J. Hudson Taylor (1832-1905)

“For 51 years, J. Hudson Taylor poured his life into bringing Christ behind the closed doors of China. He founded China Inland Mission (to share the gospel in the “unreached” interior regions of China), and as a result, more than 800 missionaries were brought into the country (who started 125 schools and directly resulted in 20,000 Christian conversions, as well as the establishment of more than 300 stations of work with more than 499 local helpers in all 18 provinces). Hudson Taylor was a prayer warrior and a faith giant. He was able to speak several Chinese dialects and helped to translate the new testament into the dialect used in Shanghai, where he spent many years of his life. Unlike many European missionaries, Taylor was careful of Chinese culture, respecting their way of life and even adopting their clothing (and a pigtail typical of Chinese men). He faced sickness and loss with a spirit of unshaken trust, leaving behind a legacy that has inspired thousands of missionaries in all corners of the world. In his own words, “All God’s giants have been weak men, who did great things for God because they reckoned on His being with them.” From Kindred Grace Magazine

“When the Chinese Evangelization Society, which had originally supported Taylor, was unable to pay his salary, he decided to strike out on his own, trusting God alone to meet his financial needs.” (Gotquestions.org) “Taylor was known for his deep faith and reliance on prayer, believing that God would honor His name and provide for every need.” ““Ebenezer and Jehovah-Jireh”: Hudson and Maria Taylor had the two words inscribed on plaques which they always kept on the mantle wherever they resided. Every time supplies would become desperately low at a mission facility Hudson was famous for saying, “Then the Lord’s time for helping us must be close at hand.” “”Ebenezer” is a Hebrew term meaning “stone of help” or “thus far has the Lord helped us,” derived from a biblical story in 1 Samuel where Samuel erected a stone to commemorate God’s victory over the Philistines.” “”Jehovah Jireh” translates to “The Lord will provide” and is a name for God used in the Bible, particularly in the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22, where God provided a ram as a substitute sacrifice.” From AI

What an amazing story! Do we truly trust in God to provide all our physical and spiritual needs. Most of us have jobs with good income, maybe a good retirement plan. We have pantries, refrigerators, and freezers full of food. We have medical insurance to cover medical needs. We have nice houses and cars. We have money to eat out a lot and go on expensive vacations every year. It is easy to take God for granted. A memory from the movie Shenandoah has always stuck in my mind. Jimmy Stewart is giving thanks at the dinner table with his children and this was his prayer: Lord, we cleared this land. We plowed it, sowed it, and harvested it. We cooked the harvest. It wouldn’t be here, we wouldn’t be eatin’ it if we hadn’t done it all ourselves. We worked dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel, but we thank you just the same anyway, Lord, for the food we’re about to eat. Amen. 

We would never pray a prayer like that, but the reality is that we might actually feel that way about all our physical blessings. Do we get up every day trusting God for food for the day, like Israel had to do every morning with the manna? Do we trust God every day for the money to pay our bills? Do we take God for granted?

I will close with a lengthy passage from Deuteronomy 8. Israel has come to the plains of Moab, ready to enter the Promised Land. Moses, in one of his last sermons to the people before he dies, gave this warning. Deuteronomy 8:⁶ Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. ⁷ For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; ⁸ a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; ⁹ a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.

¹⁰ When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. ¹¹ Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. ¹² Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, ¹³ and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, ¹⁴ then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ¹⁵ He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. ¹⁶ He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. ¹⁷ You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” ¹⁸ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. 

It often takes some tragedy to make us trust in God and not ourselves. Maybe a serious illness or an accident or a job loss or a devastating tornado or a house fire to humble us. But the warning in Deuteronnomy 8 is for when things are going well, when Israel was enjoying the physical blessings awaiting them in the Promised Land. When things are going well financially and physically is when we tend to forget God and trust in ourselves.

Paul gave us a warning also. 1 Timothy 6:¹⁷ Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” American Christians are truly “rich” comparied to third world countries, and yet research indicates that the average American Christian gives around 2-3% of their income to church or charity. Studies suggest that only 5% of church goers give at least a tenth (tithe) to church or charity. That still amounts to billions of dollars given to church or charity, but if all American Christians at least tithed, there would much more.

“Father, help us to not trust in ourselves or our money. Thank you for providing for us so richly. Help us to use those riches to do you work, to help the poor, to drill wells for clean water, to provide care for orphans worldwide, to print Bibles to spread the gospel. Help us to trust you daily for all our needs and never take you for granted. In Jesus name, Amen.”