A Simple Joy

 A Simple Joy

A simple joy is holy boldness.

Several years ago when we were foster parents for Cabrini-Green children, a group of gang members decided to surround one of our foster sons on Oak Street in retaliation for a gang incident. It was during the days of early renovation of the Fellowship of Friends building and I had decided to spend a Saturday sorting through debris for the dumpster while Steve was away at camp. Suddenly I heard the commotion outside on the sidewalk. With a “holy boldness” I ran outside into the midst of the gang members who had surrounded our foster son. “Stop it right now!” I declared. As the teens ran off down the street, one of them turned to throw a brick at our fourteen year old foster son. When I reached out to keep the brick from hitting him, it hit my little finger. It began to hurt and wouldn’t move. The next day on Sunday I was to play the piano and preach in Steve’s absence. As I sat in silent worship, I prayed for God’s strength with the knowledge I would probably be just pecking out the melody of the songs. However, God miraculously healed my finger. I was given a testimony from my holy boldness peacemaking!

This week’s devotional is taken from the Autobiography of Allen Jay (1831-1910). On the eve of the Civil War, Allen married Martha Sleeper and began farming in the Friends community near Lafayette, Indiana. Although Allen was born with a cleft palate and he had difficulty speaking, Allen wrote about his call to ministry to give God “glory out of my infirmities”:

No one will ever know what I passed through. It was my thorn in the flesh and cost me many bitter hours of sorrow. I wanted to preach and felt I could not. In a measure I believed I knew how Paul felt when he prayed that his ‘thorn in the flesh’ might be removed, and in some degree, I have heard the message, “My grace is sufficient for thee.’ To this day I never rise to speak, especially before strangers, without thinking about this affliction, though I have reached the experience that enables me to say, “Here I am, and if Thou canst get any glory out of my infirmities, I will rejoice and give Thee all the praise.’ It is said that so many who have good voices refuse to use them to speak well of His name who has crowned them with so many blessings. One day about this time, while working in the harvest field, a messenger came, saying that David Tatum, who was paying what we called religious visits to the families of our meeting, had come to visit our family. I went to the house and on my way prayed that if the Lord was calling me to that work He would show it to his servant and that he would be led to tell me. Soon after we sat down in silence, he commenced speaking, and his subject was faithfulness in the ministry. Just as I was thinking it might be for my wife, he turned towards me and said, “I mean thee, my brother.’ Then he went on to tell me that the Lord had called me and I must not be disobedient, adding: ‘If thou art faithful, thou shalt see many souls saved by thy ministry, and thou shalt cross the ocean more than once and preach the gospel in other lands…”

Allen Jay was recorded in the ministry of Friends in 1864. In that next year before the close of the Civil War in 1965, Allen had the opportunity to live a witness of holy boldness found in this devotional. Allen was recognized as a peacemaker who “did not shrink from controversy when he saw a principle involved.” May you enjoy reading about his testimony!

Sincerely,

Marlene Morrison Pedigo