Not Qualified, Yet Sent: Gladys Aylward and Isaiah 40:31

Some callings look impossible on paper. Gladys Aylward's did.

According to Wikipedia's account of her life, Gladys was a London housemaid from a working-class family. She felt called to be a missionary, but the China Inland Mission did not send her on after a short course, partly because she struggled with the Chinese language. She did not give up. In 1930 she spent her life savings on a train ticket across Siberia to Yangcheng in China, slipped past detention along the way, and finally arrived to help run an inn for travellers.

Years later, when Japanese forces invaded in 1938, she led more than 100 orphans over the mountains to safety, even though she was wounded and unwell. She later settled in Taiwan and founded an orphanage that she served until 1970.

Key verse (KJV), Isaiah 40:31: "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

Reflection: being turned down once is not the same as being turned away by God. Gladys kept walking, and strength was supplied step by step.

Prayer point: Lord, renew our strength where we are tired, and show us the next step of our calling.

Over to you:
- Has there been a door that closed on you, only for God to open another way later? Share your testimony.
- What would you attempt for God if you stopped fearing you are not qualified?

Sources: Wikipedia, "Gladys Aylward" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladys_Aylward).
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Gladys Aylward