Fiona Steward, Cardiff

I’ve sometimes wondered what it would be like to go to prison for my faith and to have no access to a Bible. What verses would I have memorized or wished I had? That is probably the closest I’ve come to imagining a desert island type experience!

Which verses would you take to the desert island?

Having lost everything I hold dear in this world, I would want to learn Paul’s “secret of being content in any and every situation.” (Phil 4:11) What was his secret? Christ! “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:13); “For to me to live is Christ.” (Phil 1:21). Paul’s contentment was in and through Christ. Paul could have said with the hymn-writer: ‘Thou O Christ art all I want, more than all in Thee I find.’ So to fix my mind and affections on the all-sufficiency of Christ I would choose these verses:

Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:25-26

Verse 26 became particularly precious when I was doing student ministry in France. In an oppressive and spiritually hostile place, I would cry this verse out in prayer again and again. The first part of this verse expressed how I felt; totally weak and helpless. The second part of it was a rock under my feet. It was like the Lord was saying to me: ‘However weak you feel, I am enough for you.’ And He really was.

In a way, I wonder if I could just live out of those two verses. But I would also want to take a verse which reminds me of the ground of these blessings:

   He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Romans 8:31b-32

What greater proof do we need of God’s love for us than the cross and what greater promise of His provision?  It’s as if Paul is saying, ‘Since God gave you the greatest Gift of all, how is it possible that He would withhold anything else that is good for you?’  And so I need to keep my eyes on the cross; to trust Him and not doubt, to thank Him and not complain, and most of all to love and live for Him who died for me.

And leading on from this, what has given me the deepest comfort over the years? God’s sovereignty. If I know that God has lovingly ordered every detail of my life, then come what may, I can rest in this powerful truth: 

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who brought you out of darkness into His marvellous light. 1 Peter 2:9

How I need reminding in this verse of the honour and responsibility of belonging to God’s people: chosen, royal, sacrificial, holy and special.  We are not our own.  Our little lives exist for Him: to display the wonders of our Creator and Redeemer. And very soon, He will come back for His church and she will be presented to Him as His holy and perfect Bride to enjoy and praise Him forever.   

Who would you like to find on the island for company?

Lilias Trotter (1853 - 1928) was born to a wealthy family in London, she developed a rare artistic talent.  At age 23 she was told by John Ruskin (foremost critic of the day and her mentor) that if she gave herself up fully to her art, “she would be the greatest living painter and do things that would be Immortal.” At the same time a spiritual calling had also been growing within her and after days of agonising and prayer she wrote, “I cannot give myself to painting in the way he means and continue to ‘seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.’” In 1887 she felt the call of God to North Africa (very audacious by any means, but particularly at this time for a single woman!) and spent the next 40 years sharing the gospel in Algeria where she died.

I’d like to believe Lilias Trotter would be something of a kindred spirit, not least because I also appreciate art.  But she had a unique ability, which I would love to learn from, of combining her artistic eyesight with her spiritual insight.  She would see God even in the small things in the world around her and take spiritual parables and lessons from nature.  She recorded her observations in journals through watercolours and words.  Here is an example of what she observed while in the woods one morning:

…it was just a dandelion, and half withered – but it was full face to the sun, and had caught into its heart all the glory it could hold and was shining so radiantly, that the dew that lay on it still made a perfect aureole round its head. And it seems to talk, standing there – to talk about the possibility of making the best of these lives of ours.

For if the Sun of Righteousness has risen upon our hearts, there is an ocean of grace and love and power lying all around us, an ocean to which all earthly light is but a drop, and it is ready to transfigure us, as the sunshine transfigured the dandelion, and on the same condition – that we stand full face to God.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” Hebrews 12:2

Lilias Trotter knew her God intimately. She devoted herself to prayer and the Word and experienced profound communion with Him in her sufferings. This was the key to an entire life offered to God as a living sacrifice. She knew that by losing her life she would gain it and would not regret it 100 million years later. What better person to be with on a desert island, than one who could focus your eyes on eternity and say: “We can do without anything while we have God.”

Which song would you take to the island?

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

My heart can easily become distracted, dispersed and dissatisfied. That’s why I have often prayed the first lines of this hymn, to once again SEE Jesus Christ as the Lover of my soul, my highest joy and the only one who is worthy of my whole heart.

This hymn is a beautiful expression of all that Christ is to us because we are united to Him: ‘Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.’ Because of this union, someone has said that just as a groom makes vows to his bride, Jesus Christ vows to His church: ‘All that I am I give to you and all that I have I share with you.’  What more could we want or need!? This hymn also echoes the heart cry of His bride the church in response, ‘Eclipse everything else Lord Jesus, so that I desire nothing else more than I desire you. Have my heart Lord, have it all.’ And so this brings me full circle. May God increase our faith to say and know that Jesus Christ is enough, whatever our circumstances, and to give ourselves to Him.

Dafydd M Job, Bangor

My waistline testifies to the fact that I love my food, and if I miss a meal it isn’t long before my stomach lets me know that something’s gone amiss. Over the years, I’ve also grown to love my Bible, and if I don’t get some time in it every day, I know that something is not right. I need to hear God speaking, and not so that I have stuff for my sermons (I’ve been a pastor for 38 years), but for my own benefit. So, choosing a few verses is a bit of a challenge; however, here goes.

