Once upon a time there was a lad named Henry, who set out upon a very difficult journey. As he started on his way, there came to him a wise old man, who gave him four presents, telling him how to use them if any trials came to him in the course of his journeyings. As Henry went on, he came one day to a very dark place in some very dark woods. It grew so black about him that he could not see to place one foot before the other. While he was in great perplexity, of a sudden he remembered one of the old man’s gifts, given him for just such a time. It was a box which he was to open when he wanted light in any dark place. He opened the box, and took out, as he expected, a lantern, but, as he had not expected, it was already full of light, and cast about it such wonderful rays that he seemed to hold a real sun in his hands, and everything about him was as bright as day, so that he went on without any trouble at all.
On the following day he came, in his journey, to a very deep pit. His road stopped short at one side of it, but began again on the other side, and on the left and the right rose up precipitous cliffs, so that he could not tell what to do. And then it was that Henry remembered the second gift of the wise old man. It was simply a ring which he had placed upon his finger, telling him when he came to any such place to lift his hand upward, with this ring upon it. As soon as Henry did this a great hand came down from the sky, seized hold of his hand, and carried him safely over the pit.
Upon the following day Henry met in his way an immense tree, which had fallen straight across the road. On either side was a precipice, so that he could not go around the tree, nor was it possible to climb over it, though he tried. Of a sudden he bethought himself of the third gift of the wise old man, which was a crowbar, so heavy that he had often been on the point of throwing it away. But this he took and pressed under the tree, and found that, immense as it was, he could roll it easily out of his way.
On the fourth and last day of his journey Henry came across no such difficulties as the preceding, but one that, though at first sight it may seem easy to overcome, was really harder than all the rest put together. He had to go through a desert where the road was very hot, with no shade. Moreover, it was covered with sharp pebbles, and thorns sprang up everywhere, cutting his feet. And here he found good use for the last gift of his kind friend, a pair of sandals, which, as soon as he had placed them upon his feet, took away all their soreness, and made the road seem smooth and cool and pleasant, so that he sped quickly on his way, and soon came to his journey’s end.
I have told you this story, children, because Henry’s journey is exactly like the journey that each one of us must take through life, and God has given to each one of us these same four gifts, only we call them by very different names, and they do not take quite the shape that they took for Henry. The lantern is the Bible. Have you never heard it called a lamp for the feet, a light for the path? Whenever we come to any difficulties or dark problems, the Bible, if we read it carefully, will throw light upon all our troubles. The hand which Henry raised when he came to the deep pit was simply the hand of prayer, and whenever we get to any deep difficulties, if we will raise our hands in prayer to God, he will take hold of them and carry us safely to the other side. The crowbar was the crowbar of hard work, and if we press this firmly under the obstacles in our way, and pull on it with all our might, never fear but they will roll out of our path. Finally, the shoes were the sandals of patience, that can make the hardest way seem pleasant and short. These four gifts God will give us for the asking. Have you ever earnestly asked him for them?