14. Sweltering Day and Sudden Coolness

The weather in Hangzhou was famous for its harshness. It is sweltering hot in the summer and bitterly cold in the winter. If the house is poorly built, it will be unbearable for people to live in. At that time people rarely installed air condition or the central heating systems. I lived in the attic of a chapel, and after noontime it was almost impossible for me to stay there because of the sweltering heat. Ms. Ge and her son, who was younger than I by two or three years, had moved downstairs. Once because it was too hot, I went down, put up a bed, and slept there. I felt it was inconvenient and inappropriate, so I decided not to crowd the others but to stay in the scorching attic. This was arranged by God, and I rested by trusting in God. It is easy to say or write about it, however, it was not so easy to be in that situation. I could only keep on praying: "O Lord, since it is you Who arranged for me to be in such an environment, please give me the strength to obey and not to escape from the refinement given by you." It was just when I was so uncomfortable that I was going to throw up. Suddenly the weather changed sharply from sweltering hot to cool, and from that day until the end of the year, it had never been too hot. It made me deeply experience that the Almighty God Who created everything cared about every low man on earth who trusts and prays to Him. When He acts for us, suddenly, everything will be changed.

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." (1 Corinthians 10:13).