April 28

"And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer...who delivered them, even Othniel...Caleb's younger brother. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him." (Judges 3:9, 10)

God is preparing His heroes; and when opportunity comes, He can fit them into their place in a moment, and the world will wonder where they came from.

Let the Holy Ghost prepare you, dear friend, by the discipline of life; and when the last finishing touch has been given to the marble, it will be easy for God to put it on the pedestal, and fit it into its niche¹.

There is a day coming when, like Othniel, we, too, shall judge the nations, and rule and reign² with Christ on the millennial³ earth. But ere that glorious day can be we must let God prepare us, as He did Othniel at Kirjath-sepher, amid the trials of our present life, and the little victories, the significance of which, perhaps, we little dream. At least, let us be sure of this, and if the Holy Ghost has an Othniel ready, the Lord of Heaven and earth has a throne prepared for him. --A. B. Simpson.

"Human strength and human greatness

Spring not from life's sunny side,

Heroes must be more than driftwood

Floating on a waveless tide."

"Every highway of human life dips in the dale now and then. Every man must go through the tunnel of tribulation⁴ before he can travel on the elevated road of triumph."

　 四月二十八日

“以色列人呼求耶和华的时候，耶和华就为他们兴起一位拯救者救他们，就是迦勒兄弟……俄陀聂。耶和华的灵降在他身上”（士三：9/10）。

　　神一直在预备他的勇士；等到时期满了，他就把他们放在适当的地位上，世界就要惊异，不知他们从何而来。

　　亲爱的，让圣灵用各种不同的方法来预备你，塑造你；一等到末了一步手续完毕神就要安放你在适当的位置上。

　　有一天要来，像俄陀聂一样，我们也将坐在宝座上与基督一同掌权，管辖列国。可是在那荣耀的日子以前，我们必须让神预备我们，犹如神在古珊利萨田的苛政之下预备俄陀聂。神在地上预备一个俄陀聂，在天上就预备一个宝座。——宣信

人类的伟大力量，

并非得自安乐之乡，

英雄决不像一叶浮萍，

仅在平静的止水中徜徉。

　　每一个人必须先经过患难的隧道，然后才能走上胜利的大道。

1 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

2 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

3 millennial   

一千年的，千福年的

参考例句：

• Both Russia and America looked to the future to fulfill their millennial expectations. 俄国和美国都把实现他们黄金时代的希望寄托于未来。
• The millennial generation is celebrating the global commons every day, apparently unmindful of Hardin's warning. 千禧一代显然对哈丁的警告不以为然，每天都在颂扬全球“公地”。

4 tribulation   

n.苦难，灾难

参考例句：

• Even in our awful tribulation we were quite optimistic.即使在极端痛苦时，我们仍十分乐观。
• I hate the tribulation,I commiserate the sorrow brought by tribulation.我厌恶别人深重的苦难，怜悯苦难带来的悲哀。