Large Gifts from Unlikely Sources
Large Gifts from
Unlikely Sources
These journal entries demonstrate that God not only has the power to
deliver on a daily, even hourly basis with small gifts, but He also has
the power to send great gifts from the most unlikely sources.
Large Donation from a Poor Seamstress (1835)
December 18th. This afternoon a brother brought from a sister: a counterpane, a flat iron stand, eight cups and saucers, a sugar basin, a milk jug, a tea cup, sixteen thimbles, five knives and forks, six dessert spoons, twelve tea spoons, four combs, and two little graters; from another friend a flat iron and a cup and saucer.
At the same time he brought £100 from [another] sister. It has since pleased the Lord to take to Himself the donor of this £100, and I therefore give further account of the donation and the donor, as the particulars respecting both, with God’s blessing, may tend to edification. Indeed, I confess that I am delighted to be at liberty, in consequence of the death of the donor, to give the following short narrative, which during her lifetime I should not have considered it wise to publish. A.L., the donor, was known to me almost from the beginning of my coming to Bristol in 1832. She earned her bread by needlework, by which she gained from 2s. to 5s. per week; the average, I suppose, was not more than about 3s. 6d., as she was weak in body. But this dear, humble sister was content with her small earnings, and I do not remember ever to have heard her utter a word of complaint on account of earning so little. Sometime before I had been led to establish an Orphan House, her father had died, through which event she had come into the possession of £480, which sum had been left to her (and the same amount to her brother and two sisters) by her grandmother, but of which her father had had the interest during his lifetime. The father, who had been much given to drink, died in debt, which debts the children wished to pay; but the rest, besides A. L., did not like to pay the full amount, and offered to the creditors 5s. in the pound, which they gladly accepted, as they had not the least legal claim upon the children. After the debts had been paid according to this agreement, A. L. said to herself, “However sinful my father may have been, yet he was my father, and as I have the means of paying his debts to the full amount, I ought, as a believing child, to do so, seeing that my brother and sisters will not do it.” She then went to all the creditors secretly and paid the full amount of the debts, which took £40 more of her money, besides her share which she had given before. Her brother and two sisters now gave £50 each of their property to their mother; but A. L. said to herself: “I am a child of God, surely I ought to give my mother twice as much as my brother and sisters.” She, therefore, gave her mother £100. Shortly after this she sent me the £100 towards the Orphan House. I was not a little surprised when I received this money from her, for I had always known her as a poor girl, and I had never heard anything about her having come into the possession of this money, and her dress had never given me the least indication of an alteration in her circumstances. Before, however, accepting this money from her, I had a long conversation with her, in which I sought to probe her as to her motives, and in which I sought to ascertain whether, as I had feared, she might have given this money in the feeling of the moment, without having counted the cost. I was the more particular because, if the money were given without its being given from scriptural motives, and there should be regret afterwards, the name of the Lord would be dishonored.
But I had not conversed long with this beloved sister, before I found that she was, in this particular, a quiet, calm, considerate follower of the Lord Jesus, and one who desired, in spite of what human reason might say, to act according to the words of our Lord: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth” (Mat 6:19). “Sell that ye have and give alms” (Luk 12:33). When I remonstrated with her, in order that I might see whether she had counted the cost, she said to me: “The Lord Jesus has given His last drop of blood for me, and should I not give Him this £100?” She likewise said: “Rather than the Orphan House should not be established, I will give all the money I have.” When I saw that she had weighed the matter according to the Word of God, and that she had counted the cost, I could not but take the money, and admire the way that the Lord took to use this poor, sickly sister as an instrument, in so considerable a measure, for helping, at its very commencement, this work, which I had set about solely in dependence upon the living God.
