Sometimes I like a partial verse of the Bible better than the full verse.  Isaiah 30:16 is one of them.  The portion that reads:  “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength” is an example.  Those words are compelling to me, but God continues as He speaks to His rebellious nation:  “But you were unwilling.”  That unwilling part targets me more often than I want to confess!

My first response is to use our hectic times as an excuse.  With a technological age that all but freezes my brain, I witness accomplishments and innovations that are jaw-dropping.

Not only am I witness to mankind’s amazing ability to do, I’m being trained to expect results quickly — instantly.  It’s a drive-thru age with no patience for waiting.

As progress rushes along, it makes lots of noise.  Quietness appears to have only one place to reside — the library.

Can you understand my pressure of leaning on a verse that points to rest, quietness and trust when everything in our society preaches, “work harder, turn up the volume, and ‘it’s not what you know but who you know?’”

When my unemployed friend told me where she was sending her resumes, I began to think of ways I might help.  I was praying, but surely I could do more.  Who did I know or what contacts did I have with any of these organizations?

Suddenly George Mueller’s name lit up my mind.  Certainly his life, lived in the 1800’s, proved the power of this verse when observed and followed.  Mueller was a Christian evangelist in Bristol, England, who felt God’s call to care for orphans.  In his lifetime, he and his wife fed, clothed, and educated over ten thousand orphans and established 117 schools which offered Christian education to over 120,000 children — many being orphans.

His personal life was the key to his astounding accomplishments.  He spent hours in daily prayer and Bible reading and NEVER asked for any help from anyone … but God.  There were no mail-outs or requests to anyone.  Only God heard and saw his needs, but God met them all.  Mueller had over fifty thousand specific recorded answers to prayers in his journals and over half a billion dollars was given to his ministry in answer to prayer.

After such an example as George Mueller, I bow my head in shame and realize the second part of verse sixteen must describe what I would like to deny:  “But you were unwilling.”

Letters to Camille Anding can be sent to P.O. Box 551, Brookhaven, MS, 39602, or e-mailed to camille@datalane.net.