I submitted the matter to the Lord, telling him that if he still wanted me
to deliver the message, to hold the brother back until it would not appear
that I was trying to get ahead of him. God wonderfully owned and blessed
his Word, and a number of backsliders were reclaimed. After the service,
the brother who had thought he had the message came to me and said, "Sister
Cole, I did think I had the message, but the Lord blessed you." "Yes," I
said, "the Lord blessed me in obeying; but it took more grace than usual."
At a Kansas camp-meeting there was a man present who had not been living a
consistent Christian life. He had done things that disqualified him for
preaching. I told the Lord that I would do anything he showed me in order
to keep the pulpit clean.
As is usual at such gatherings, the largest crowd was present on Sunday
afternoon. I saw the minister of whom I had just spoken, getting ready to
take the pulpit. It came to my mind that if I wanted to obey the Lord and
to keep my promise I must act quickly. I asked the Lord to exercise his
control and to give me the needed opportunity to obey. He did, and I
preached the sermon that day. Very soon afterward an accident occurred in
which this minister's false teeth were broken, so that he could not preach
during the remainder of the meeting. Thus God's cause was protected.
To obey the Lord under the circumstances of which I have just been
speaking, takes much grace, especially on the part of the minister who
knows the proper attitude toward his fellow ministers and desires to show
them courtesy. At different times when I have felt led to move out and
deliver a message, others have got ahead of me so that I did not have an
opportunity at that time. Frequently under such circumstances God has
opened the way for me to deliver the message later and has made it more
effectual than it would have been had I delivered it when I first desired
to do so. Now, I would not advise workers or ministers to make unusual
efforts to get into the pulpit, unless they knew beyond a doubt that God is
ordering. But if you are certain of the leadings of the Lord, even if God
does not make it plain to others, you may do as God bids you with certainty
of success.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account