Missionary Amy Carmichael wrote, “Everyday we live we have to choose whether we shall follow in the way of Ahab of Elijah. If we put self first, whether in great things or small, we are like Ahab. And the habit grows with life till we end as Ahab ended. ‘The king died and was brought to Samaria’ — that poor little hill which never saw anything glorious till One, who was wearied by His journey, sat on the side of the well there.”

Like most of us, Richard and Evelyn Forrest came to a point where they had to make a choice. The place of temptation did not come as they helped to start a small mountain school in Golden Valley, North Carolina. Nor did it surface a few years later when that school was relocated to Toccoa Falls, Georgia. It came after all of this when they were settled and enjoying their ministry and vocation.

Suddenly there was an offer on the table—one that would have required them to move far away from the school that they had nurtured and the people they loved. And with that offer came the promise of financial stability—something they had never had. There would have been fresh opportunities along with titles that would lead to recognition and power in the educational field. Without a doubt they would have been “set for life.” But they turned the offer down. For one brief moment, Richard Forrest allowed himself the luxury of thinking how he could provide for his wife. They would move and she would never have to wear another donated dress.

“An all important thing for us to know,” wrote Evelyn Forrest, “is our own standing in Christ.” Richard and Evelyn Forrest knew “who they were” and what they had been given to do. But this very knowledge on its own was not enough to settle the issue. There had to be something deeper and greater than a simple knowledge or calling. There had to be a personal love and sincere surrender to the Savior or their knees would have buckled at every turn.

When we have a personal and intimate knowledge of who we are in Christ and what He has done for us, we will not be quick to turn to the path that Ahab took. Instead, we will choose the way Elijah took, which is the way to our personal Mt. Carmel.

Taken from the online devotional book A Present Peace © 2010 tfchistory.com. The quote from Evelyn Forrest was taken from her class notes.

Several years ago before her death, Mrs. Forrest’s niece Betty Rhinehart recalled how her “Aunt Eva” (her special name for Evelyn Forrest) loved music. She said, “The folks always had music in the house up on the hill. Often Aunt Eva would say to someone, ‘Go play the piano for us.’ Then we would all gather in the living room to listen or sing. Sometimes while the music continued, she (Mrs. Forrest) would go to her room and lie down and take a nap. We marveled at the sense of peace she had.” It was obvious to those who knew them that no matter what their circumstances happened to be, the Forrests lived lives of praise and trust in God.

Music can lighten our hearts. When it is sung to the Lord, it has the ability literally to change the way we view our circumstances. When confronted by his enemies, David sang songs of praise and worship to God. He found strength and courage as he recalled the Lord’s intimate love and care for him, especially in times of great stress and difficulty. “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden,” wrote David. (Psalm 68:19). The Lord is our present help—not just our help in the past or in the future, but our Source of help right now. He is the One who walks beside us through every trial we face. (Psalm 46)

Martin Luther wrote: “A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.” Henry Ward Beecher underscored this same thought: “Ice breaks many a branch, and so I see a great many persons bowed down and crushed by their afflictions. But now and then I meet one that sings in affliction and then I thank God for my own sake as well as his. There is no such sweet singing as a song in the night.”

Finally, Dr. Richard Forrest said, “Even in times of great distress, I have tasted of God’s goodness and that is the amen to every song we sing in grateful worship to Him.”

Taken from the online devotional book A Present Peace © 2009 tfchistory.com

In a letter to a friend, Dr. R. A. Forrest wrote these words: “Don’t fail me now.” It was almost a desperate plea for this person not to forget his promise and to do what they had discussed.

Have you ever known the heartache that comes from feeling let down by someone you love and have trusted? In desperation, you also may have wanted to say, “Please don’t fail me now.” In Psalm 55, David wrote: “ My heart is in anguish within me, and the errors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me. I said, ‘Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest’” (vs. 4-6). We wonder what has brought such stress into David’s life? Was he in danger? Had he taken a wrong turn and ended up in some great peril?

Read further and you will discover the reason for the heaviness of his heart. Someone he trusted had betrayed him. “For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, then I could bear it; nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, then I could hide myself from him. But it is you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend: we who had sweet fellowship together” (12-14).

To David, this assault was far greater than if his dire enemy had lifted a bow, drawn an arrow, and shot at close range. It came unexpectedly and bore a greater impact. On top of it all, it came when his popularity was at low ebb—when he needed a friend to help him shoulder the shock and disappointment that came as a result of his son Absalom seeking to overthrow him and gain the kingdom.

More than likely, each one of us can remember a time when we could identify with David’s plight. The sting of rejection and the discouragement that sets in from being treated unfairly tempts us to cry out, “Please don’t fail me.” How did David handle the situation? There was only one way. “As for me,” he writes, “I shall call upon God and the Lord will save me. . . . He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me” (vs. 16, 18). David’s heart and faith was firmly grounded in God.

Without a doubt, disappointment will come. Circumstances will turn out badly, people will abandon their care for us, and loved ones may even fail us. But God never will. When we keep our focus set on Him, we will never suffer defeat. We may face blistering heartache, but He will always be there to rally us on with His unending love (vs. 22).

Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you (Psalm 55:22).

