THE WAY TO SPIRITUAL MATURITY

“We know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”  (Romans 5:3b-5 NIV)

Imagine you are walking through a garden and you notice a butterfly struggling to emerge from its cocoon. What would happen if, in an effort to help it, you took some scissors and snipped the cocoon away?

In a few hours you would witness a tragedy. The wings, shrunken and shriveled, would not fill out with all their potential beauty. Instead of developing into a creature free to fly, the butterfly would drag a broken body through its short life. The constricting cocoon and the struggle necessary to be free from it are God’s way of forcing fluid into the butterfly’s wings. The “merciful” snip would have been in reality quite cruel.

The way to spiritual maturity is often difficult and ugly, forcing us to embrace our poverty before God and our dependence upon Him. We must learn to struggle well, not avoid the fight while building a shining exterior. Sometimes the struggle is exactly what we need.  

-- Adapted from an article entitled “Not According to Plan” by Jeff Jernigan in Discipleship Journal, No. 67

#6365

BAKING A CAKE

“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NRSV)

The story is told of a very ill little boy who was telling his Grandma how "everything" was going wrong -- school was too hard, family problems, his severe pain, just all the hardships he was going through. Meanwhile, Grandma was baking a cake. She asked the child if he would like a snack, which of course he did.

"Here. Have some cooking oil."

"Yuck," said the boy.

"How about a couple of raw eggs?"

"Gross, Grandma."

"Would you like some flour then?  Or, maybe baking soda?"

"Grandma, those are all yucky!"

Grandma replied: "Yes, Sweetheart, those things seem bad all by themselves. But, when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He could let us go through such bad and difficult times, but God knows that, when He takes those things and puts them all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually the yucky stuff will be used to make something wonderful in our lives!"

God will work all things for our good if we but love and trust Him!

– Author Unknown

#6362

HOW ARE YOU?

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen…”  (2 Corinthians 4:16–18 NIV) 

"How are you?"

That familiar question makes me smile as I consider the possibility of giving a totally honest answer after living with cancer for the last two years.

Many times the question comes from a stranger, such as the waiter who introduces himself at our table in a restaurant. The answer is more about making him feel comfortable than about my current health. So I automatically say, "Fine, thanks," even when I'm not so fine.

When a good friend or family member like my son-in-law asks, "How are you?" I sometimes go for the obvious, smart-alecky answer. "I have cancer," I say with a grin, "but otherwise, I'm great." To that, my son-in-law rolls his eyes and vows never to ask me that question again.

Many times the question comes from well-meaning people who care but don't need a lengthy description or a boring tale of woe. Last week at church, soon after I got home from yet another hospital stay, several people asked, "How are you?"

This is when the question challenges me the most. How do I give a current, appropriately honest answer? After all, when cancer enters a person's life, it changes how she is. I liken it to living within a picture frame with a persistent dark cloud on the horizon. But cancer also brings the odd gift of making today's sunshine preciously important, so that day I answered the question this way: "I'm good for today… and today that's good enough for me."

Next week or next month, the appropriately honest answer might be different, so I ask God's help in seeking the right words.

Father, I want the answer to "How are you?" to point back to You. Please give me the words that reflect my faith. 

-- Carol Kuykendall in “Daily Guideposts 2009”

#6360 

Editor’s Note: For a follow-up to this post, go to https://guideposts.org/positive-living/health-and-wellness/living-longer-living-better/the-amazing-way-this-couple-beat-cancer-together/

EYES OF COMPASSION

“When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house, ‘Why are your faces downcast today?’”  (Genesis 40:6-7 ESV)

Joseph’s suffering gave him eyes of compassion.

In the midst of the storm, do you read the faces of people around you the way Joseph did? Most people wear on their faces what is going on inside of them.

Do you look for friends, coworkers, people who serve you, or children in your life, and notice if their faces are downcast? It is a paradox: Self-preoccupation is actually self-defeating and produces loneliness.

Joseph expressed his heart to his fellow prisoners in a single question: “Why are your faces downcast today?”

Someone noticed them. Someone cared about their lives. Words can do this. Every word you speak boosts someone’s hope a bit, or kills it just a little…

Here’s a little test: During the stormy periods in your life, how often have you expressed genuine concern for others when you have had nothing to gain? 

