Meet My Friend Jerry

“All providences are doors to testing. Even our mercies, like roses, have their thorns. Men may be drowned in prosperous seas as easily as in rivers of affliction.” – C.H. Spurgeon

Meet Jerry McDevitt...

When Deanna and I were newlyweds and looking for a good Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church to attend, we chose (or God chose for us) Moorestown Bible Church. It was a perfect fit, and we served – and raised our three kids – there for the next 22 years.

One of the first people we met at MBC was Jerry. He was a very successful financial planner who lived in a beautiful home in town. He also drove a new burgundy-colored Mercedes. But you wouldn’t know that Jerry was well-off by the way he acted. Simply put, he was as down-to-earth as they came.

A short time later, Jerry lost his job and was unemployed for about 18 months. But guess what? Once again, you wouldn’t know that Jerry was struggling financially because he praised God just as much in the bad times as he had in the good ones. A smile never seemed to leave Jerry’s face.

Eventually, Jerry got an even better job offer and was riding high again. And yet, his demeanor didn’t change one iota, and he was still the same approachable and likeable guy as before. After a few years in this new position, Jerry left the firm to take a different job… as a school bus driver. I suppose he had saved enough money to retire early, but Jerry wasn’t one to still around idly and count his investments. Instead, he cheerfully picked up and dropped off schoolchildren for several years in all kinds of weather and was happy as a clam.

The last time I saw Jerry, he was still driving the same not-so-new-now Mercedes… and grinning from ear-to-ear.

Not everyone can handle wealth – or adversity – as well as my friend, Jerry. In fact, Charles Spurgeon had this to say on the subject…

“Worldly ease is a great enemy to faith; it loosens the joints of holy zeal and snaps the sinews of sacred courage. The balloon never rises until the cords are cut; affliction provides this service for believing souls. While the wheat sleeps comfortably in the husk, it is useless to us; it must be threshed out of its resting place before its value can be known. Thus it is good that the Lord tests the righteous, for it causes them to grow rich toward God.”

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21 (NKJV)

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President