(Taken from the online devotional book Grace in The Wilderness © 2008 tfchistory.com)

Amy Carmichael would have been a missionary in India when Dr. and Mrs. Forrest were working to establish Toccoa Falls Institute. It is always interesting to read her devotional insights. This one is especially thought provoking during these changing times.

“Have you ever noticed, you who read the Psalms for the Day, that in the middle of the month two verses come together which show us the two sides of life and the ways of our God with us? One side is perplexing, unexplained, full of mystery—perhaps even painful mystery. The other is so simple and glad that a child could understand it.

The psalmist wrote, “Your way was in the sea and Your paths in the mighty waters, and Your footprints may not be known. You led Your people like a flock” (vs. 19-20). “God’s way is in the sea [who ever saw a way in the sea?], and His paths are in the great waters [where no path is], and His footsteps are not known.”

I have read that “feet walking on water” is the Egyptian symbol for the impossible. Then there is this astonishing truth: “You led Your people like a flock or like sheep.” A Shepherd’s love, A Shepherd’s care, A Shepherd’s tenderness. In the middle of a difficult month, the thought of these great pictures laid alongside in this psalm has often helped me.”

Last week, we read how Dr. Forrest spoke of “dreaming dreams for the college.” We can imagine that he planned for the future. But always when you read his words, you come away with a strong impression that he was a man, whose life was guided solely by God. Many times, when there was a directional shift, he had to walk by faith where there was no path. It was just his feet walking on water following a Savior, who taught him to live each day expecting the heavenly Father to do the impossible at every turn.

Taken from the online devotional book A Present Peace © 2009 tfchistory.com

In Achieving The Impossible with God Dr. Forrest said he could not remember a word that was spoken between him and E. P. Simpson as they rode back to Toccoa on the day he agreed to purchase Haddock Inn. What he did remember was how he felt: his heart was light and his mind was full of thoughts about what he could do with the old inn and with the property surrounding the falls. As he boarded the train for Atlanta, he couldn’t help but think of God’s goodness and provision. Though he had obligated himself to a debt of $24,990.00, he was sure that he had found the perfect location for Toccoa Falls College. And he was right.

Richard Forrest did not spend time thinking about the possible roadblocks he would face. He knew they would come. Everyone who steps out on faith has to deal with difficulty. Thinking back on those days, he said, “I don’t know how we lived, but we did by God’s grace. We didn’t even have a chicken. My salary with the Christian and Missionary Alliance was pro rata, which means if it wasn’t there when it was time to pay, it wasn’t paid. But we had no complaint; rather we were hilariously happy. What dreams I dreamed; what visions I had for the school!”

In Psalm 4, David writes, “You have put gladness in my heart, more than when the grain and new wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety” (vs. 7-8).

It is the “more than” in these verses that grabbed Amy Carmichael’s attention. She wrote: “What David offered to his God was a heart that was utterly satisfied with His will. There were no private reservations, no little whispered ‘if’ —‘if only I can be where I want to be, and have what I want to have, then there will be gladness in my heart, O God.’ . . . David flew right out of all the restricting thoughts that might have caged his spirit up and up into the free air of God. He said, ‘You have put a new kind of gladness in my heart.’ It was a gladness that was not dependent on what he had, it was more than that sort of gladness. And it was a joy that was entirely independent of circumstances.”

Few people alive then or now are more content than Dr. and Mrs. Forrest. Like David, they found the secret to life and peace and hope. The more they gave of themselves, the more they received through Jesus Christ, who had “put gladness in their hearts, more than when the grain and new wine abound.”

Taken from the online devotional book A Present Peace © 2009 tfchistory.com

The Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in Atlanta made a deep impression on student Mabel Willey. Its missionary ardor permeated her, but …I became aware of a lack in myself. Deep in my heart, I knew what God wanted me to do. But I also knew that in my life there was no power. I did not have the freedom to witness as I wished. One Sunday I attended a service with a visiting evangelist. “Is there anyone in this audience who feels your life is empty? You want to do, but there isn’t the power, the strength of the Holy Spirit?” As the choir sang, I slipped quietly to the altar. “Lord, here I am. I can offer nothing but myself. That’s all I have, but I want this power to serve you.”

Mabel enrolled in Toccoa Falls Bible Institute for missionary training, but with many lessons still to learn.

“Poor me! I always have to do everything,” I complained to the Lord one morning. I was president of the graduating class. As a parting gift, the class voted to dedicate a gate for one of the entrances to the Institute. I was responsible for many details, but in spite of my hard work, no one else seemed interested. All the students were busy with their own concerns.
That morning I got up early and went to the falls. Selecting a rock as a seat, I contemplated those falls, higher than Niagara, and complained to the Lord. “No one will help me, Lord. Please give me a verse just for me right now.” I opened my Bible expecting to find a gracious verse, full of love and sustenance for His poor, discouraged servant. Instead these words stood out in bold letters: “After you have done all, say I am an unworthy servant.”

I walked back to the door with a changed attitude. As a result things began to fall into place and the project moved forward to completion.

It was a lesson Mabel recalled many times as a missionary to Cuba.*

*Adapted from Beyond the Gate: The Autobiography of Mabel Bailey Willey (Nashville, TN: Randall House Publications, 1998).

Taken from the book: From This Verse by Robert J. Morgan (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1998.