In all these things we are more than
conquerors through Him who loved us.
Romans 8:37 NKJV
Hudson Taylor was one of history’s most successful missionaries, but it didn’t start out that way. He longed to reach the Chinese and establish the China Inland Mission (CIM), but when he reached China, Hudson experienced language difficulties, homesickness, and personality conflicts with the other missionaries, and he was in financial crisis.
The final straw came when Hudson injured himself while trying to dye his hair black. A friend comforted Hudson in his depression, telling him to try “abiding, not striving nor struggling.” Because Christ is “the only power for service; the only ground for unchanging joy.” That was the spiritual surge Hudson needed, and by the time he died, the CIM had eight hundred missionaries.
How much sweeter would our own Christian lives be if we took the same advice and applied it to everything we do?
Stop striving in marriage. Stop trying to create perfect children. And stop trying to control every situation, and abide in Christ. Let the love of God flow through you, and trust Him to shine.
The Christian life will be filled with obstacles and struggles, but the Holy Spirit has given us the power to overcome. When we abide in Christ, those struggles become the fertilizer that brings about the fruit of the Spirit.
Lord, You promised that we are more than conquerors through You. Help me to embrace the truth and live in confidence of those promises. Amen.
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Today’s reading was adapted from Daily Wisdom for Women: 2017 Devotional Collection with permission from Barbour Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reading was written by Sabrina McDonald.