Thursday, August 06, 2009

I give myself...


Betty Scott married her Moody Bible College sweetheart, John Stam, in China in 1933. They served as bold lights for Christ during the full-swing of the Chinese Communist Revolution. In 1934, several weeks after their first child, a daughter named Helen, was born, the Communists surprised them at the gate of their compound. They were marched through the streets of the neighboring town in their underwear, ridiculed, and finally they were both beheaded in the public square. But what about baby Helen? 30 hours after her parents were executed; a Chinese pastor found Helen tucked into a sleeping bag, along with ten precious dollars. That amount of money was enough to get Helen out of China and to safety.

What can make a mother leave her precious baby in a sleeping bag as she marched off to certain death? She knew God loved Helen even more than she did. And she knew God was her heavenly father, too. Betty’s famous prayer is a model for us. She wrote:

“Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my time, my all utterly to Thee to be Tine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt, send me where Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever.”

2 comments:

Mrs. Edwards said...

Thank you for this. I need to always remember that God loves my children even more than I do, and I need to trust Him with their lives.

I have a long way to go, that is for sure, but God is faithful and he will do it!

Sheila said...

Oh Chris,
This is so true, and so hard to live. I have been reminded again this week - a couple of times - that my children's lives are in His hands and I have to trust Him in that!
Under His Wings,
Sheila