Then as I found myself, as it were, in a large room with the Lord, feasting
on his beauties, his grandeur and glory, the scripture came so forcibly to
me: "A day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a
doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of
wickedness" (Psalm 84:10). In my thought I could compare my experience to
that of a little child accustomed to but few pretty things and poor
surroundings who was put into a beautiful parlor containing all sorts of
beautiful things for its pleasure. Being told to help itself, it would walk
up and down the room with delight, hardly knowing what to take hold of or
to enjoy first. In this experience through which I had just passed, I
learned the precious lesson that trial is to God's true children like a
wine-press to the grape. As the wine-press brings out the pure juice of the
grape, so the trials of a child of God bring out and puts on exhibition a
pure Christian character.
On going East soon after these events, we met Brother Warner and told him
of our experience and of Satan's tempting us to think that he would
renounce us. He answered: "No, Sister Cole, we we wouldn't have renounced
you, but had we been near enough and had known what you were passing
through, we would, had it been in our power, have gone to you and done all
we could to help you."
During the first summer that my youngest brother was with us in the work,
he did not take a very active part. There were several reasons for this.
Before leaving home he was nearly broken down through overwork. Besides,
like almost all young workers, he was timid and backward, and needed
encouragement and support. When the battle was strong, he would not be able
to bear much responsibility. I would doubtless have been tempted in regard
to my brother's condition had not God made me to know that I must be
patient and give his body time to recuperate and give him a chance to
develop as a worker.
Late in the fall we began a series of meetings in company with another
gospel worker who had been in the work for sometime. This worker suggested
to me in the early part of the meeting, "You and I will do the preaching,
and toward the end your brother can have an opportunity to exercise
himself." He spoke as though, should my brother try to take part, the
meeting would be spoiled. I said but little in reply, feeling sure that God
was able to manage things. As a result of this brother's attitude, however,
the accuser also turned on my brother's soul, and as a result,
discouragements set in on him thick and fast. I felt that something was
going wrong and spoke about it to the older brother, telling him that
George needed encouragement and not holding back, as he was timid. The
brother assured me that he was giving George all the encouragement he
could.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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