"I have been asked the question: ‘Has God always given you just what you have asked for?’ Oh no! For Him to have done so would have been great unkindness.”
Born May 6, 1864, near Kensington Gardens, London, Florence Rosalind Bell-Smith was considered talented even as a child. In 1885, she graduated from the Toronto School of Art and prepared to be a well-respected artist.
But God had other plans for Rosalind’s life. When she was twelve years old, she attended a revival meeting and heard the preacher preach from John 3:16. About that meeting, she wrote:
As he presented with great intensity and fervour the picture of the love of God, I yielded myself absolutely to the Lord Jesus Christ and stood up among others, publicly confessing Him as my Master.
From the time she was saved, Rosalind felt a strong tug-of-war between her love of art and her desire to serve God full-time with her life. She told the Lord that she wanted to get married someday, but only if the man was completely sold out to Christ. When she met Jonathan Goforth and saw how completely worn out his Bible was from being read so often, she thought this could very well be God’s choice for her husband.
Her love of art was overcome over time with a love for serving Christ. On February 4, 1888, the Goforths set sail for China, where they had great plans to spread the Gospel. Two weeks after they settled into their new home, it burned to the ground; and during their years in ministry, they lost five of their eleven children. But in the midst of all their trials and changes in plans, they found God completely sufficient.
Do you really believe that God is wise enough to plan your life? Do you believe His will is best, that it is definitely better than yours? Anything you plan for yourself is bound to be less wonderful than what God has in mind for His higher, better plans. God wants what will be ultimately best for your life, even more than you do!
Proverbs 3:5 – Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.