After telling his readers about the extraordinary experience of a week of fasting - only a gulp of water was given during that week - and how through focussed prayer and controlled thinking he came through the ordeal in perfect health, John H. Wyndham speaks about learning how to practice Christianity.
He writes (The Ultimate Freedom pp. 34-35):
"During my three-month period of solitary confinement I became convinced that all men are truly under God's direction. And this conviction finally gained for me the respect and trust of both the guards and the farm commandant. The prisoners, too, evidenced this respect and trust, for incidents of misunderstanding or disobedience were few.
However, one such incident did occur, a lesson as I see it now in Christlike behavior. For this was what my prisoner-of-war experience, like any other trial, was about -- learning to practice Christianity. One morning while I was walking around the farm, my attention was suddenly drawn to screams coming from the direction of a road which led along the barbed wire fence..."
Mr. Wyndham then describes an ugly incident in which he was led to fearlessly stand up for his fellow man in the face of a violent outburst. He writes: "The overcoming of fear truly does go hand-in-hand with spiritual growth..." (p. 37).
His "trust in good had grown stronger" (ibid).
Perhaps we are reminded of hymn 216: All good for you His wisdom planned; / O trust in God and understand.
Julie Swannell
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