Many years ago, long before there were cars, or motorized vehicles of any sort, there lived a young woman who loved the Lord with all her heart and chose to obey Him in all she did. Because of her dedication to the Lord, she was shown many wonderful things in visions and used by God in a marvelous way. Many things happened to this lovely lady that gave evidence of the protection and blessing of the “hand of God” over her life and ministry. This story is simply one of many exciting events that happened to her.
This particular story happened one day while riding in a wagon with her husband, Elder James White, and two other ministers. A partly broken colt was pulling the wagon. This colt had the reputation of being vicious, and in fact shortly prior to this had been the cause of a serious accident. But Elder White was a very skilled horseman, expert at breaking and managing horses, and he had no doubts about his ability to control the colt.
Elder White, with a tight rein, was focused on driving while Mrs. Ellen White, for such was her name, was conversing with the other two ministers about a Bible topic. All of a sudden she shouted, “Glory!” Immediately, the colt quietly dropped his head, stopped, and stood perfectly still. Now, you need to know that only a very relaxed, calm horse will stand quietly with his head dropped.
Mrs. White stood up in the wagon, stepped over the front, and laying her hand on the colt’s haunches stepped down to the shafts, to the wagon step, and hence to the ground. Alarmed, Captain Bates, one of the ministers in the wagon shouted out, “That colt will kick her to death!” Such was the colt’s reputation.
Calmly, Elder White replied, “The Lord has the colt in charge now; I don’t wish to interfere.” Typically the colt would have kicked violently if anything touched his haunches, but now he was standing as quiet as a lamb. Mrs. White climbed a six-foot embankment and pacing back and forth along the top, spoke aloud of the beauty of the earth made new.
During the time Mrs. White was up on the bank in vision, Elder White tested the colt in order to prove that he (the colt) was at that moment under the control of Divine power, the “hand of God.” He began by touching the colt lightly with the whip. The colt gave no recognition of being touched. In any other situation the colt would immediately have kicked. In increasingly hard blows Elder White struck the colt. But the vicious response never came; in fact the colt never stirred, but continued to stand perfectly still, docile and calm.
Later, Mrs. White, still not looking where she was going, but rather with her eyes directed heavenward, and still in vision, descended the bank, stepped up the wagon step and laying her hand once again on the haunches of the colt, thereby climbed back into the wagon; whereupon sitting down her vision ceased.
As soon as Mrs. White was seated the colt calmly lifted his head, and without any direction from the driver, quietly continued on his way. Reverently, Elder Bates said, “This is a solemn place.”
The Psalmist says, “For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.“ Psalm 97:9-10.
In this and many other exciting situations the Lord protected and guided His faithful servant and gave proof of the validity of her experience and message.
There are many, many promises in the Bible of the Lord’s guidance and protection, but those promises always carry a condition, and that condition is love and obedience. Commit your lives to God, to obey Him and to be a servant for Him in whatever way He will choose today. Then you too, will be under the loving “hand of God.”
Story adapted from Stories of My Grandmother, by Ella M. Robinson.