“”Out of the south comes the storm, and out of the north the cold” Job 37:9
Isaiah
65:24
This is a story written by
a doctor who worked in
Africa:
One night I had worked hard
to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of al l we could
do, she died, leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying
two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby
alive; as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an
incubator).
We also had no special
feeding facilities.
Although we lived on the
equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One
student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the
cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped
in.
Another went to stoke up
the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in
distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst
(rubber perishes easily in tropical
climates).
‘And it is our last hot
water bottle!’ she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying
over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it might be considered no
good crying over burst water
bottles.
They do not grow on trees,
and the re are no drugstores down forest
pathways.
‘All right,’ I said, ‘put
the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the
baby and the door to keep it free from drafts Your job is to keep
the baby warm.’
The following noon, as I
did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage
children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters
various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about
the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm
enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby coul d
so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the
two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had
died.
During prayer time, one ten
-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of
our African children. ‘Please, God’ she prayed, ‘Send us a hot
water bottle today It’ll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby
will be dead, so please send it this
afternoon.’
While I gasped inwardly at
the audacity of the prayer, she added, ‘And while You are about
it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she’ll
know You really love
her?’
As often with children’s
prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say ‘Amen?’ I
just did not believe that God could do
this.
Oh, yes, I know that He can
do everything; the Bible says so. But there are limits, aren’t
there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would
be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa
for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever,
received a parcel from
home.
Anyway, if anyone did send
me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the
equator!
Halfway through the
afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses’ training school, a
message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the
time I reached home, the car had gone, but there on the verandah
was a large 22-pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I
could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage
children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing
each knot. We folded the paper; taking care not to tear it unduly
Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were
focused on the large cardboard box. > From the top, I lifted
out brightly-colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave
them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy
patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box
of mixed raisins and sultanas – that would make a batch of buns
for the weekend.
Then, as I put my hand in
again, I felt the…..could it really
be?
I grasped it and pulled it
out. Yes, a brand new, rubber hot water bottle. I
cried.
I had not asked God to send
it; I had not truly believed that He
could.
Ruth was in the front row
of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, ‘If God has sent
the bottle, He must have sent the dolly,
too!’
Rummaging down to the
bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully-dressed
dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never
doubted!
Looking up at me, she asked, ‘Can I go over with you
and give this dolly to that little girl, so she’ll know that Jesus
really loves her?’
‘Of course,’ I
replied!
That parcel had been on the
way for five whole months, packed up by my former Sunday school
class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God’s prompting to send a
hot water bottle, even to the
equator.
And one of the girls had
put in a dolly for an African child – five months before, in
answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it ‘that
afternoon.’
‘Before they call, I will
answer.’ (Isaiah 65:24)
When you receive this, say
the prayer. That’s all I ask. No strings attached. Just send it on
to whomever you
want but do send
it on.
Prayer is one of the best
free gifts we receive. There is no cost, but a lot of rewards.
Let’s continue praying for one
another.
This awesome prayer takes
less than a minute.
Heavenly Father, I ask you
to bless my friends reading this. I ask You to minister to their
spirit. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where
there is self-doubting, release a renewed confidence to work
through them. Where there is tiredness or exhaustion, I ask You to
give them understanding, guidance, and strength. Where there is
fear, reveal Your love and release to them Your courage. Bless
their finances, give them greater vision, and raise up leaders and
friends to support and encourage them. I ask You to do these
things in Jesus’ name.
Amen
WOW! What a great story of encouragement for us all!
I will leave you with this today, I posted this from Adrian Rogers, and it hit a homerun! Please read and my comments!
The Wisdom in His NameFrom Adrian Rogers
BIBLE MEDITATION:
“But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:24 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Do you need a counselor sometimes? People come to pastors and counselors for wisdom. We can counsel from Scripture, but we can’t solve their problems. We can try to lead them to the One who can solve their problems, the Lord Jesus Christ. I don’t want them dependent upon me. I want them to know Jesus. He is the Counselor. There is wisdom in His name. “He is made unto us,” Paul says in 1 Corinthians1:30, “wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”
ACTION POINT:
Are you going through a problem right now? You don’t know the way out. You don’t what to do. Every answer seems wrong. I want to recommend my counselor to you. Call upon the true Counselor. His name is Jesus. Not only is there wonder in His name. Friend, there is wisdom in His name. From Pastor Dewey: I find this post by Adrian Rogers so heart warming, as I get many calls a day, many for our little ministry, and the greatest counselor is God, not me. I cannot solve your problems. I encourage you to turn to God. God is the answer to all things. A personal relationship with Him is a must. I can help guide you in this walk with Jesus, but you must have a personal relationship with Him. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!
I’m telling you Adrian Rogers may be in heaven now, but his works are still alive on earth! PRAISE GOD! What a legacy! What legacy will you and I leave?
In the Love of our Lord Jesus Christ, Dewey, Sharon, Paul, Jo and families
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