Rosalind Bell-Smith Goforth SUFFERED Much but Saw Prayers Answered
[Rosalind and Jonathan in old age. Public domain / Wikimedia File:Jonathan Goforth and his wife.jpeg]
When Rosalind Bell-Smith was about six or seven, she developed a terrific toothache.
The nerve must have become exposed, for the pain was acute. Suddenly I thought, “Jesus can help me," and just as I was, with my face pressed against my mother’s breast, I said in my heart: “Lord Jesus, if you will take away this toothache right now, now, I will be your little girl for three years.”
Before the prayer was well uttered the pain was entirely gone. I believed that Jesus had taken it away; and the result was that for years, when tempted to be naughty, I was afraid to do what I knew was wrong lest, if I broke my side of what I felt to be a compact, the toothache would return. This little incident had a real influence over my early life, gave me a constant sense of the reality of a divine presence, and so helped to prepare me for the public confession of Christ as my Savior a few years later, at the age of eleven.
Born in Canada in 1864, Bell-Smith was very much part of the surrounding culture. For example, it was usual for women to wear a new dress at Easter. When she was twelve, she had no new clothes, and decided to skip church rather than humiliate herself by going in her old winter dress. However, as she read the sixth chapter of Matthew, she saw Christ’s words, “Therefore don’t be anxious, saying ... ‘With what will we be clothed?’ ... But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.” She went to church in her old dress, and heard wonderful Resurrection sermons that persisted in her mind all her life. The next day she received a box from an aunt with new clothes and other useful items and felt that by putting the kingdom of God first, she had indeed received the promise of “all these things.”
About that same time her family found themselves in financial straights through unexpected expenses. Once a quarter they received a payment from an investment firm in England. It was not due for weeks. They prayed. Before their limited funds ran out a bonus check from the firm arrived, the only time that ever happened. Bell-Smith remembered the words of Isaiah “Before they call I will answer” (Isaiah 65:24).
These lessons helped her when she came to marry Jonathan Goforth. The two intended to dedicate their lives to winning souls in China. In preparation she read a book by pioneer missionary Hudson Taylor, who lived by faith. Bell-Smith owed about $50 and did not want to enter married life in debt. She asked herself how she could trust the Lord for great things on the mission field if she could not trust him for $50. She vowed not to drop even a hint about her need. The night before her wedding some coworkers gave her an beautifully-lettered farewell card and a purse. She never thought to look inside the purse until her brother suggested it. There she found a check for $50. “This incident has ever remained peculiarly precious; for it seemed to us a seal of God upon the new life opening before us.”
Rosalind and Jonathan were married on this day, 25 October 1887, in Knox Church, Toronto. Their lives would bring many lessons in obedience, suffering, and miraculous provision. Sometimes it was food or money that arrived at the moment needed. Other times it was the healing of an illness. At other times workers arrived when needed. During the Boxer Rebellion, God gave them their lives despite awful threats, beatings, and even cuts that could have been deadly. She wondered why her family was kept alive while others perished and concluded God alone knew. In Acts, James was beheaded but Peter was delivered by an angel from prison.
The work in China required great personal sacrifices. Three of their children died. At times they were separated from their remaining children. Traveling, they often had to endure agonizing physical hardships and nauseating food. When they moved to Changte, they had no privacy because, to win over the locals, they allowed one curious group after another to walk through their western-style house (and as often as not to steal from them). The tradeoff was that before each group was allowed to walk through the house, they had to listen to a gospel message. At the peak of this ministry, more than 1,800 people passed through in one day but God greatly rewarded the Goforths with the salvation of souls.
During periods of the greatest revivals under their ministry in China, they learned that folk back in Canada had been especially praying for them. Late in life, Rosalind Bell-Smith Goforth recorded some memories of God’s interventions in How I Know God Answers Prayer; The Personal Testimony of One Life-Time. (For more about Jonathan Goforth, see our April 28th story, “No HAZING, Threat, or Humiliation Turned Goforth from God’s Work.”)
—Dan Graves
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Sharing the gospel is aided by understanding those with whom we share it. Who Are the Chinese? answers many questions and also tells of some Chinese who came to faith in Christ. Watch at RedeemTV.
Who are the Chinese? can be purchased at Vision Video.
Other Events on this Day
- Emma Whittemore Founded "Door of Hope" for Hurt Women
- ALLEN USED HEALING TO SPREAD CHRISTIANITY IN KOREA