In the village of Abashiri, Japan, lived an
earnest Christian man. He had an orchard of one thousand trees, and upon
these depended the livelihood of himself, and his family. One morning, great
was his dismay to find that his apples, which were then half grown, were
being destroyed by a peculiar worm. As he walked through the orchard he
observed that every tree was affected. What was he to do? He called his
family together there in the orchard and they called upon God. Works were
added to faith, and all through the day and until late at night, they worked,
picking off the worms and destroying them; but with the pests multiplying by
the thousands, it became evident that all their efforts were in vain. In
desperation they turned to God for help. Weary with the long strain they lay
down on their straw mats for a little sleep. Returning the next morning to
their orchards to begin another strenuous day, they were startled to see
hundreds of strange birds alighting in the trees. All day long the birds
stayed, eating up the worms, but never injuring the trees or the leaves. This
kept up for three days in succession. In the evening of the third day, as the
family walked through the orchard, they found that it was entirely free of
the pest. God had vindicated the faith of his children. -- The Revivalist
|