by Reimar Schultze 

The English evangelist Leonard Ravenhill was invited to hold revival meetings for A.W. Tozer in Chicago. A fire broke out in the hotel were Ravenhill and his associate stayed. They both had to jump from a third story window. In landing, Ravenhill suffered many broken bones. It took half an hour before an ambulance showed up.

Tozer’s congregation had many questions: Why did this happen? Was this the work of God or of the devil? Had they prayed enough for the revival meetings? Could God not heal him at once and put him back into the pulpit? What good would come out of this? None of the parishioners could find the right words to comfort the injured evangelist. Finally, Tozer arrived with a Chinese man who had gone through much persecution. He said, "The Lord sanctify to thee thy deepest affliction."   Those few words helped the evangelist more than all the words of all who came to see him: "The Lord sanctify to thee thy deepest affliction."