Evidence Not Seen

I wanted to share an excerpt from one of my favorite books- "Evidence Not Seen" by Darlene Deibler Rose. The book is an autobiography of Darlene Deibler Rose and her faith admist severe hardships especially being a prisoner in a Japanese Prison of War camp. I love this book so much as it is a huge testimony of God's strength and blessing during the hardest events a person could go through. Our Lord is with us in the fires of life! How gracious He is!

“There, in the dark hours of that night, I walked into the sanctuary of my heart. The lamps fed by the oil of the Spirit were burning brightly.

“My precious Lord, I have come to worship and adore You. This had been a day like no other I have ever known. Today has marked the final stripping away of every transient treasure I possessed. I’ve nothing but this dirty, faded blue-grey work suit, but never have I felt so privileged, so blessed, or so rich!”

I thought of the many nights spent in the trench, looking up at the night sky. I reveled in the magnificent display in the heavens- the stars, the moon, and the planets- and I wondered how such a One, the great Creator, could have a personal interest in me, a young woman without any special gifts, talents, or beauty. Sometimes the very magnitude of His handiwork made Him seek almost remote. But that night, that One, the High and Lifted up Holey One of God, wearing His most magnificent robe, a robe of human flesh, came to dwell with a child of man in a new and beautiful relationship. Oh, the wonder of His love for me and His personal concern for me, as an individual, was overwhelming. Together we walked through the events of that day…One by one, He pulled Scripture passages out of the storehouse of my memory, to remind me that they had been hidden there for such a time as this.

            “I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 41:10)

This verse called to remembrance my Lord in a blazing furnace with three young Hebrew men. There was something so poignant, so intimate about the privedge that was theirs, or “walking around in the fire” with their Lord. Because of the testimony, the faith, and the courage of three young men, the king and a crown of people caught a glimpse of Jesus. When they emerged, there was no acrid, caustic scent of fire upon them- just the fragrance that emanated from three young people who had been walking with their Lord in the furnace of afflication.

“That’s very important, isn’t it Lord? I pray that, if I come out of this war alive, that I may be ‘sweet smelling’- not bitter or cynical, but like a sweet smelling, fragrant incense unto You. All this long day, You have walked with me, and never for a moment have I been out of Your sight. Of this I have been keenly aware.”

I saw again, in my mind’s eye, the bomb canister there in the ditch among the ashes of the mattress, and I knew how much my Lord loved me. Singing what has come to be my Lord’s lullaby for me, I fell asleep:

            Loved with an everlasting love,

            Led by grace that loves to know;

            Spirit breathing from above,

            Thou hast taught me it is so!

            Oh, this full and perfect peace!

            Oh, this transport all divine!

            In a love which cannot cease,

            I am His and He is mine!"

 ~ Taken from "Evidence Not Seen" by Darlene Deibler Rose

Here is a link to the book for those of you who are interested in this wonderful, God-honoring book: