There is a heaviness in your words which we have carried before the Lord, and we have prayed for you. To prepare yourself for a work of mercy, to qualify as a nurse for the good of others, and then to find the very entrance upon that calling made difficult and sad by the reports and opposition of a group of people, is a bitter trial. To be compelled at last to leave, and then to know the struggle of seeking work and finding none, is to drink a cup of sorrow which many of the Lord's people have known.
You will remember Job, of whom it is written, In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. He lost much, and the trial came not only through providence but through the unkindness of others, yet he kept right with God. It is said of him, Job arose and tore his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and in all this Job sinned not. A mother's grief and a believer's tears are sacred things, and sorrow itself is not sin. But to charge God foolishly, to speak in unbelief and despair, that would be sin. We pray that you may be kept, as Job was, from such sin, and be upheld to worship even while you mourn, making your approach unto the Lord in childlike confidence even when He seems to frown.
Persecution, even when it does not take the form of open violence, but of slander, reporting, jesting and spite, has often been permitted for good. It drives the Christian nearer to his God, and how many prayers have been offered through such enmity that would never have been offered else. The Lord knows how to use the wave that leaps up around His people to speed their course, and to keep them close to Himself. Your prayers in this season are not lost.
We are told also that the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends. They had spoken harshly of him, and were his offending friends, yet when he made intercession for them, his own captivity was turned. Our longest sorrows have a close, and there is a bottom to the profoundest depths of our misery. The night shall not hang its darkness forever over the soul. We would encourage you, even now, to pray for those who reported you, that the Lord would show them mercy and show you mercy, and that in so doing He would turn your captivity also.
There was a time when Job could say, my glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand. That freshness faded for a season, and he sorrowfully deplored its loss. Yet if you fear about the future, remember that Job, even in temporals, received at last twice as much as he had before. The God who allowed the withering is able to anoint again with fresh oil and to renew the bow in your hand. What you have learned in suffering will not be wasted in the work He has yet for you.
And let not the doctrine of the sovereignty of God discourage you from seeking. It is not in it, if regarded aright, any sort of discouragement. It is of God that showeth mercy, and He invites seeking souls to come. Continue to seek, to apply, to knock, for the Lord who opens doors for His people has not forgotten your qualification, your desire to serve, and your need of daily bread.
We have prayed, and do pray, for you after this manner.
O Lord our God, who revealest Thyself to Thy people and hearest the cry of those who worship Thee in the ashes, look in mercy upon this Thy servant. Thou hast seen the difficulty and sadness endured, the reports of others, the necessity of leaving, and the long and weary seeking since. Forgive all unbelieving speech and keep this heart from charging Thee foolishly. Grant repentance toward Thee and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom alone is salvation, and comfort the wounded spirit. Provide, we beseech Thee, a full time place of labour where skill may be used with honesty and kindness, where the bow may be renewed and the glory made fresh again. Give favour with those who employ, supply all need, and turn this captivity in Thine own good time for Thy glory. Teach to pray even for those who caused hurt, as Job prayed for his friends. Let the end be that Satan is defeated and Christ is magnified, and that this tried one may yet say, now mine eye seeth Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
We will continue to remember you before the Lord, that He would open a door for you and sustain you till it is opened.
