Reuben, Simeon, Gad
Reuben: The second row of stones bore the names of the three tribes: Reuben, Simeon and Gad. Reuben means "Jehovah seeth" or "the Lord hath looked upon my affliction" (Gen. 29:32). Whatever your trouble may be, believe from your heart that the Lord has seen all your afflictions, sufferings, poverty and trials. Do not seek human sympathy. The Lord alone knows how to comfort you in your sorrow and help you in your difficulties. All you have to do is to let God see your afflictions.
Paul suffered extreme sufferings (2 Cor. 1:3-10). He had none to comfort him. He was pressed beyond measure. In fact he had no hope of remaining alive. Then God came to his rescue and delivered him. For this reason Paul said that he himself was now able to comfort others. God allowed such afflictions in his life so that he might know how to help others in distress.
Perhaps, troubles have come upon you and you have murmured against God and said, "Lord, I have done nothing wrong against You! Why have You allowed such afflictions in my life?" The Lord has not sent these afflictions to you as a punishment for your sins, but only to train you that you may be a source of comfort to many others who are in similar need.
Through all these sufferings, sorrows and difficulties, God is preparing us for a heavenly vocation. We know that through all these we are strengthened spiritually. For example, on high mountains strong and tall trees grow.
How do they grow so tall? They grow so tall because of the strong wind. When the fierce wind blows, the roots of the trees go deeper and deeper. Every storm makes the roots go deep, and thus the trees are not uprooted. That is why they become very thick and tall. In the same way every storm of life, whether persecution, or poverty, or trial, or sickness, or loneliness or family strife, is not intended to punish us but is allowed to make us strong spiritually. For the same purpose, the Lord allowed David to go through many sufferings (Ps. 18:4-6, 16-19). Every affliction, hardship, trial and distress brought David into a large place spiritually (Ps. 66: 10-12). That is God's plan for all of us.
I thank God with all my heart for my sufferings after my salvation. From the year 1927 to 1935, God permitted every kind of suffering in my life. I thank God for them. He gave me grace. I do not know of any time when I murmured. I believe that it was God's plan for me. In those days He taught me many spiritual lessons and He became real and precious to me. We will never learn these things by reading any books or going to any college.
There is no need for you to get worried when you face any great difficulty in your life. In His own time and in His own way, God will deliver you. As the heavenly King over His people, He will protect you and help you. Earthly kings usually want to exercise authority and receive honor. But the Lord who is our heavenly King wants to save us and serve us. To show this, at one time He washed the feet of His twelve disciples. We also must learn to serve one another; if we remember that the Lord has seen our afflictions, we shall be comforted and brought very near to the heart of God, so much so that we shall be able to serve others by comforting them.
Simeon: The next name on the breastplate was "Simeon", and it means "God hath heard" (Gen. 29:33). God has promised, "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear" (Isa. 65:24). There is no need to wait for signs and evidences. Believe His promise and start thanking the Lord for hearing and answering your prayers. The Lord Himself said, "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them" (Mark 11:24). The faith that the Lord hears and answers us is the secret of effectual prayer. Do not doubt God. He will do things which we think are impossible. The life of faith is a life of joy. You can trust God for everything.
In our own experience we have found this to be true many, many times. Let me give some instances. We were led to arrange Holy Convocation gatherings at Guntur, for the first time in 1954. God had spoken to us clearly and we fixed the dates. However, we had not yet been able to secure suitable buildings and premises for such gatherings. We expected about 5000 people to attend and we knew it would not be easy to find a place large enough to accommodate that number for nine days. Yet we believed that the Lord would provide, and we had not the least doubt about it.
One morning a brother in the Lord came to me and suggested that we go into the city and look for a place. We drove three miles and reached a compound which we understood belonged to Mr. Chowdury, a Hindu gentleman. We went in to see him and explained to him our desire to conduct Holy Convocation gatherings in Guntur. Immediately he put his hand into his pocket and offered us Rs.25/- for the expenses. We told him that we had not come to collect any contributions, but that we needed accommodation. He was very pleased to give us the whole compound of several acres and also offered us several of the spacious rooms in his bungalow, a three-storied building. The secret of the blessing we received is that we believed the Lord even before He supplied our need.
