So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:11.
Some years ago a preacher of the gospel was going round a small town in France, distributing evangelistic literature and selling Bibles. People there were not particularly interested or even benevolent towards him, quite the contrary! In a centrally situated square they lit a big fire and threw the books in, which they had purchased solely for this purpose.
That evening it was extremely windy, and a half burnt leaf was whirled over the roofs. It flew through the open window of a house and fell at the feet of a young woman named Florence. She picked up the leaf and read the words: “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He who believes in him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:17.18).
Florence put the leaf aside to show her husband Pierre, who showed an interest in religious questions. If only she could get an copy of the book that leaf had come from! A year later the same evangelist knocked at their door to offer them a Bible. They refused it, but instead inquired about the book that had contained the half burnt leaf. The preacher cast a brief glance at the leaf, then opened his Bible at the gospel of John. In their amazement the couple bought the Bible and, reading it, found eternal salvation through faith in the Son of God.
Image: By Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld – Die Bibel in Bildern, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5490768