At that time, she would also have me take £5 for the poor saints in communion with us. I mention here particularly that this dear sister kept all these things to herself and did them as much as possible in secret; and during her lifetime, I suppose, not six brethren and sisters among us knew that she had ever possessed £480, or that she had given £100 towards the Orphan House. But this is not all. Sometime after this £100 had been given by her, brother C—r (who was then laboring as a city missionary in connection with the Scriptural Knowledge Institution, and who about that very time happened to visit from house to house in that part of the city where A. L. lived) told me that he had met with many cases in which she had given, to one poor woman a bedstead, to another some bedding, to another some clothes, to another food; and thus instance upon instance of acts of love, on the part of our dear sister, had come before him. I relate one instance more. August 4th, 1836, seven months and a half after she had given the £100, she came one morning to me and said: “Last evening I felt myself particularly stirred up to pray about the funds of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution; but whilst praying I thought, what good is it for me to pray for means, if I do not give when I have the means, and I have therefore brought you this £5.” As I had reason to believe that by this time by far the greater part of her money was gone, I again had a good deal of conversation with her, to see whether she really did count the cost, and whether this donation also was given unto the Lord or from momentary excitement, in which case it was better not to give the money. However, she was at this time also steadfast, grounded upon the Word of God, and evidently constrained by the love of Christ; and all the effect my conversation had upon her was, that she said: “You must take five shillings in addition to the £5, as a proof that I give the £5 cheerfully.”
Four things are specially to be noticed about this beloved sister, with reference to all this period of her earthly pilgrimage: (1) She did all these things in secret, avoiding to the utmost all show about them, and thus proved that she did not desire the praise of man. (2) She remained, as before, of a humble and lowly mind, and she proved thus that she had done what she did unto the Lord and not unto man. (3) Her dress remained, during all the time that she had this comparative abundance, the same as before. It was clean, yet as simple and inexpensive as it was at the time when all her income had consisted of 3s. 6d., or at most 5s., per week. There was not the least difference as to her lodging, dress, manner, or lire, etc. She remained in every way the poor handmaid of the Lord, as to all outward appearance. (4) But that which is as lovely as the rest, she continued working at her needle all this time. She earned her 2s. 6d., or 3s., or a little more, a week, as before; whilst she gave away the money in sovereigns or five-pound notes.
At last all her money was gone, and that some years before she fell asleep; and as her bodily health never had been good as long as I had known her, and was now much worse, she found herself peculiarly dependent upon the Lord, Who never forsook her up to the last moment of her earthly course. The very commencement of her life of simple dependence upon the Lord was such as greatly to encourage her. She related the facts to me as I give them here. When she was completely without money, and when her little stock of tea and butter was also gone, two sisters in the Lord called on her. After they had been a little while with her, they told her that they had come to take tea with her. She said to herself, I should not at all mind going without my tea, but this is a great trial, that I have nothing to set before these sisters; and she gave them therefore to understand that their staying to tea would not be convenient at that time. The sisters, however, I suppose, not understanding the hint, remained, and presently brought out of a basket tea, sugar, butter and bread, and thus there was all that was requisite for the tea, and the remainder of the provisions was left for her. She told me that at that time she was not accustomed to trials of faith, as she afterwards was.
Her body became weaker and weaker, in consequence of which she was able to work very little for many months before she died; but the Lord supplied her with all she needed though she never asked for anything. For instance, a sister in communion with us sent her for many months all the bread she used. Her mouth was full of thanksgiving, even in the midst of the greatest bodily sufferings. She fell asleep in Jesus in January, 1844. I have related these facts because they tend to the praise of the Lord, and may be instrumental in stirring up other children of God to follow this dear departed sister in so far as she followed the Lord Jesus; but, in particular, that I may show in what remarkable ways the Lord proved, from the very beginning, that the Orphan House was His and not mine.
Gift of Eight Thousand One Hundred Pounds (1853)
Day by day I have now been waiting upon God for means for the Building Fund for more than nineteen months, and almost daily I have received something in answer to prayer. These donations have been, for the most part, small, in comparison with the amount which will be required for the completion of this object; nevertheless they have shown that the Lord, for the sake of His dear Son, listens to my supplications and to those of my fellow laborers and helpers in the work; and they have been precious encouragements to me to continue to wait upon God. I have been for many months assured that the Lord, in His own time, would give larger sums for this work; and for this I have been more and more earnestly entreating Him during the last months. Now at last He has abundantly refreshed my spirit and answered my request. I received today the promise that, as the joint donation of several Christians, there should be paid to me a donation of eight thousand and one hundred pounds for the work of the Lord in my hands. Of this sum I purpose to take £6,000 for the Building Fund.