Which verses would you take to the desert island?

If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139:9-10

The book of Psalms has become more and more precious in recent years, as I find there the whole range of human feelings as the Psalmists opened their hearts before God. Psalm 139 is especially dear as it reminds me that God is ever present and that He knows my every situation, my every thought, my fears and joys and on a desert island I cannot think of a more comforting truth to hold in my heart on a desert island.

And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" Isaiah 6:3

This chapter in Isaiah has been very significant to me. A few days before my conversion I heard a talk based on this chapter which impressed on me both the holiness of God, and the fact that this did not preclude sinners from knowing His grace. I did not understand much at the time, but within a couple of days the Lord of hosts became my own Lord. Some time later, when I was a candidate for the ministry, I had to preach before my home church and I chose to preach from this chapter. Being a very liberal church theologically it was an unusual message for them to hear but the response was positive and I’ve often returned to this passage to preach. An awareness of God’s holiness, but also the grace of the burning coal touching the lips of the prophet lead on inevitably to the response in verse 8, "Here am I! Send me."

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9

Being on a desert island would inevitably bring to mind what I had left behind. This verse often brings me into a better perspective, remembering what Jesus left behind to bring us to glory. Jesus’ magnificent self-sacrifice for such unworthy recipients of grace is beyond our ability to fully appreciate or describe. Any loss of ours pales into insignificance in the light of Christ’s loss. My grandfather, who was very involved in the 1904/5 Welsh revival lost his wife and three children within three years at the beginning of the last century. Writing in his diary after his second infant daughter had died he wrote: "This has been the darkest week of my life. I have been forced into terrible depths! I called on God, "Spare her!" But that was not His will! I am like a vessel in the tempest - at the mercy of the waves. Etta [his wife] is away, and I must bury sweet Non without her mother seeing her! Yet He must have a glorious reason for all of this, or else I must throw my Bible overboard. But I'd rather drown with the Bible in my hand, than live without it.” It is the knowledge that Christ sacrificed everything, becoming poor for us, which persuades us that whatever befalls, we can trust that He is in control and cares for us.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1

This verse has been a guiding light to me for several years, encouraging me day by day in the way I make decisions and behave. The mercies of God are always the great motivation as we consider what a privilege it is to serve the gracious King of Kings. The temptation on a desert island would be to think that, as no one else is there to see us, it doesn’t matter what I do or how I behave. But this verse would encourage me at the beginning of each day to present myself to God, so that He would guide my thoughts and activities. “Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.”

Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:9-10

If I could find a reason why I had been left alone on a desert island, I would imagine that it would be so that I could have more time to pray. The pattern given by our Lord is so helpful and challenging, it would guide me as I interceded for the world in its need. Maybe the petition, “your will be done,” would be most challenging, as it might mean that it was God’s will for me to be left un-rescued. Yet, if Jesus prayed this in Gethsemane, surely it would be right for me in my hour of need. Being reminded to pray would also encourage me as I could be confident that my loved ones would be praying for my deliverance also, but more wonderfully still, the Jesus would also be interceding for me at His Father’s right hand.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. Revelation 21:4

Being stuck on a desert island with no one coming to rescue me will never be the end of my story. There will come a day, either within my lifetime or some other time, when Jesus will return on the clouds of the air. And wherever I will be, he will take me to be with him forever. Then the loneliness, depression, pain and feelings of abandonment will all be banished forever. There have been tears in this life of mine, and there will probably be more before it is over. But He will wipe away each one. Then I will know that it was all worthwhile. I will see how He looked after me in the best way possible. And it will be pure joy to revel in the truth of Rutherford’s words, “The Lamb is all the glory in Immanuel’s land!”

Which Christian from the past would you like to find on the island for company?

I could wish that I knew of a Christian boat builder from the past, but as I’m not allowed Noah there are so many that I would love to have a conversation with. In having to choose one I would possibly go for John Penry, a seventeenth century Welshman who pleaded for the gospel to be preached in Wales. He wrote and printed many tracts, and brought the ire of Archbishop Whitgift on his head for his criticism that the church did not take the evangelising of Wales seriously. He was suspected of involvement in the writing of the illegal Marprelate Tracts which attacked the episcopacy. He was eventually martyred for his work. We would probably build a printing press whilst on the island and by the time we were rescued we’d have written some good subversive Christian literature to be distributed when we got back home.

Which song would you take to the island?

There are many Welsh hymns that would vie for the position of the song I would take with me, but in choosing a song written in English, it has to be William Gadsby's masterpiece:

Immortal honours rest on Jesus’ head,

My God, my portion, and my living Bread;

In Him I live, upon Him cast my care;

He saves from death, destruction and despair.

He is my refuge in each deep distress,

The Lord my strength and glorious righteousness.

Through floods and flames He leads me safely on,

And daily makes His sovereign goodness known.

My every need He richly will supply,

Nor will His mercy ever let me die;

In Him there dwells a treasure all divine,

And matchless grace has made that treasure mine.

O that my soul could love and praise Him more,

His beauties trace, His majesty adore,

Live near His heart, upon His bosom lean,

Obey His voice and all His will esteem.