-- John Ortberg in “If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat”

#6308

ARE YOU OKAY WITH THIS?

The Prophet Jeremiah wrote of good King Josiah, “‘He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know Me?’ declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 22:16)

United Nations health and food organizations calculate that twenty-five thousand people throughout the developing world die every day from starvation and malnutrition.  Are you okay with this?  There are a hundred thirty thousand children up for adoption at any given time in the United States, and millions more children worldwide are without families.  Are you okay with this?  A child dies from drinking contaminated water every twenty-one seconds.  Are you okay with this?  That question can be and must be asked of all suffering and every injustice.  Are you okay with this?

Most of us are okay with it.  And we’re okay with it simply because it’s an issue without a name or a face.  We’ve never held someone who is starving to death.  No one in our family has needlessly died from contaminated water.  We don’t know anybody who has been kidnapped and sold into slavery.  And none of our family members sleeps on the streets.  But once the issue has a name and a face, it changes everything, doesn’t it?  God knows each of those names.  God knows each of those faces.  And it breaks His heart.

So let me ask the question again: Are you okay with this?

If you are in Christ and Christ is in you, you cannot be okay with suffering or injustice or starvation.  Why?  Because His heart is in you.  And His heart beats for the suffering, the victim, the poor, and the needy.  If you are a Christ follower, then you have been drafted into an army of compassion that knows no enemy but those things that break the heart of God.  And it’s not okay to not do something about that.  

-- Mark Batterson in “PRIMAL: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity” (2009)

#6307

COMFORT AND COMPASSION

Editor’s Note: Today, January 21, is the anniversary of the birth of our son, Dustin (1982-1998). Today’s author, Nancy Guthrie, offered many of the lessons she learned from the loss of two of her children in her first book, “Holding On to Hope: A Pathway of Suffering to the Heart of God” which was published in 2002. Since then, Nancy has continued to write books that reflect her compassion for hurting people and her passion for applying God's Word to real life.

COMFORT AND COMPASSION

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”  (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV)

Ours is not a culture that is comfortable with sadness.  Sadness is awkward.  It is unsettling.  It ebbs and flows and takes its own shape.  It beckons to be shared.  It comes out in tears, and we don't quite know what to do with those.

So many people are afraid to bring up my loss.  They don't want to upset me.  But my tears are the only way I have to release the deep sorrow I feel.  I tell people, "Don't worry about crying in front of me, and don't be afraid that you will make me cry!  Your tears tell me you care, and my tears tell you that you've touched me in a place that is meaningful to me -- and I will never forget your willingness to share my grief." 

-- Nancy Guthrie in “Holding On to Hope”

#6289

TRUSTING EVEN WHEN THE ANSWER IS “NO”

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths."   (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV)

In recent years I have come to appreciate Lauren Daigle’s song “Trust in You.” It captures the tension we often feel between our desires and God’s will. She sings of moments when the mountains don’t move, when waters don’t part, and when prayers seem unanswered. Yet in the midst of disappointment, the refrain is clear: “I will trust in You.”

This is the essence of faith. Trust is not proven when everything works out the way we hoped -- it is proven when God’s answer is different than ours. Faith is not about controlling outcomes, but about surrendering to the One who holds all outcomes in His hands. My youngest sister taught me this near the end of her life as she faced Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer.

When You don't move the mountains
I'm needing You to move
When You don't part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don't give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust
I will trust in You

I think of Jesus in Gethsemane. He prayed, “Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Even in His anguish, He trusted the Father’s plan. That same posture of surrender is what Daigle’s song calls us to embrace.

Trust is not passive resignation; it is active faith. It is choosing to believe that God is working all things together for good (Romans 8:28), even when we cannot see how. 

– Rev. David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry™

#6250

A NEW PERSPECTIVE

I do not believe we can always properly label the moments that come to us.

Last spring one of my closest friends had a very serious heart attack. For a while it really didn’t look like he would make it. But he grew better and was finally strong enough for the surgery which is supposed to give him a new lease on life. I was with him in the fall and he was still talking about the experience.

“How did you like your heart attack?” I asked. “It scared me to death, almost,” he replied.

“Would you like to do it again?”  “No!”

“Would you recommend it?”  “Definitely not.”

“Does your life mean more to you than it did before?”  “Well, yes.”

“You and your wife have always had a beautiful marriage, but are you closer than ever?”  “Yes.”

