Simple,
Child-Like Faith
Missionary-Evangelist
Hi Dear Ones!
The older I grow, and the more that I see, the
more I go back to the Child-Like Faith of my youth! For
life can become so complicated, but the greatest things in the world from God
are received in simplicity. He has made it easy enough for a child
to understand!
My mother was a country girl with ten brothers
and one sister, who died at the age of nine. She lived on a farm in
She married my father and they eventually
moved out West to
My father had a problem that affected his
family in an adverse way, and that was that he dabbled with the occult,
and exposed and taught his children to do the same, when mother would be
out.
But, when I turned seven years old, I was
playing outside one day, and my brother and niece had just returned from Bible
Camp. They told me that I needed
My father died a few months after that and
mother continued to make sure that we were in church and Christian activities.
So, I grew up trusting the Lord and seeing Him
answer prayer. I was called to missionary work shortly after I was saved
in the
I watched my mother make ends meet with hardly
any finances, yet she trusted God, and always had enough for us and even some
to give to others!
I don't know what it would be like to grow up
without having
But, sometimes we wonder why hard times come
and things that we don't understand. So, I want to share a little story
with you that illustrates the Father's plan for our
lives and the reason we have to suffer at times.
Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study
and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of
God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and
get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a
silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention
anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the
process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of
silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver,
one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were
hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding
us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of
silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit
there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man
answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had
to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the
silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The
woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is
fully refined?"
He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image
in it" If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that
God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in
you.
And, remember Friends that simple child-like
faith is all that is required, as our Father has proven His faithfulness to us
so that we know that we can safely put our trust in Him!
I feel prophetically that hard times are upon
us and yet, the "extreme good" and "extreme bad" will be
side-by-side in this day because
We can not only trust God, as we have done in
the past when times seemed to be easier, but He has a greater measure
of grace and power available for us for this day and hour!
God bless you real good!
Global Evangelism
Fellowship, Inc.