See how precious it is to wait upon God (Hos 12:6)! See how those who do so are not confounded (1Pe 2:6)! Their faith and patience may long and sharply be tried; but in the end it will most assuredly be seen that those who honor God He will honor, and will not suffer them to be put to shame. The largeness of the donation, whilst it exceedingly refreshed my spirit, did not in the least surprise me; for I expect GREAT things from God.
March 14th. From Scotland £200, of which the donor kindly wished me to give £10 to Mr. Craik, to take £10 for my own personal expenses, and to use the £180 as most needed. I took, therefore, £100 for the Building Fund.
March 29th. For nearly three months the Lord has been pleased to exercise my patience by the comparatively small amount of means that has come in. Now, this evening, when I came home, I found that £300 had come in. This is a great refreshment to my spirit. As the amount is left to my disposal as may be most needed, I have taken one half of it for the Building Fund.
May 14th. Received £260, of which I took £100 for the Building Fund.
June 28th. From Wakefield £40, with £5 for Mr. Craik, and £5 for my own personal expenses. Also £220 from the West of England, of which the donor kindly wishes me to take £20 for my own private expenses, and to use the £200 as might be most needed. I have taken, therefore, £100 for the Building Fund.
July 14th. Received £541 10s., which being left to me as most needed, I took £341 10s. for the Building Fund.
July 15th. Received £110 from one who counts it an honor to have this sum to lay down at the feet of the Lord Jesus. I took of this amount £60 for the Building Fund. I cannot help remarking here, that the Lord has used some of the most unlikely persons during the past twenty-two years, in providing me with means for His service. So it was particularly in the case of this brother in the Lord from whom I received the last-mentioned donation of £110. I had not the least natural expectation of receiving this sum, when this brother, sitting before me at the New Orphan House, took out of his pocket a packet of Bank Notes, and gave to me this amount, reserving to himself, as his whole property in this world, a smaller sum than he gave to me, because of his joy in the Lord, and because of his being able to enter into the reality of his possessions in the world to come (Luk 16:9). I delight in dwelling upon such an instance, because: (1) It shows that there is grace, much grace, to be found among the saints even now; (2) It shows the variety of instrumentality that the Lord is pleased to employ in supplying me with means for His service; and (3) Because it so manifestly proves that we do not wait upon Him in vain, when we make known our requests to Him for means.
December 31st. This is the last day of another year. Two years and a half I have now been day by day seeking the Lord’s help in prayer for this object. He has also been pledged to give us many proofs that He is remembering our requests...
Exhortation to Perseverance in Prayer (1863)
Thus I saw the close of another year, with reference to this part of the work. The full answer to my daily prayers was far from being realized; yet there was abundant encouragement granted by the Lord, to continue in prayer. But suppose, even, that far less had come in than was received, still, after having come to the conclusion, upon scriptural ground, and after much prayer and self-examination, as stated at full length before, I ought to have gone on without wavering, in the exercise of faith and patience concerning this object (i.e. the building of a new orphanage); and thus all the children of God, when once satisfied that anything which they bring before God in prayer is according to His will, ought to continue in believing, expecting, persevering prayer, until the blessing is granted. Thus am I myself now (viz. in 1864) waiting upon God for certain blessings, for which I have daily besought Him for 19 years and 6 months, without one day’s intermission. Still the full answer is not yet given concerning the conversion of certain individuals, though, in the meantime, I have received many thousands of answers to prayer. I have also prayed daily, without intermission, for the conversion of other individuals about ten years, for others six or seven years, for others four, three, and two years, for others about eighteen months; and still the answer is not yet granted, concerning these persons: whilst, in the meantime, many thousands of my prayers have been answered, and also souls converted, for whom I had been praying. I lay particular stress upon this, for the benefit of a certain class of readers, who may suppose that I need only to ask God, and receive at once; or that I might pray concerning anything, and the answer would surely come. One can only expect to obtain answers to prayers which are according to the mind of God; and even then, patience and faith may be exercised for many years, even as mine are exercised, in the latter to which I have referred; and yet am I daily continuing in prayer, and expecting the answer, and so certainly expecting the answer that I have often thanked God that He will surely give it, though now for 19 years and 6 months faith and patience have thus been exercised. Be encouraged, dear Christian reader, with fresh earnestness to give yourself to prayer, if you can only be sure that you ask for things which are for the glory of God.