Daily Devotional for April 20th
"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
— Philippians 4:19
"Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things."
— Matthew 6:32
He was not a handsome Angora or Persian, this cat of our story, but just an ordinary cat. During the war years in China, when the Japanese army occupied the city of Shanghai, a Christian lady found herself in great difficulties. She was a citizen of a neutral country, so the Japanese did not molest her; but as her husband was a citizen of one of the allied nations, he was placed in a concentration camp... Those war years were difficult for everyone, but especially for this lady... Food was very scarce in the shops, and it was not always safe for her to go out on the street to... buy. Then her house became infested with huge rats that overran the place. She and a friend prayed that the Lord would send a cat to rid the house of those pests. A few days later she heard a meowing out in the yard. Looking out, she saw a cat coming right up to her porch. She hurried into the kitchen and brought a handful of cold boiled rice... and held it out to the cat. Immediately the cat came into the house, ate the rice, and proceeded to make itself at home. In a short time the rats were cleaned out. The cat seemed to sense the situation in the home��the scarcity of food... so it went foraging. Every few days it would come into the yard, meowing in the same way that it did when it first came to her home. She would go to the door to open it, and the cat would walk in carrying a choice bit of meat which it would lay down and wait for her to come and get it. Other times it would lay down and wait for her to come and get it. Other times it would come with half a fish in good condition, going through the same procedure each time. On several occasions it brought her fair-sized birds that were just caught and still warm. These things happened with such regularity and under such conditions of food shortage, that this Christian woman could not help but realize that her Heavenly Father was caring for her needs in this remarkable way. God was using a cat to feed her as He had used the ravens to feed Elijah!... Then the great day of surrender came. The Japanese woman and her husband left and took their dog. The very same day the cat came walking into the yard calling as usual. When the door opened it walked in to make itself at home once more. After the woman's husband was released and their home restored, the cat did not again bring food. — Mrs. A. J. Ahlberg
This daily devotional is included in B. H. Clendennen's book, "A Daily Talk for the Upward Walk", which may be purchased in our online store. Daily Scripture Readingfrom the Authorized King James Version
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