Daily Devotion (English) – 16.02.2021

Zeal for God

“Paul…. his spirit was provoked within him.” – Acts 17:16

William Carey was from a poor family in England. He discontinued his schooling owing to poverty. At the age of sixteen, he was a humble shoemaker in a cobbler’s shop. A map of India that hung in front of his table aroused in him a burden to pray with zeal and tears for the Indians who had never heard the gospel. In 1793 he sailed to India and started his ministry in West Bengal. In a very short period of time Carey’s five-year-old son died of dysentery. It became too much for his wife who suffered a nervous breakdown and her mental health was deteriorating rapidly. William and his wife contracted Malaria and they were on the verge of death. It was a valley of the shadow of death to him. He bore all his sufferings relentlessly and with enthusiasm carried on with the task of translating the Bible into different languages. His printing press was destroyed by fire in 1812. A great number of copies of the scriptures and valuable manuscripts were burnt to ashes in a night. The undaunted missionary never stepped back. With more zeal and fervour, he redid all translation. He founded Serampore college in 1818, a divinity school for Indians. Numerous servants of God arise from the college and they shine brightly wherever they are placed. 

In the Holy Bible, after Jesus Christ, Paul was the one who suffered persecutions and afflictions. He endured hunger, starvation stripes and imprisonment for the sake of Christ. Even in prison he was able to rise up many ministers of Christ. We possess 13 epistles written by St. Paul in the New Testament. He overcame all tribulations to fulfil his ministry. Moreover, his spirit was provoked to preach boldly. That was why there was a great revival at that time. 

Dear readers, what kind of zeal do we have? Are we zealous for Christ? Are we ardent in spirit or in flesh? If we are zealous for Christ, we will be soul winners. If we harbour in our heart bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour slander and rivalry among brothers, we may even lose our souls. In the beginning, when we were saved by Christ, how zealous and ardent we were for Christ! As days pass by, has our spiritual fervour become dimmer and vanished? Are we weary of tribulations and persecutions? When we take a look at the lives of the two missionaries quoted above, we understand that because of their zeal and fervour, many ministers of Christ have been coming up. If that is true, when we stand steadfast for God, good yield is close at hand.
-    Mrs. Sakthi Sankarrajan

Prayer Request:
Pray for parents of the children who have joined Young Partners’ plan to adhere to their commitment.

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