Daily Devotion

“You must pray for me, dear, dear Brother. I cannot be blind to the fact that as yet the real responsibility of the work at home rests on me.”

Emily Blatchley · Letter to Hudson Taylor from London, c. 1872-73 (A. J. Broomhall, Hudson Taylor & China's Open Century, Book 5: Refiner's Fire, p. 365; quoted in the Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity)

Scripture

1 Samuel 30:24 "Who would listen to you in this matter? The share of the one who went into battle is to be the same as the share of the one who stayed with the supplies; they shall share alike."

Reflection

In her last years, though gravely ill, Emily Blatchley stayed in England, quietly handling the mission's correspondence, accounts and publications and caring for Hudson Taylor's children; indeed, David’s decree declared that those who guarded the supplies shared equally in the reward with those who fought on the front lines. We often fixate on the dazzling spotlight of the stage and the visible results of frontline work, while overlooking the spiritual value of humble service in the background. Whether God places us on a battlefield or at a quiet desk, though our roles differ, the grace we receive and God’s sovereignty remain the same. Faithfulness is not measured by the size of the stage, but by our obedience to where the Lord has placed us.