Financially, when we started the preparations we had with us Rupees ten only, yet we fully believed the Lord would supply all that was necessary to feed the 5000 people whom we expected. The Lord honored our faith and fully supplied.
We can trust God for everything. Once when I was traveling from Bombay to Hyderabad, I went to the station to enquire at the booking office whether any berth was available in that train. The clerk replied in the negative but I told him that 1 would take a chance and I bought the ticket. The train arrived and I enquired at two compartments. There was no room, but God had provided. I walked to the front of the train and saw an unoccupied berth in a two-berth compartment. I enquired of one of the passengers in it and he answered me it was vacant. As I entered I asked him how he knew this. Smilingly he said, "I asked for one ticket and one berth and paid for them. I do not know why they gave me two berths. I believe it is for you." This is one among many similar incidents in my life. It shows how God provides for our every need.
Since I came into God's service 38 years ago, I do not think there has been any occasion when God has not supplied my need. Some years ago, we had a gospel campaign and had to pay a rent of Rs.335/- for one week for a public hall. So I was praying in my room very quietly, "Lord, for Thy glory we are having meetings. We must pay the rent in time. Will you kindly send the money required within three days?" On the third day I got a letter from a man from Calicut, who wrote, "I am sending you a money order for Rs.335/- at the request of my daughter. She has been sick for a long time and unconscious for more than two weeks. When at last she opened her eyes, she asked me to send you something. Then I said to her that we had no money in the house. So she requested me to sell her gold chain. I sold the chain and I am sending you the money." This amount was just sufficient to pay the rent for the hall.
Do not doubt the Lord! Do not question Him regarding any delay. Do not be perplexed, but believe that the Lord has heard your prayer. The Lord will see your faith and He will reward you accordingly. Some people pray, but afterwards they go about with a sorrowful face. This shows that they have not believed that the Lord has heard them. Do not be weak in faith like such people. If you have really believed that the Lord has heard you, then thank Him for answering you.
We have proved that He is our loving God who never fails. Oh, how we doubt God and suffer much by looking to man! If we believe that our Lord died for our sins, loved us and gave all that He had to save us and redeem us, surely He will not fail us. He said, "Lo, I am with you always" (Matt. 28:20), and "I will never leave thee..........." (Heb. 13:5). This is the fifth spiritual experience which we need to bring us into the enjoyment of closeness to God's heart.
Gad: The last name on the second row of the precious stones on the breastplate was "Gad", which means "a troop or army cometh" (Gen 30:11). Gad was the first son of his mother Zilpah, but Leah believed that a troop was following after him. She saw something great in that which was seemingly small. We also should learn to look far beyond the small beginning and see the great things that will take place later. For example, in John 4:4 we read that the Lord Jesus Christ left Judea for Galilee. There were two roads to Galilee. One via Samaria and the other via mount Carmel. The Jews would never go via Samaria (John 4:9) but the Lord Jesus Christ wanted to go through Samaria. The Lord said to His disciples, "I have decided to go through Samaria" but they replied, "Why go that way? Who will give us food to eat and water to drink?" The Scripture says, "He must needs go through Samaria." What was the reason? For the sake of one woman, He went there and the whole of Samaria was shaken. Through one soul, He won the whole country (John 4:39; Acts 8:5-8).
We think that the Lord works more through big crowds. That is not God's way. Through small things, He does great things. One day a man came in tears to see us. He said, "Please pray for my wife, she is very ill." He was a Hindu. We went to see her, gave a short message then prayed and left. The Lord healed that woman and through her husband many people came to the Lord in that area. On another occasion, a lady came to see me in Madras. She said to me, "Please pray for my husband, he is very, very sick in the hospital. The doctors are not able to cure him." We spent only a few minutes with them in prayer, gave a short message and came away. Afterwards, the whole family which was from Hyderabad came for fellowship. In the year 1950 they wrote to me, requesting me to go to Hyderabad and that is how the Lord began to work in that city through a small thing, not through great things. That is what we learn from Gad.
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