Daily Devotion

“The operations of the Holy Spirit, like all the acts of Deity, are regulated by infinite wisdom and sovereignty. They sometimes "wait not for men, nor tarry for the sons of men." And it often happens that, while the servants of God are cast down, and ready to faint, through the want of success, he is then secretly working in the hearts of some persons whom they least expected to feel, and in places where the greatest blindness and obstinacy may have been manifested.”

William Milne · A Retrospect of the First Ten Years of the Protestant Mission to China (1820), Appendix

Scripture

2 Corinthians 1:4-5 He comforts us in all our troubles, so that we might comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. Just as we share abound in the sufferings of Christ, so too do we abound in his comfort.

Reflection

In Malacca, Milne knew sickness and the grief of losing his wife, and he often heard critics say that missionaries had "been long at work and effected nothing." In his Retrospect he wrote that while God's servants are cast down and ready to faint for want of success, the Holy Spirit is often working in secret. Paul tells us that God comforts us in all our tribulation, so that we may comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received. Our moments of discouragement are usually not moments when God has stopped working, only moments when we cannot see His work. Only when we have first been comforted by the Lord in our own trials can the cup we offer truly refresh thirsty and suffering souls.