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When you think of the late HELEN KELLER ... deaf ... mute ... blind ... are you drawn AWAY from the Lord or toward Him? Do you think more of Him ... or less of Him? Someone wrote into one of these Sunday magazine supplements that gets put in with the Sunday newspapers. It was in the section that features questions and answers. The letter said, "I've just read a reference to a BOOK by Helen Keller. This must be an error ... because she was deaf ... and mute ... and blind." In answer the editor replied, "No. You're correct that she was deaf and mute and blind. But she's not only the author of THAT book ... she's the author of NINE books. "She wrote in BRAILLE ... she also wrote slowly in LONGHAND. She graduated from Radcliffe College with honors. She appeared in vaudeville. She contributed $2 million to a foundation to help others."
Who will never forget another blind lady that we all love so much. So often we forget her affliction as we sing, "Savior more than Life", or "He hideth my Soul", or "Close to Thee", or "Nearer the Cross." Among the many other hymns that she wrote, however, I think the words to "My Savior first of all" are probably the most thrilling ... listen as she says, "When my lifework is ended, and I cross the swelling tide, When the bright and glorious morning I shall see, I shall know my Redeemer when I reach the other side, And His smile will be the first to welcome me. O, the soul thrilling rapture when I view His blessed face, (remember she was blind) And the luster of His kindly beaming eye! How my full heart will praise Him for the mercy, love, and grace, That prepare for me a mansion in the sky! (I don't even hear a note of bitterness about her affliction do you?) Thro' the gates of the city in a robe of spotless white, He will lead me where no tears will ever fall; In the glad song of ages I shall mingle with delight. But I long to meet my Savior first of all. I shall know Him. I shall know Him, and redeemed by His side I shall stand. I shall know Him. I shall know Him by the print of the nails in his hands. God greatly used the affliction of Fannie Crosby to inspire us to live for that day of final reunion.
Do you remember when John Glenn first circled the earth and enjoyed fame unequaled by any man at that time? Then he filed in the Democratic primary for the US Senate in Ohio. He walked in his bathroom one morning, had a freakish accident and had to WITHDRAW from that race. Do you recall reading about the AFFLICTIONS of John Glenn and his family? You see, the HEROISM had worn off and now they were TELLING THE TRUTH. He was NOT an "A" student ... he was a "B" student. He was NOT a topflight athlete ... he was a 2nd stringer. You see, man always wants to attribute greatness to brain or brawn ... never to character ... never to the spirit. When the public got around to telling the truth ... it was because the character of John Glenn centers in Jesus Christ! The writer in this particular magazine article ... told how he had to withdraw from the campaign trial (but had not yet withdrawn from the race) ... HIS WIFE went out to substitute for him. She's step up to the microphone and say "I'm Annie Glenn. I STUTTER you know; here's Rene." Then she would step back and Rene Carpenter, the wife of another astronaut at that time, would come to the microphone. Rene was not only a very capable speaker, she was an extremely attractive woman. People went for it ... the HONESTY OF IT ... "I'm Annie Glenn ... I stutter, you know."
Moses is usually thought of as a shy, reticent man who was seeking to withdraw from responsibility. BUT, it is quite possible that Moses withdrew from responsibility because being slow of speech meant that he stammered or stuttered. He was AFFLICTED but the Lord said to him, "I made that mouth, and I made all other mouths, and now I will give you a mouth that will speak for you, a mouth that can communicate, the mouth of your own brother, Aaron."
When we think of this century we marvel at the voice of one man, Winston Churchill, literally a speaker who changed the course of human history ... who rallied an entire people ... never realizing that his great speaking ability was NOT a style ... it was an AFFLICTION. He stammered and stuttered all his life and it made him sound the way he did. With the affliction that he never corrected ... he grew in greatness. I think of a friend of our family, Brother August Leulf. Do you remember him? We had him here several years ago over a weekend. I had him preach both Sunday morning and Sunday evening while he was here. He is a traveling evangelist. He is a mechanical genius ... if you have something that needs to be fixed, he can fix it. He always has brain teaser puzzles in the trunk of his car to entertain children. He is also an amusing character. He drives an old Cadillac that he has driven for years. It is piled with stuff to the top of the seats. The trunk of his car is piled to capacity as well. There seems to be no sense of organization about his life at all. Maybe you will remember that he took as his text for one of his messages while he was here, "The three little pigs." He is a very interesting preacher ... but he has an agonizing stutter. Many times while preaching he will get hung up on a word and the only way he can get released is to either spell the word or to have someone in the congregation say it for him. But he doesn't stutter when he sings! Remember how he sang "His eye is on the sparrow ... .and I KNOW He watches ME." When he would sing that his face would just light up. We believed him. The Psalmist says ... "Many are the afflictions of the righteous ... " not the unrighteous ... but the righteous.
The prophet Hosea said (speaking of the Lord), "In their affliction they seek me early," implying that if it were not for the afflictions they would seek him late ... if at all. Have you ever known any man or woman in the naked joy of success ... good fortune ... good health ... who ever reached UP for the hand of CHRIST? But how many have you known in the naked sorrow of failure ... ill health ... defeat ... who have reached up and claimed the greatest gift of all from the hand of God?