The Forty-Day Journey of Promise
Day Thirty-Five: Finding God
Note: Welcome to The Journey, our forty-day blog series from MLK Day through the end of Black History Month. We’re learning life lessons from the legacy of African American Christianity. The series is based upon material from my book Beyond the Suffering. To learn more about Beyond the Suffering, including downloading a free chapter, click here.
Finding God Is More Important Than Finding Relief
Amanda Berry Smith recounts the agony of her soul due to a loveless marriage with her husband, James. One particular
Amanda Berry Smith
morning her heart was so sore that she felt she “could not bear any more.” She prayed, “Lord, is there no way out of this?” As she wept and prayed, “the Lord sent Mother Jones.”
In Mother Jones’ presence, Smith tries mightily to suppress her tears and her troubles. Seeing through the façade, Mother Jones pointedly inquires, “Well, Smith, how do you do?”
The dam burst. “O, Mother Jones, I am nearly heart-broken; James is so unkind.” Smith then shares everything she had tried, in her own effort, to change her husband, and “yet he was unkind.”
Mother Jones joins with Smith by sharing her story.
“Well, that is just the way Jones used to do me.” She then integrates God’s story into her story and Smith’s story. “But when God sanctified my soul He gave me enduring grace, and that is what you need . . .”
At that moment, the spiritual light bulb came on. “That is just what I need; I have always been planning to get out of trials, instead of asking God for grace to endure.”
Through Mother Jones’ mother wit, God enlightened Smith to the realization that finding God is more important than finding relief.
Join the Conversation (Post a Comment for a Chance to Receive a Copy of Beyond the Suffering)
1. We discovered numerous examples of mother wit in Amanda Berry Smith’s life and ministry. Which ones stand out to you? Why?
2. How could you apply them to your life and ministry?
