Moses Lard was a young man when his father died of smallpox. He was one of six children, and his mother had no means of supporting them. Moses and one of his brothers had to leave home and make a living on their own. As they departed, their mother said with tears running down her cheeks, “My dear boys, I have nothing to give you but my blessing and these two little books.” She handed each of the boys a New Testament. Years later Lard said, “We all said goodbye, and that family was forever broken on earth…To that little book and the memory of that scene my future life owes its shaping. I never neglected the one, thank heaven, nor forgot the other” (Earl West, Search for the Ancient Order, vol. 1, pp. 287-291).
Many know that Moses Lard became one of the most eloquent and powerful writers and preachers of the 1800s. What some may not realize is that he could not read or write when he was 17. He had become a tailor by occupation and decided to learn to read and write, so he went through town and gathered advertisements and used them to teach himself. If you have never read from the pen of Moses Lard, give him a hearing sometime. You’ll be stunned at the verbal skills of a man who grew up illiterate and overcame many circumstances that were against him.
Now turn to the Bible. When the angel told Gideon to lead the Israelites against the vast army of the Midianites, he replied, “Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house” (Judg. 6:15). Gideon thought he was too poor and too young, but God knew he had the qualities to lead Israel to victory. And he did.
David was the youngest son of Jesse and seemingly the least likely to be the next king of Israel (I Sam. 16). But that is what he became. He was not experienced as a soldier, but he killed Goliath–a feat no other Israelite would even attempt (I Sam. 17).
Moses was slow of speech and had a slow tongue (Exod. 4:10). Amos was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet; he was a herdsman and a gatherer of sycamore fruit (Amos 7:14). Peter and John were not educated men (Acts 4:13). Paul was not an eloquent speaker and had a thorn in the flesh (II Cor. 10:10; 12:7-10). But God used them all.
“Circumstances that are against us don’t have to be the end of the story.”
Some suffer adversity for a time and afterward see better days. Others must learn to live with it and serve God in spite of it. In either case, circumstances that are against us don’t have to be the end of the story.
Dr. Kerry Duke
Vice President of Academics
Tennessee Bible College