And so, indeed, he asserts in the three slim volumes of autobiography which a New Zealand friend, aware of my interest in the classical and biblical scholar, recently presented to me.

In those volumes, Blaiklock speaks of the satisfaction of living with the literature of two great civilisations, the Greek and the Roman, and the joy of passing on its wisdom to eager minds. In addition, his interest in archaeology opened opportunities to lead study tours to Israel, Greece and Britain.

His Christian faith, in which ardour is larded with much good learning, provided scope of the publication of Bible commentaries, and character studies, as well as opening preaching opportunities in prestigious pulpits in three continents. And to all that can be added forty years as a weekly columnist in a leading New Zealand newspaper.

Yet his volumes of autobiography tell of his early disappointment when a career in medicine was denied to him. Coming from a modest home, the fees needed for such a course were not readily available. Yet, as a boy, he became acquainted with a friend, whose rich relative promised to provide the necessary funding.

is hopes rose, only to be rudely dashed a year or two later, as the promise was forgotten. Wrote Blaiklock, "The old lady would not have missed the trifle it would have cost. Her benefactions proved wide and brought acclaim. She could have still made them and either given a trusting boy his ambition - or never have set his expectations alight".

The career in classics was fulfilling, but the boyhood ambition still burned. Determined not to use his retirement watching pigeons in the park, he mentioned that he would like in his leisure years to take up that medical study in which he had exhibited a boyhood interest.

Looking back, he saw God's hand in it, and quoted Shakespeare: "There is a divinity which shapes our ends Rough-hew them as we will".

The great Victorian preacher, F.W. Robertson, would attest the same. His forebears had all been soldiers, and he had applied for a commission. But the commission was long delayed, and other counsels prevailed.

He was accepted for theological training; but on the following day the long-awaited commission arrived. Looking back, he traced the hand of God in it all. But for a strange series of incidents, he said, "I might now be fertilising the soil of India!"

The apostle Paul also experienced a frustrated ambition. The Acts of the Apostles tells of his desire to preach in the Roman province of Bithynia, part of northern Turkey. But in ways not explained, the door was closed ( Acts 16;7). The next verse , however, tells of the night-time vision at Troas, and the summons to Macedonia, and the continent of Europe. If Paul had made it into Bithynia, the gospel might not have been brought to Europe for generations, and great cathedrals would have borne another name.

It's a thought worth considering when our plans and hopes are upset.