Overview

How is the martyrdom of a young couple in their twenties a triumph? Caught in a brutal civil war in 1930s China, John and Betty Stam gave their lives as they took the gospel to those who had never heard. They left behind their infant daughter, abandoned in an empty house in the county side. In her devotional style overflowing with original quotes, Mrs. Howard Taylor recounts the astounding story of how God worked before, during, and after the Stams’ deaths. She argues that God took what the world would see as a tragedy and turned it into a triumph. The testimony of these godly servants of God and the amazing work of God in dark times makes this short biography a must-read for every believer.

Highlights

  • The testimony of John and Betty’s dedication to God as young students and then as first-term missionaries.
  • The faith of the Stams and their family in the face of the unthinkable.
  • The unexpected but providential deliverance of baby Helen from the brutal soldiers and abandonment in an empty house in China.

Quotes

  • “Shall we retreat and turn back from our high calling in Christ Jesus; or dare we advance at God’s command in face of the impossible? . . . Let us remind ourselves that the Great Commission was never qualified by clauses calling for advance only if funds were plentiful and no hardship or self-denial involved. On the contrary, we are told to expect tribulation and even persecution, but with it victory in Christ. . . . The faithfulness of God is the only certain thing in the world today. We need not fear the result of trusting Him.” (John, p. 54–55)
  • “When we consecrate ourselves to God, we think we are making a great sacrifice, and doing lots for Him, when really we are only letting go some little, bitsie trinkets we have been grabbing, and when our hands are empty He fills them full of His treasures” (Betty, p. 35)
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Other Sources

John and Betty Stam are also highlighted in Daring Devotion, Day 5 and the story of their daughter’s deliverance is recounted in Daring Dependence, Day 30.