Thus my trials and hardships taught me that a genuine experience of
salvation is obtained, as well as maintained, not by working up some
great feeling or emotion, but by simple, trusting faith in God, and
implicit obedience to his Word.
I found that our God is a loving Father and not a hard taskmaster.
"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that
fear him" (Psa. 103:13). Neither does he require us to do anything that
is unreasonable. "I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of
God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Rom. 12:1).
I also learned that the true test of our Christian experience is not the
state of our feelings, but the power to resist temptation, to keep sweet
under severe trials, and to manifest the meek and gentle spirit of the
Master. I learned, moreover, that the Lord is not anxious to cast us off
for every little failure, but is long-suffering and patient with us as
long as we have a sincere aim and purpose to please him in all things.
I learned more fully the secret of "casting all my care upon him,"
knowing that "all things work together for good to them that love God"
(Rom. 8:28).
The last few years of my life have been marked by great victory in my
experience. The former trials through which I passed have increased
my usefulness by helping me to be more unselfish. I wondered at the
time why God permitted such trials and sufferings; but now as I look
back upon the past, I see that I could not afford to be without the
discipline and training which those severe trials brought to me. In
my work as a pastor I am all the more qualified to sympathize with and
to help those who are meeting with similar trials and difficulties.
As I remember my own conflicts and trials, I can be more charitable
for others.