“How about that new granddaughter?”  “Yes. Did I show you her picture?”

“Do you have a new compassion for people -- a deeper understanding and sympathy?”  “Yes.”

“Do you know the Lord in a richer, deeper fellowship than you had ever realized could be possible?”  “Yes.”

“How’d you like your heart attack?”  Silence was his answer. 

-- Adapted from “Something’s Going on Here” by Bob Benson

#6212

THE QUESTION OF SUFFERING – Part 3 of 3

Let me finish the story of Leslie and me in the fog in Wisconsin. We were following the taillights of that truck when the fog slowly began to lift, the rain let up and we entered a town with some lights. And there, silhouetted against the night sky, we saw the steeple of a church and the cross of Christ. After driving through the confusion of the fog for so long, that image struck me with poignancy I'll never forget -- because it was through the cross that Jesus conquered the world for us.

God's ultimate answer to suffering isn't an explanation; it's His incarnation. He isn't some distant, detached and disinterested deity; He entered our world and personally experienced our pain.

Jesus is there in the lowest places of our lives. As philosopher Peter Kreeft says: “Are you broken? He was broken, like bread, for us. Are you despised? He was despised and rejected of men. Do you cry out that you can't take any more? He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Did someone betray you? He was sold out. Are your most tender relationships broken? He loved and was rejected. Jesus is much closer than your closest friend. Because if you've put your trust in Him, then He is in you. And, therefore, your sufferings are His sufferings; your sorrow is His sorrow.”

So when tragedy strikes, when suffering comes, when you're wrestling with pain -- and when you make the choice to run into His arms, here's what you're going to discover: peace to deal with the present, courage to deal with your future and the incredible promise of eternal life in heaven.

“I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. But be courageous! I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33)

-- Lee Strobel in “The Case for Christianity Answer Book” 

#6165

THE QUESTION OF SUFFERING – Part 2 of 3

We may not be able to make out all the peripheral details of why, but there are some biblical truths that can illuminate some helpful points of light for us. Let me mention five that I've found helpful:

• First Point of Light: God is not the creator of evil and suffering.

Genesis 1:31 says everything God made “was very good.” But if God is not the author of evil, then where did it come from? God created us with free will so we could love Him -- because real love always entails the ability to love or not to love. Unfortunately, we abused our freedom by rejecting God’s love and walking away from Him. And that resulted in the introduction of evil into our lives and into the world.

• Second Point of Light: Though suffering is not good, God can use it to accomplish good.

Romans 8:28 promises: “In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Notice it doesn't say that God causes the evil and suffering, just that He will cause some kind of good to emerge. And it doesn't say we will see immediately or even in this life how God has brought good out of the bad circumstance -- just that it will happen for those of us who love Him.

• Third Point of Light: The day is coming when suffering will cease and God will judge evil.

“If God has the power to vanquish evil and suffering,” people ask, “then why doesn't He do it?” But just because He hasn't done it yet doesn't mean He won't do it. The Bible says the day will come when sickness and pain will be eradicated and people will be held accountable for the evil they've committed. Justice will be served…

Also, “the Lord is not slow in keeping His promise … He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). In other words, God hasn’t vanquished evil yet because He’s waiting to first reach some of us!

• Fourth Point of Light: Our suffering will pale in comparison to what God has in store for His followers.

Paul said in Romans 8:18: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” This is not to deny the reality of pain in our lives. But after 354,484,545 days of pure bliss in heaven, we’ll look back and realize that these difficult days in this world aren't worth comparing to an eternity of blessings and joy with Him.

• Fifth Point of Light: We decide whether to turn bitter or turn to God for peace and courage.

We've all seen examples of how the same suffering that causes one person to turn bitter and reject God can cause another person to turn to God. We all make the choice to either run away from God or to run to Him. But as one who’s tried both responses, let me assure you: it’s much better to run to Him!

-- Lee Strobel in “The Case for Christianity Answer Book” 

#6164

THE QUESTION OF SUFFERING – Part 1 of 3

Q. Why does God allow tragedy and suffering?

A. You see it all over the news: wildfires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes -- as well as senseless shootings, acts of terror and wars. In addition, there is the everyday pain in individual lives: illness, abuse, broken relationships, betrayal, sorrow, injuries, heartache, crime and death.

