A YOUNG fellow enlisted in the army and was sent to India where for nearly ten years he lived a sinful life, without hope and without God in the world. Then, while he lay very ill in the hospital, all hope of his recovery gone, God spoke to him on his downward career.
One night in his weakness he thought he heard a voice saying to him: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isa. 1:1818Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18).
His heart was troubled and he promised God that if He would restore him to health and strength he would lead a different life and serve Him. From that moment the change came, to the doctor’s surprise, and he completely recovered. However, he had not yet given his heart to the Lord and knew not that wonderful change which comes with being “born again.”
Returning to the barracks, he lacked the courage to confess, or to stand against the many temptations of army life, and soon drifted back to his old ways.
How impossible to change our lives by our own efforts. Only God Himself, by the power of His Holy Spirit, can work that mighty change in us and make one “a new creature” in Christ Jesus.
Sometime later our friend was sent up into the hills and while walking through the jungle, he came upon some very beautiful peacocks. Taking up his rifle, he pursued the birds for some distance and then found himself lost. In great distress he tried to retrace his steps, but only seemed to get deeper into the jungle. Darkness came on, the jungle seemed to be filled with wild beasts and reptiles, and the young fellow, not expecting to see another day dawn, gave himself up for lost.
It was then that God in His mercy again spoke to his heart. This time, instead of making promises only, he fell upon his knees, and acknowledging that he was a sinner, he yielded himself wholly to the Lord.
This time, the work was real in his soul, for he was in dead earnest. He rose from his knees a new man in Christ Jesus, having passed from death unto life. Now it seemed he heard that voice again telling him to “Go forward.” With new courage, he pressed on until he came to a narrow beaten track. It was very dark, and at times he had to go on his hands and knees to find the trail. By and by, he reached the top of a hill and to his great relief saw light in the valley. Arriving at the spot, he found to his immense surprise that it was the very village to which he had been marching. There he found his comrades who thought he had been torn to pieces by wild beasts, and with what joy he told them not only of his deliverance from the wild beasts of the jungle, but how the Lord had saved his soul also.
The young fellow became a bright witness for Christ, and when he came home he was much used of the Lord in the slums of the city where he lived, bringing many to the Saviour. His greatest joy was to tell sinners of the One who is not only able to save but able to keep as well.
ML-01/17/1971