Trials

Massena, one of Napoleon’s generals, suddenly appeared with eighteen thousand men before an Austrian town which had no means of defense. The town council had nearly decided to surrender when the old dean of the church reminded them that it was Easter and begged them to hold services as usual and to leave the trouble in God's hands. This they did; and the French hearing the church bells ringing joyfully concluded that an Austrian army had come to relieve the place and quickly broke camp. Before the bells ceased ringing, all the Frenchmen had vanished.

A young woman named Anne Steele had encountered one trial and disappointment after another. Her mother died when she was three, and when she was nineteen she suffered a severe hip injury that left her an invalid. Eventually she fell in love and was engaged to be married, but the day before the wedding her fiancé drowned.

Later Anne Steele penned the following song:

On one occasion J. C. Penney was asked the reason for His success. He said, “Adversity, and Jesus Christ.”

Source: McHenry's Quips, Quotes & Other Notes, Raymond McHenry

Two frogs fell into a tub of cream. One looked at the high sides of the tub which were too difficult to crawl over and said, “It is hopeless.” So he resigned himself to death, relaxed, and sank to the bottom. The other one determined to keep swimming as long as he could. “Something might happen,” he said. He kept kicking and churning, and finally he found himself on a solid platform of butter and jumped to safety.

Source: Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations & Quotes, Robert Morgan

On a wall in his bedroom Charles Spurgeon had a plaque with Isaiah 48:10 on it: “. . . I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” God’s choice makes chosen men choice men. We are chosen, not in the palace, but in the furnace.

Source: Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, Wiersbe

Repeated afflictions come, not as lightning on the scathed tree, blasting it yet more and more, but as the strokes of the sculptor on the marble block, forming, it into the image of beauty and loveliness. Let but the Divine Presence be felt, and no lot is hard. Let me but see His hand, and no event is unwelcome.

Source: The Power of Illustration, John Dowling

A typical concert piano has over 240 strings that, when tuned and tightened, create a pull of 40,000 pounds on the frame. Without the tension, there would be no beautiful music.

Source: Unknown

A submarine was being tested and had to remain submerged for many hours. When it returned to the harbor, the captain was asked, “How did the terrible storm last night affect you?” The officer looked at him in surprise and exclaimed, “Storm? We didn’t even know there was one!” The sub had been so far beneath the surface that it had reached the area known to sailors as the cushion of the sea. Although the ocean may be whipped into huge waves by high winds, the waters below are never stirred.

After school one day, a first-grade boy said, “Mom, the teacher asked me today if I have any brothers or sisters who will be coming to school.” The boy’s mother replied, “That’s nice of her to take such an interest, Dear. What did she say when you told her you are an only child?”

“She just said, ‘What a relief!’”

Source: Unknown

Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College

Clara was in the midst of one of the worst days of her life: The washing machine broke down, the telephone kept ringing, her head ached, and the mail carrier brought a bill she had no money to pay.

Almost to the breaking point, she lifted her one-year-old into his highchair, leaned her head against the tray, and began to cry. Without a word, her son took his pacifier out of his mouth and stuck it in hers.

The oyster takes a grain of sand and turns it into a beautiful pearl. Many people are just the opposite—they take pearls and turn them into grains of sand.

Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College

I visited one who was ill in bed; and, after having buried seven of her family in six months, had just heard that the eighth, her beloved husband, was cast away at sea. I asked, “Do not you fret at any of those things?” She said, with a lovely smile upon her pale cheek, “O, no! How can I fret at anything which is the will of God? Let Him take all besides: He has given me Himself. I love, I praise Him every moment.”

Source: John Wesley's Journal, April 21, 1764

Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College

You know it will be a bad day when:

A friend of mine awoke one morning to find a puddle of water in the middle of his king-size water bed. In order to fix the puncture, he rolled the heavy mattress outdoors and filled it with more water so he could locate the leak more easily. The enormous bag of water was impossible to control and began rolling on the hilly terrain. He tried to hold it back, but it headed downhill and landed in a clump of bushes which poked it full of holes.

Doctor to patient: “I have bad news and worse news.”

Patient: “So let’s have it.”

Doctor: “The bad news is that you only have 24 hours to live.”

Patient: “I can’t imagine what could be worse than that!”

Doctor: “I forgot to tell you yesterday.”

Source: Unknown

Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College

Vance Havner told a story about an elderly lady who was greatly disturbed by her many troubles—both real and imaginary. Finally, someone in her family tactfully told her, “Grandma, we’ve done all we can for you. You’ll just have to trust God for the rest.” A look of absolute despair spread over her face as she replied, “Oh dear, has it come to that?” Havner commented, “It always comes to that, so we might as well begin with that!”

Source: Unknown

Submited by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College

After William Carey was well established in his pioneer missionary work in India, his supporters in England sent a printer to assist him. Soon the two men were turning out portions of the Bible for distribution. Carey had spent many years learning the language so that he could produce the scriptures in the local dialect. He had also prepared dictionaries and grammars for the use of his successors.

A clay pot sitting in the sun will always be a clay pot. It has to go through the white heat of the furnace to become porcelain.

Source: Bits and Pieces, Mildred Witte Struven, September 19, 1991

Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College

Diamonds are formed under great pressure and heat. If these conditions do not exist, they are simply not formed. It is not that they will be low quality, or smaller in size, but they will not form. God brings His refining fire into our lives to create in us what He sees fit. When He sees our lack of character, He will bring into our lives what we need. So next time a fiery trial comes, thank God. He is producing exactly what He knows you need in your life. The only difference between a diamond and a piece of coal is pressure.

A horse shot twice with a crossbow survived after four fellow mares spent three hours taking turns licking the wound clean.

The 20-year-old horse, Zeta, was in critical condition after one of the arrows bounced off her rib, while another lodged an inch from her lung as she grazed in a field in the U.K. Zeta's owner, Jo Young, said the four other horses saved Zeta’s life.