together” with other believers, and writing is one way to communicate and minister. Even writing to lost loved ones is a ministry to them by letting them know you’re thinking about them). Sometimes I would play games with the kids. Sometimes I would read Christian books. As my kids have gotten older, sometimes we’ll all be in one room doing separate things (the older boys using laptops, the youngest playing, and I would be reading), and it’s cozy — we’ll comment to each other in-between what we’re doing. Sometimes now I’ll be on-line but restrict my reading to Christian sites.

Sunday evenings have become one of my favorite parts of the week. I love coming home from church knowing that I don’t “have” to toss laundry in (of course, that takes planning to get it done on other days) or “get things done.” I can just relax and enjoy it.

When afraid to surrender

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Sometimes we wrestle with the thought, “If I really surrender all to God, what will He do to me?” Even if we have made that surrender before, that thought can come at odd moments. After all, Joni Eareckson Tada was paralyzed as a teen-ager and has been in a wheelchair for, I think, 30-some years. Elisabeth Elliot lost not one, but two husbands. A dear professor had Lou Gehrig’s disease for over 20 years…our minds can go on and on with other examples we know.

There have been whole books written about reasons for suffering, and we hear testimonies of God’s grace through those times. Yet that lurking fear or reluctance can still snake into our thoughts.

As I was pondering these things this morning, the thought came, “What’s the alternative, really?” Suffering will come to most of us in some form or another. We live in a fallen world and deal with its effects; we’re not in heaven yet, where there are no tears, sorrow, pain. We’re not going to stop these things from coming into our lives if we don’t surrender to God. We can’t somehow insulate ourselves or protect ourselves from any pain or trial.

But if we are the Lord’s, we can trust that He has a purpose in what He has allowed. We can trust Him for His presence, peace, grace, and help. If we’re surrendered to Him, we can face these things in a way that we can’t otherwise.

One comment that stayed with me from a forgotten article about a trial a lady faced was this: “I was glad, when this happened, that He was not a stranger to me.” It’s certainly better to face a trial with Him rather than apart from Him. Sometimes He does work through the trials of life to bring people to Himself from their position as a stranger to Him, or to bring His children back from a backslidden position, or draw His children closer. But after that, we can “glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:3-5).

We need not hold back our wills from the Lord for fear of what might happen. It’s futile to do so, really. But even aside from that, we can face whatever He sees fit to allow into our lives knowing that He will work all things together for good to them that love God (Romans 8:28) and by relying on His promises:

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness (Isaiah 41:10).

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “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. (II Corinthians 12:8-10).