And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10 ESV
She was a maverick—a 28-year-old Cambridge-educated doctor who, in 1953, went to work in what was then called the Congo.
Helen Roseveare impacted the people of the Congo through her medical work and practice of recognizing the Africans who worked alongside her, as colleagues. In college, she had prayed, “God … Go ahead and make me more like Jesus, whatever the cost!”[1] Little did she know that she would impact generations through her willingness, as she put it, to offer God “the loan of her body.”[2]
In 1964 when civil war broke out in the Congo, rebels destroyed medical facilities and kidnapped Helen and 10 other female missionaries. Roseveare was brutally raped. She recounted, “On that dreadful night … bruised, terrified and tormented, [utterly] alone, I had felt at last God had failed me.” But then, she said, incomprehensibly, “Through the brutal heartbreaking experience of rape, God met with me—with outstretched arms of love. It was an unbelievable experience: He was so utterly there, so totally understanding, his comfort was so complete. He did love me! He did understand!”[3]
The love of Helen Roseveare’s God is still enough. He still says, “I will be with you” (Isaiah 43:2) and “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10 ESV).
When you walk through suffering, remember—God has not abandoned you. His love still reaches into the deepest pain to bring comfort and strength.
[1] Taylor, Justin. “A Woman of Whom the World Was Not Worthy: Helen Roseveare (1925-2016).” The Gospel Coalition, 7 Dec. 2016, thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/a-woman-of-whom-the-world-was-not-worthy-helen-roseveare-1925-2016/.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
