Providential Dreams

March 29  Providential Dreams

 


Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. Rev. 21:3, ESV.

While we are thinking about early Advent hynms we need to take a look at the short but productive life of Annie Smith, who has three hymns in the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal-"How Far From Home?" "I Saw One Weary," and "Long Upon the Mountians."

Annie's mother had been a Millerite and by 1851 had become a Sabbatarian Adventist and had met Joseph Bates. The two of them agreed to pray for her children, who had no interest in Adventism. Shortly afterward, Bates scheduled himself to hold meetings near Annie's residence. Her mother urged her to attend, but the daughter wasn't much interested. Perhaps to please her mother, though, she agreed to go.

The night before the meetings Bates dreamed of it. All seats were fille dexcept one by the door. He dreamed tha the changed his subject from the one he had planned to the topic of the sanctuary. They sang the first hymn, prayed, and sang a second hymn. And just as he was opening his Bible and was reading "Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed" and pointing to the drawing of the sanctuary on his large prophetic chart, the door opened and a young woman entered and took her seat in the vacant chair. Bates also dreamed that the person was Annie Smith, for whom he and her mother had been praying. That same evening Annie had essentially the same dream. In hers she also saw herself arriving late just as the preacher began reading the text that she had dreamed of.

Bates had not thought about his dream until she entered the room. As he closed the meeting, he went to Annie, addressing her as Mrs. Smith's daughter whom he had dreamed about the night before. Annie's Smith's life would never be the same. That night she accepted the Sabbatarian Adventist message.

God works in wondrous ways. And He still does so in our day. All of us have loved ones who need to realize God's love and care more fully. The God who careds for us also cares for our loved ones. Let us never cease praying for them.

        

Let us never cease praying for them.

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