The Inventor of the Telegraph
If you need wisdom . . . ask him (James 1:5, NLT).
Dear friends:
It occurred to me one day that God can do more in one second than man can do in a thousand years, or a million years.
Trying to accomplish things in our own strength and wisdom can be fruitless and time-wasting.
Many successful people have acknowledged in their memoirs that whenever they came to an impasse in their work and were completely baffled, they sought wisdom from the Lord.
Abraham Lincoln once told an intimate newspaper friend, Noah Brooks, “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.”
This was also true in the life of the famous inventor of the telegraph, Samuel F. B. Morse (1791-1872). In an interview, he was once asked, “Professor Morse, when you were making your experiments at the university, did you ever come to a standstill, not knowing what to do next?”
“I’ve never discussed this with anyone, so the public knows nothing about it. But now that you ask me, I’ll tell you frankly — I prayed for more light.”
“And did God give you the wisdom and knowledge you needed?”
“Yes, He did,” said Morse. “That’s why I never felt I deserved the honors that came to me from America and Europe because of the invention associated with my name. I had made a valuable application of the use of electrical power, but it was all through God’s help. It wasn’t because I was superior to other scientists. When the Lord wanted to bestow this gift on mankind, He had to use someone. I’m just grateful He chose to reveal it to me.”
In view of these facts, it’s not surprising that the inventor’s first message over the telegraph — the very first transmitted message in history — was: “What hath God wrought!”
Every time you face a perplexing problem, seek wisdom from above. And when the answer comes, always be sure to thank God and give Him all the glory.
“If you need wisdom — if you want to know what God wants you to do — ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can’t make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do (James 1:5-8, NLT).
Yours for helping to fulfill the Great Commission each year until our Lord returns,
Bill Bright
About the Author
The late Dr. Bill Bright was Founder and President/Chairman Emeritus of Campus Crusade for Christ, an organization which began as a campus ministry in 1951 and now has more than 27,000 full-time staff and up to 500,000 trained volunteer staff in 196 countries in areas representing 99.6 percent of the world’s population. In the past 50 years, Campus Crusade for Christ has seen approximately 6 billion exposures to the gospel worldwide. The film, “JESUS,” which Bright conceived and funded through Campus Crusade for Christ, is the most widely translated and viewed film of any type ever produced. Since its use began in 1980, the film has been translated into 839 languages and viewed or listened to by over 5.7 billion people in 228 countries. Dr. Bright was also the author of more than fifty books. Dr. Bright recently co-founded Global Pastors Network to “Touch, Teach and Train” a group of 5 million new house churches around the world 24/7/365 at http://www.globalpastorsnetwork.org.
Copyright (c) 2003, Bill Bright. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
