Out of the Valley of the Shadow

Two months after Robert Davis arrived home, Mary took violently ill. First there was a high fever, then convulsions, then paralysis. Dr. Horton came at once to see what he could do. After a careful examination he said she had typhoid fever and progressive paralysis and that she was in grave danger. After a day or two she rallied, regained consciousness, and was able to converse with the family. Little Janet was just one month old the day Mary took sick, and Mrs. Jake Newby, now a very dear friend, took the child and nursed it.

Mary knew, as well as anyone, that she was very ill. She talked it over with Robert. Together they most earnestly prayed that God would spare her life, for Robert’s sake, and especially for little Janet’s sake. But though her mind remained remarkably clear, her body sank deeper down into the jaws of death. Mary was led to consecrate all to God; so in a very simple and humble way she resigned her all to Him.

“The will of God be done,” she said, “whether I live or die, wake or sleep, I am the Lord’s—body, soul, mind, will, all. Have Thine own dear way with me, Lord Jesus, work out Thy will in me. If I live I shall be always all for Thee, if I die, I am Thine alone. Take from my heart every selfish desire and reign, dear Jesus, on Thy royal throne there. Purge me pure, 0 Christ, so pure that I can come into Thy effulgent presence without one fear, without one sin, but instead with great joy. I want to be able to greet Thee, blessed Christ, as my dearest, sweetest friend, without a doubt as to my entire acceptance with Thee. Oh, come, Jesus, come in all Thy power to fully save me, just for Thine own dear sake. Amen, amen.”

Mary closed her eyes. She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own. A sweet smile of satisfaction spread over her face. It seemed some angel voice had whispered something ineffably sweet to her. Robert hardly knew what to do or to say. She lay there so motionless, so still, yet there was such a sweet, holy awe, such a spiritual atmosphere, just as if the room were full of angels, that it seemed he could not cry. Kate Newby was greatly affected. Her mind went back to that night in her home after Robert Davis had made his confession.

Then there came stealing over Mary’s wan face a smile that broke into the sweetest laughter. “Praise the Lord,” she said.

“Is everything well with you, Mary?” Robert asked.

“All is well,” she said. “I am ready to go, if the Lord calls for me.”

Mary continued very low for several days. She hung between life and death and at times. It seemed that the thread would snap and her soul would be released. All hope of recovery had fled.

“Robert, Robert, come here,” she said one day. “I feel so happy. I wonder if I am going to die! Heaven must be a beautiful place, Robert. I had the most wonderful dream or vision a while ago. I thought I was in heaven and it was so rich and beautiful. I saw a little baby there; its wings were tinted in all the colors of the rainbow and its robe seemed to be of the finest, whitest silk. I just wanted to grasp the dear thing, but it eluded me and flew up into one of the trees of life.

“Robert,” she continued in a low voice, “what will you and Janet do if I die? Oh, I hate to leave you here alone. Poor little Janet, she will never have mother’s hand to smooth away the care from her brow or to wipe the tears from her innocent eyes. I would so like to stay. Poor little Janet! Bring her here, papa, and lay her down by my side so I can see her, and I want to lay my hand on her sweet, velvet face.”

They brought Janet and laid her down on the bed by Mary, and then Mary laid her hand over on the baby’s face, and caressing it softly said, “Sweet little one, I love you. You are a part of me. Shall I leave you in this cold world with no mama to see after you? Poor child, what will you do? But Jesus will help you if He takes me away from you. 0 Jesus, bless Janet, bless Papa, bless Kate, bless everybody.”

Mary lay there so quiet again. Tears were flowing from the eyes of everyone in the room. Robert could hardly restrain himself. He was brokenhearted. Kate Newby burst out in a cry of sorrow and sympathy. Then Mary, after a few moments, opened her eyes and said: “I have just been hearing the most wonderful music. Did you hear it, Robert? It must have been the angels, for they all had long white robes. Oh, it was so pretty and lovely.” Then she sank away again. Everyone thought that she would soon be gone, but as night wore on she still breathed, and she was no worse in the morning.

The month before this sickness Robert had hunted up one of the old religious papers, which had by then ceased coming, and had sent in his subscription. Two or three copies had already come. As Mary continued very low he now had time to read. One day his eyes were attracted to the testimony of a woman who had been healed. He also found a short article on healing in which it was stated that any of the ministers of the church of God would be glad to pray for any sick person. It was evident that Mary was beyond the power of medicine to heal. Dr. Horton had given her up and no more medicine was being given her.

“I wonder if any of the church of God ministers are near Bethany,” said Robert to himself. His eyes began to run over the pages in search of a minister close enough to send for. Then he saw a meeting announced for Sayersville, October 1-10. Sayersville was only fifty miles north of Bethany. The minister in charge was D. W. Monteith.

That same hour a telegram was sent as follows:

D. W. Monteith
Sayersville, MO

Come at once. Pray for my wife. Very sick.

Robert Davis
Bethany, MO

Robert was at the station at seven o’clock the next morning to meet the minister. He wondered just what kind of a man a church of God minister would be. When they met he found a plain, neat-looking man with a kind, strong face, ready to go to the bedside of his wife.

“Be of good cheer, Brother Davis,” said the minister, “the Lord has great power. He can raise up your wife. Up at Sayersville last week a man was thrown from a train and seriously hurt, but the Lord healed him. Have faith in God.”

Robert Davis thought he had never heard words so encouraging as those, nor had he seen a man who entered so heartily into his burdens. Here was a man from whom he felt the warm, free flow of Christian fellowship.

When they drove up to the house Mary was awake.

“Mary, dear,” said Robert, “this is Brother Monteith, a minister of the church of God. He has come to pray for you.”

“I’m so glad you have come, Brother,” said Mary. “We need your prayers.”

“Are you all the Lord’s, sister?” inquired the minister.

“Oh, yes, all the Lord’s,” she replied. “All given up, to go or to stay. But I wish so much to stay. See my little baby over here.”

The minister breathed a short prayer for guidance. “Is it your will to heal her, Lord?” he prayed. He felt an answer that God would raise her up.

Then he took out a small vial of olive oil, anointed the brow of Mary with it, and said, “In the name of Jesus Christ, we anoint you with this oil in fulfillment of James 5:14-15, ‘Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.’ Now, Lord, we claim this promise in behalf of this woman. Inspire her faith. Send Thy healing virtue. Destroy this disease and heal her for thy glory. Amen.

“Now, sister, arise in the name of Jesus,” he said gently.

The mighty power of God fell upon Mary Davis in a moment of time. She raised up in bed, lifted her hand toward heaven and said, “I am healed.”

The news spread over the community rapidly. Several of the neighbors had been there when she was healed.

They went home telling it to all they met. Next day several people drove up to see what had happened. Mary was sitting up in a chair as happy as she could be and ready to tell all corners what great things the Lord had done for her. Kate Newby said that she was very glad that she had dropped Christian Science. “This is real divine healing,” she said.

The healing of Mary Davis made a great stir in the neighborhood. Several preachers felt it their duty to warn people against divine healing. It is mostly excitement, they said, when one is healed, as Mary Davis was. Others ridiculed it. Some said that she never had been sick, but others knew that she had been sick, and a few gave God the praise for the work done.

But this healing attracted attention to the doctrines of holiness and the church of God that Robert Davis had been talking about. It became a topic of earnest discussion as to which church was right. Many were asking, “I wonder if Davis is really right, after all, in claiming that there should be a better, purer, more powerful, more spiritual church than what we have here.”

As for Robert Davis, he determined to have a revival conducted by Brother Monteith.