A nine-year-old was unconscious for three weeks after a classmate threw a rock that smashed in the center of her face. Friends and family feared she would die. When Ellen Harmon finally regained consciousness, she soon discovered that her dream of finishing school was also dashed, her injuries preventing her from being able to study. Friends proved fair- weather, drifting away. On top of all this, Ellen came to entertain the thought that God was a tyrant who would burn her forever. So distraught was Ellen over all this that she thought of suicide.
But through a series of providential events, Jesus became a precious friend to Ellen. She realized with surprise and awe that God had a great purpose for her life, and the events that had seemed so harsh and random were really part of a divine events that had seemed so harsh and random were really part of a divine plan. In her own words, here is what she did next:“I arranged meetings with my young friends, some of whom were considerably older than myself, and a few were married persons. A number of them were vain and thoughtless; my experience sounded to them like an idle tale, and they did not heed my entreaties. But I determined that my efforts should never cease till these dear souls, for whom I had so great an interest, yielded to God. Several entire nights were spent by me in earnest prayer for those whom I had sought out and brought together for the purpose of laboring and praying with them.
“Some of these had met with us from curiosity to hear what I had to say; others thought me beside myself to be so persistent in my efforts, especially when they manifested no concern on their own part. But at every one of our little meetings I continued to exhort and pray for each one separately, until everyone had yielded to Jesus, acknowledging the merits of His pardoning love. Everyone was converted to God.”*
This often comes to my mind when I think of revival and reformation.
* Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church (Mountain View, CA).
