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William Bradford's Stepping Stones of Faith · Traveler’s Tales

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  Some people spend their lives trying to build a monument to themselves,
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  while others are willing to become a stepping stone for
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  someone else. William Bradford belonged to that second group.
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  He crossed an ocean, endured unimaginable loss, helped establish
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  a colony, and spent decades leading people through uncertainty.
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  Yet, when Bradford described the purpose behind it all, he did not speak primarily
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  of personal freedom, political influence, or even building a new nation.
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  He spoke of advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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  One of the most remarkable things he ever wrote was that he and his fellow
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  Pilgrims were willing to be nothing more than stepping stones
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  unto others who would continue that great work.
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  That is a powerful way to look at a life.
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  Welcome to Traveler's Tales, produced by Enjoying the Journey. I'm your host,
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  Greg Dowdy. Today we travel back more than 400
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  years to one of the most famous voyages in American history.
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  But our focus is not simply on the Mayflower or the
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  founding of Plymouth Colony. Instead, we look at the faith of one man William
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  Bradford, one of the men who helped lead that remarkable group of
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  believers. William Bradford was born in
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  England in 1589. As a young man,
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  he became deeply troubled by the spiritual corruption he saw
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  around him. By the age of 18, his convictions were already
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  costing him something. He believed that God's people should worship according to the
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  Word of God rather than simply conforming to the religious expectations
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  of the culture. Those convictions eventually led Bradford and
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  others first to Holland and then across the Atlantic
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  aboard the Mayflower in 1620. We often remember the Mayflower
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  as one of history's great voyages, but it was
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  hardly a comfortable adventure. The crossing was difficult,
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  the future was uncertain, and when the Pilgrims
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  arrived in the New World, suffering was waiting for them.
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  Of the 102 passengers who made the voyage,
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  only 56 survived that first winter.
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  Imagine watching nearly half of the people around you
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  die within a matter of months. Bradford knew personal
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  grief as well. His wife Dorothy died after
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  falling from the Mayflower into the cold waters of Plymouth Harbor.
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  Yet through hardship, death, uncertainty, and responsibility,
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  Bradford continued to trust the Lord. He later wrote of
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  the Pilgrims that the difficulties they faced did not dismay
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  them, though they certainly troubled them. Why?
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  Because, he said, their desires were set on the ways
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  of God, and they rested on his providence and knew whom
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  they had believed. There is a tremendous difference between being troubled
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  and being dismayed. Faith does not mean that trouble does not affect
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  us. Christians feel sorrow. We experience disappointments.
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  We face uncertainties. There are moments when circumstances
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  weigh heavily upon our hearts. But trouble does
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  not have to determine our direction.
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  Bradford and the Pilgrims were troubled, but they were not turned aside.
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  Their circumstances were difficult, but their desires
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  were fixed. They rested on his providence and
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  knew whom they had believed. That is a truth
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  worth carrying with us today. When you can't understand
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  what God is doing in your life, you can still trust the God
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  who is doing it. After the death of John Carver,
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  Bradford became governor of Plymouth Colony while still only in his early
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  30s. With only a few brief interruptions, he would serve
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  in that role for decades. What enabled him to endure such responsibility?
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  Again and again, Bradford's writings reveal a mind saturated
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  with Scripture. Biblical languages, biblical principles,
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  and confidence in the providence of God appeared throughout all of his writings.
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  That brings us back to Joshua 1:8.
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  God told Joshua that his word was not to depart from his mouth.
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  He was to meditate upon it day and night, and most importantly,
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  observe to do according to all that is written therein.
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  God's Word was not simply something Joshua was supposed
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  to know; it was something he was supposed to live.
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  The same must be true of us. It's possible to own
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  a Bible and not be governed by it. It is possible
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  to hear preaching every week and still allow the culture to shape our
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  thinking. It is possible to know what Scripture says
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  without actually changing and arranging our lives around
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  what God has said. Bradford and his fellow believers understood that
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  following Scripture might cost them something. They wrote of
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  their determination to walk in all his ways made
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  known whatsoever it should cost them.
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  Whatsoever it should cost them— that phrase challenges
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  me. We naturally ask, what will obedience cost
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  me? Perhaps a better question is, what will disobedience
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  cost if I refuse to follow God? Biblical conviction
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  is not merely believing something strongly. It is being so
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  convinced that God is right that we are
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  willing to obey him regardless of the consequences.
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  But there was something else behind the Pilgrims' journey that deserves our attention.
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  Bradford explained that they possessed a great hope and inward
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  zeal for the propagating and advancing the gospel
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  of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world. And then
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  he added this remarkable statement: they were willing to be even
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  as stepping stones unto others for the performing of so great
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  a work. Think about that. A stepping stone is not
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  the destination. It simply helps someone else
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  get further down the path. But Bradford understood that
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  he might never see everything God intended to accomplish through
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  his life. And neither will we. Some prayers
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  we have prayed may be answered after we are gone.
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  Some seeds that we plant may be harvested by another generation.
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  Some people we influence may carry the gospel farther
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  than we ever could. Some work that we begin
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  may be completed by someone whose name we will never
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  know, and that is perfectly all right.
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  You see, the goal of the Christian life is not to make sure people remember
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  our name. It is to make sure they know his name.
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  So perhaps Bradford's life leaves us with 3 simple challenges.
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  First, let God's word govern your life.
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  Don't just admire scripture. Meditate upon it.
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  Believe it. Obey it. Build your decisions,
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  your convictions, your priorities upon what God has said.
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  Second, trust God's providence in difficult
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  seasons. You may be troubled without being dismayed,
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  and when you cannot see the way ahead, rest in the God
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  who already knows the end from the beginning. And finally,
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  give your life to something eternal. Every one of us
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  is spending our life on something.
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  Time is passing, years are moving, Opportunities are disappearing,
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  so connect your life to the work of God.
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  Share the gospel. Invest in people. Teach your children
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  and grandchildren the word of God. Encourage another believer.
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  Support those carrying the gospel around the world. Serve faithfully
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  right where God has placed you, and be willing, if necessary,
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  simply to become a stepping stone. You may
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  never know how far your influence reaches. William Bradford
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  could not possibly have imagined everything that would follow that difficult voyage
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  across the Atlantic. He simply knew that God had given him truth to
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  obey, a providence to trust, and a gospel worth
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  advancing. More than 4 centuries later, his words still
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  challenge us. May God give us that same determination
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  to set our desires on the ways of God, to rest in
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  his providence, to live according to his word, and to
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  spend our lives advancing the gospel, Jesus Christ.
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  And when our journey is finished, may those coming behind us
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  find that our faithfulness helped them take another step forward.
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  Thank you for joining me today for Traveler's Tales. If you'd like
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  to continue growing in God's word and find practical resources
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  to help you share Christ with others, visit our website etj.org.
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  You'll find Bible studies, gospel resources,
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  and tools designed to help you know Christ more deeply and
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  make him known to others.