YEARS AGO a little girl named Anna lived alone with her father. Her mother had died so she was very lonely much of the time.
Anna’s father had given her a gold locket containing a picture of her mother. It hung on a golden chain and he told Anna to wear it every day.
One day when her father was away on a trip, she put her hand to her neck and discovered her chain and locket were gone. Now Anna’s father was a very stern man and the little girl was afraid for she knew her father would punish her for losing her treasure. Poor little girl! She had no one to confide in and she felt so lonely.
Two or three days passed. Anna had searched everywhere for the locket but without success. Her father would be home the next day and she was terribly frightened. As she was going to bed that evening a thought came into her mind. No one had ever told her much about God, she did not know that He loved her or that the Lord Jesus had died for her, but she just wondered if she told Him her trouble would He help her. So kneeling down she asked Him to help her find the locket. “O Lord,” she said, “If Thou wilt not help me, nobody else can.”
She went to bed that night comforted and slept. In the morning, when she opened one of her drawers, there, just inside, was the locket!
Her heart was so full of thanksgiving to God for helping her. How the missing locket got there was a great mystery to her, but Anna didn’t trouble about that.
Years passed. Anna had come to know Christ as her Saviour and she lived to serve Him. One day when she was visiting in the slum district of a big city she found there a poor dying woman. To her surprise the women recognized her and told her that she had been a housemaid in Anna’s home years before and that it was she who had stolen the locket. So miserable did she feel about the theft that at night when the child was asleep she had stolen quietly into her room and placed the locket in the drawer. With what joy could Anna point the poor dying sinner to the Saviour whose blood cleanses from all sin.
The Lord Jesus is the only Saviour, and there is no Friend or Helper like Him. He makes all things work together for good to those that love Him (Rom. 8:2828And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)). Then let us trust Him for everything — for forgiveness of sins, for power to live and do what is pleas-to Him, and for all our needs both now and forever.
ML-11/17/1974