Hudson Taylor, part 4

Hudson Taylor knew that living in China was going to require a strong faith. So he resolved to move men by God through prayer to the best of his ability. One example of this was at work. His employer was a forgetful man and often times forgot to pay him on time, so Hudson would have to remind him. There was nothing sinful about reminding him, but Hudson decided that he would no longer remind him; he would instead pray and ask God to remind him (and thus move men by God through prayer). This was not some form of manipulation on Hudson’s part – trying to use God to accomplish what he wanted – no, it was a form of trust. He was saying to God that he was totally dependent on him for all his needs. This form of trust stretched him greatly. The next time his pay was due, his boss did indeed forget to pay him. Hudson continued praying and waiting…until he had only one coin to his name. Then he gave that coin away to a man with a sick wife and hungry children (but just so you know, it wasn't easy for him to do that - he begrudingly did it at first, but soon realized the joy in doing so). Low and behold, he got a letter the next day from a stranger containing enough money for the week. But still he didn’t get his pay and the next week was in the same situation as before. I won’t go into the exact details of how his prayer was finally answered, because it would take too long. But I will tell you that his patience and prayer paid off. In the strangest of circumstances, his boss finally paid him!

As I wait to go back to China, not knowing how long it will be, I want to live a life of faith where I am. As Hudson reasoned, if he couldn’t live by faith at home, what made him think he would be able to live by faith in China?