Dear Friends,
Right now, do you feel like you are overcoming. . .or are you going under?
Whether struggling with illness, difficult relationships, lack of finances, unwanted changes, crushing disappointments, or numbing loss, many of us are in the midst of a storm.
In this place of overwhelming need, I have learned that someone else’s story of experiencing God’s faithfulness and goodness in great difficulties brings a spark of hope, a measure of courage, and an increased fervency in prayer.
My bookshelves are filled with those kinds of stories, of people like you and me who overcame through their faith in God. One of my favorites is the story of Gladys Aylward, a British serving girl who, just prior to WWII, went to China in obedience to God’s call. As unlikely as it seems, this small woman experienced extraordinary help to do impossible things in life-and-death situations.
In the book, No Mountain Too High, the author described Gladys fleeing the Japanese army with one hundred children and with a price on her head for being a spy for the Chinese. Heading for the safety of southern China and a Christian orphanage, she and this huge group of children walked—many of them barefoot—for twelve days across the mountains, scrounging whatever food and shelter they could find along the way. They knew the Yellow River must be crossed before they would finally be free from the terrors of war raging just behind them.
But when they arrived at the river, there were no boats.
There were no people at the riverside village.
There was no food.
Gladys and the children kept waiting, praying, seeking the Lord, asking Him for deliverance. But this wasn’t casual prayer. They weren’t facing a minor inconvenience. It didn’t last for the few moments it takes to read in a book.
No. It was real life. The Japanese army could show up at any moment. And, since they had offered a huge price for Gladys’ capture as a spy, it was a terrifying consideration. In exhaustion, hunger, and discouragement, her prayers were not lofty. They were nitty-gritty and real.
Amazingly, this group of refugees stayed right by the Yellow River, praying and waiting for deliverance for three days. Three days!! It seems almost impossible that one woman and one hundred children who were sick and hungry, helpless and tense, could hold on—when, at any moment, they could be taken. There was nothing else to be done but to wait and pray. There was no going back across the mountains and they could not cross the Yellow River without boats. There was no other path to safety. If God did not rescue them, they would die or be captured.
Her situation was as real, as fraught with difficulty and fear, as yours is today.
So, what happened? After the agonisingly long and difficult days of crossing the mountains and praying beside the river, help arrived from a totally unexpected source. Chinese soldiers, who had hidden a boat in the bushes, found these children and woman, and ferried them across the river.
Not one died, not one was captured.
Though Japanese aircraft patrolled the river and Japanese soldiers were watching the river, no one stopped or even challenged Gladys and her children from crossing. She was able to successfully deliver all of these precious children to the orphanage (another incredible part of her story) where they were safe and cared for.
It is easy, even exhilarating, to read about in a book, isn’t it? And, as we read, suddenly, hope rises in our own heart. We consider the character of God as seen in Gladys’ story, and wonder if God might provide us with an equally impossible rescue.
I have learned in my own journey that His goodness is not limited to people in history. His compassionate love for us knows no bounds, and His power to save passes our comprehension.
Our times are in His hands.
He works all things together for our good.
He is utterly faithful.
Gladys’ story demonstrates so clearly that, though His ways are not our ways and His timing is seldom comfortable, yet, we can trust that He is in the process of answering our prayers, sending help, and providing an unexpected way to overcome.
Gratefully,
Diana
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