As a new Christian one of the first books I read, and still my favorite, was the story of Adoniram Judson, pioneer missionary to Burma. Now, just this morning my heart was moved to tears as I read this brief article by Stephen Davey:

Sometimes it takes more faith to believe that God is in control of your own personal life than it takes to believe that He is in control of the whole world. —–

On one occasion Judson was falsely accused of being an English spy. As a result, he endured a cruel imprisonment by the Burmese government. His wife, Anne, faithfully and courageously attempted to have him released through every possible channel, but to no avail.

His prison cell was so tiny that he was forced to stand, while the cells of others allowed room to lie down to sleep. The sun was unbearably hot at times; prisoners were never allowed to bathe; pain filled every fiber of his body as he was tortured day after day. His only respite from the agony of his incarceration was a visit from Anne. In those brief but wonderful moments, she would encourage him with the same message, “Hang on, Adoniram, God will give us the victory.”

Week after tortuous week, Anne came and encouraged him, delivering the same words, “God will give us the victory.” After many months, Adoniram was unexpectedly released and assigned the task of interpreter for affairs between the English and Burmese. Because of this new duty, he was still separated from Anne. Sadly, during his time of absence, Anne became deathly ill.

Months passed and Judson was finally allowed to return home a free man. Body broken and weak, he approached the place he once called home. As he slowly limped toward the door, he saw a child sitting in the dirt. The little girl was so covered with filth that he failed, at first, to recognize her as his own daughter. He went into their simple hut, squinting in the darkness, and gasped as he saw the emaciated form of his wife lying on a cot, weakened by disease. Tears coursing down his cheeks, he hugged his daughter close to him and knelt beside the cot.  Anne looked up at him and with her last breath, smiled and whispered the words, “Adoniram, God will give us the victory.”

If you were to be able somehow to interview the Judsons today, they would no longer be saying, “God will give us the victory”; instead, they would joyfully deliver the news, “God has given us the victory!”

Be encouraged, my friend. No matter what you’re going through right now, your life is in God’s hands. Hold fast to your faith as Anne and Adoniram did, even in the face of squalor and disease, deprivation and disappointment, heartache and loss.

Your reward in the end is everlasting, and the celebration of final victory is . . . just ahead!

Pray right now that God will give you the kind of faith that Adoniram and Anne Judson exercised, even in the face of persecution. Then, thank God for giving you victory over sin, death, and the world, through Christ’s perfect life, His sacrificial death, and His resurrection.

Many Americans are greatly troubled by the troubles in our beloved nation–all should be. But, we have been here before. This isn’t the only time we have been deeply divided. Remember the Civil War? So, as we fret about our future, maybe it would help if we considered the words of Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation of October 3, 1863.

“The year that is drawing towards its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God . . . . “Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore . . . . No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

“It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens . . . to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience . . . fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.”

Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.–John 13:7

Although the Lord was speaking to Peter, He just as well could be speaking to all of us. Things happen that we don’t understand, and we often complain. We ask,”Why this?”, “Why me?”, “Why now?”. We believe the cup of our circumstances should have been less bitter, the gravity of our trials less severe, the road of our life less rough, the days of our journey less dreary. Our complaint seems reasonable–to us.

If this describes you, take this as a censure from the Lord and stop complaining. We should trust Him rather than question Him. However, we should also think of this as a word of consolation. The promise “thou shalt know hereafter” should encourage us. Our trials are not without purpose. Everything happens for a reason. The revelation will reveal the reason and, believe it or not, will lead to our rejoicing, because we will see that He does all things well.

Another factor is this–“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”(Ecc.3:1). Some of you have been living with mysteries since childhood and you wonder why a God of love would allow horrible and painful things to happen. Could not an all-powerful God have intervened and stopped it? Would not a loving God have prevented it? Why didn’t He? We don’t know–“not now”, and God isn’t talking. For some reason, a good reason, God is content to leave us confused, but only for the time being. You see, God has a plan, and He also gives us a promise–“thou shalt know hereafter”.

As difficult and unpleasant as it might be we must wait. What else can you do? We must wait until the dark clouds have rolled away and the sunshine of God’s promise reveals the reason why. “Be patient” is the command (James 5:7). Why shouldn’t we?

Would you criticize the artist when he is only half-finished with his picture, or the sculptor when he is still in the process of molding the clay, or the poet before he has finished arranging the words of his composition? Why then do we criticize God? His work in our life isn’t finished and it’s unfair to condemn Him while He is yet at work. In His own good time He will lift the veil so that we can see. In that day we will sit at His feet and, with great joy, listen as He explains the deep things of God. There will be no complaints then–there should be none now.

However, in some instances we won’t have to wait until the dawn of eternity breaks. There are times when when the mysteries are unravelled before our very eyes, while we yet walk upon the earth. One such case was that of Jacob, who once said,”all these things are against me”(Gen. 42:36), only to later discover that those “things” were actually working for him, leading him to an abundance of provision. Dear friend those “things” that trouble you are actually working for you also. To see how, we have to wait until “hereafter”. —

I just noticed a Twitter post that said, “Adam Failed. Jesus Nailed. God’s Grace Prevailed.” Well, that sums it up. No wonder we sing,”O to grace, how great a debtor”. We owe it all to grace. We can never say enough about the greatness of God’s grace and we should never tire of hearing about it. It should be on our mind continually.

That’s what prompted Sinclair Ferguson to write,”Being amazed by God’s grace is a sign of spiritual vitality. It is a litmus test of how firm and real is our grasp of the Christian gospel and how close is our walk with Jesus Christ. The growing Christian finds that the grace of God astonishes and amazes.”

That’s true, but we have only touched the hem of the garment. The best is yet to come! That’s the point of this article by Horatius Bonar:

“We often feel as if grace had done its utmost when it has carried us safely through the desert, and set us down at the gate of the kingdom. We feel as if, when grace has landed us there, it has done all for us that we are to expect.

But God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. He does exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think. It is just when we reach the threshold of the prepared heavenly city, that grace meets us in new and more abundant measures, presenting us with the recompense of the reward.

The love that shall meet us then to bid us welcome to the many mansions, shall be love beyond what we were here able to comprehend; for then shall we fully realize, as if for the first time, the meaning of these words, ‘The love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord;’ and then shall we have that prayer of Christ fulfilled in us, ‘That the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’

It was grace which on earth said to us, ‘Come unto Me, and I will give you rest;’ and it will be grace, in all its exceeding riches, that will hereafter say to us, ‘Come, you who are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’”