Oswald Smith
"You will plant but not harvest; you will press olives but not use the
oil on yourselves, you will crush grapes but not drink the wine." - Micah
6:15
Oswald Smith was born in 1899 in Erneston, Ontario, Canada. He came to
Christ when he was seven and he attended Toronto Bible College and
McCormick Theological Seminary. In 1916, he became the pastor of Dale
Presbyterian Church in Toronto. In 1920, Oswald had the desire to become a
missionary. As he stood before the missionary board, he silently prayed
over and over again: "Lord, I want to go as a missionary for you. Open a
door of service for me." When the interview was over, the board turned
Oswald Smith down. Oswald was crushe. He did not meet their
qualifications. He had failed the test. But God was working in Oswald
Smith's life. He planted another idea in Oswald's heart. If he could not
go as a missionary, he would build a church that could send out
missionaries. The small church combined with a Christian and Missionary
Alliance Congregation. By 1928, Oswald Smith's congregation, The People's
Church in Toronto, Canada, was sending out more missionaries than any
other church at that time. Oswald Smith brought God into the situation,
and God transformed his disappointment into a ministry.
Disappointment and discouragement will come into every life. The question
is: Do you look to the Lord when you are disappointed? Today in prayer,
turn to the Lord and give Him your disappointments and discouragements and
He will give you comfort and a work.
"Faith is often strengthened right at the place of disappointment." -
Rodney McBride
God's Word: "They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and
were not disappointed." - Psalm 22:5
By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2001, Devotional E-Mail DEVOTIONS IN THE MINOR
PROPHETS kennedy@devotional.com