A little girl sat at the back of the church listening. The minister was talking about her brother who had just been killed in an accident. A worker for God - he had been a student for the ministry - had gone. Who would take his place? The little girl thought, “I can’t be a minister but maybe I could be a missionary.” That was all. I was that little girl.

Amy Carmichael gives an exceptional example of the set-apart life. From the time of her conversion to her going home, she poured out her life in service to the Lord and had little-to-no regard of human opinion.

Gladys was just a normal woman, a parlour maid in fact, and yet God chose her as a leader of some of his people and an ambassador for Christ. She spent her life savings on a train to Tsechow, think of all the things she could have done with this money, but she chose to spend them on God’s work. I find this an amazing act of selflessness that shows how much God can do in us.

When it comes to our spiritual life there can be occasions when a dull and lethal lethargy creeps into the soul. On these occasions a glimpse of the heaven fuelled life of God’s saints from past and present can be just the life surging boost that is needed.