People are suffering all around us. And many ask, “Why? Why did God allow this?”

Jesus predicted these things would happen in our sin-stained world. Unlike some religious leaders who wrote off evil and suffering as mere illusions, Jesus dealt with reality. He said in John 16:33, “You will have suffering in this world.”

But, again, why? I cannot stand in the shoes of God and give a complete answer, but we can understand some things.

To illustrate, Leslie and I were driving from Chicago to Door County, Wisconsin. It was dark when it started raining heavily, and then we hit dense fog. I could barely see the line on the edge of the highway, and didn’t know what to do. Then a truck went by us, traveling at a confident and deliberate pace. We could see his taillights through the fog, and realized that if we could just follow those lights, we'd be headed in the right direction.

It is similar with tragedy and suffering. We may not be able to make out all the peripheral details of why, but there are some biblical truths that can illuminate some helpful points of light for us. And if we’ll follow those lights, they will lead us toward conclusions I believe can satisfy our hearts and souls.

-- Lee Strobel in “The Case for Christianity Answer Book” 

#6163

EMBODYING GOD'S LOVE

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  (John 13:34-35 NIV)

The earliest generations of Christians were known as a community that practiced sacrificial love. In a letter to the emperor Hadrian, a Christian named Aristides described the community this way:

"They love one another, and from widows they do not turn away their esteem; and they deliver the orphan from him who treats him harshly. And he who has, gives to him who has not, without boasting. And when they see a stranger, they take him in to their homes and rejoice over him as a very brother; for they do not call them brethren after the flesh, but brethren after the Spirit and in God." (Translated by D. M. Kay, www.earlychristianwritings.com)

At its best, the church continues to do these things today. Thousands of churches feed the poor, welcome strangers, and help those suffering from natural disasters.

Yet the church is composed of human beings who are sinners. We are all too familiar with the many ways we fall short of truly embodying God's love. Nevertheless, loving and acting on that love remain the church's purpose and calling from God. 

-- Scott J. Jones in “The Wesleyan Way: A Faith That Matters”

#6154

A DIFFERENT KIND OF KING

“They took palm branches and went out to meet [Jesus], shouting, ‘Hosanna!’ ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Blessed is the king of Israel!’ Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: ‘Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.’ At first His disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about Him and that these things had been done to Him.” (John 12:13-16 NIV)

This is the kind of King we follow, a King whose standard is the cross. Many look at the cross and see Christ's suffering and death for them, a "full and perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world," and indeed this is one of the profound and powerful truths of the cross. But there is more.

When I look at the cross, I see a divine love story centered on a God who suffered to save the human race, a King who died for His people. This love is selfless and sacrificial -- a parent dying for a child, a lover dying for the beloved. Ultimately, the cross is a sign of the lengths to which God will go to save us from sin and brokenness. It reminds us that forgiveness came at a great price.

Luke includes the words Jesus prayed from the cross, words that I find utterly astounding, a prayer transcending space and time, offered on Calvary for all people everywhere: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34) 

-- Adapted from Adam Hamilton in “The Way: Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus”

#6093

BE MERCIFUL TO ONE ANOTHER

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”  (Matthew 5:7 NIV)

In this Beatitude, Jesus highlights the importance of mercy in the life of a believer. Mercy is more than just feeling compassion; it is actively showing kindness and forgiveness to others, even when they may not deserve it. This reflects the heart of God, who is described as the “Father of mercies” (2 Corinthians 1:3).

Mercy involves meeting the needs of those who are suffering, offering forgiveness to those who have wronged us, and showing love and compassion to the lonely and rejected. It is a powerful expression of God’s love working through us.

So what should we do to be merciful? Show Compassion: Look for opportunities to help those in need around you. Whether it’s through a kind word, a helping hand, or a listening ear, your acts of mercy can make a significant difference. Forgive Freely: Holding onto grudges can harden our hearts. Instead, choose to forgive those who have hurt you, just as God has forgiven you. Reflect God’s Love: Let your actions be a reflection of God’s mercy. When others see your kindness and compassion, they are seeing a glimpse of God’s love. 

– SOUND BITES Ministry, compiled from a variety of sources

#6060

GOD’S COMFORT

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”  (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NKJV)

God provides comfort in many ways, but the Greek word for comfort in this particular passage is paraklesis (pronounced: par-ak-lay-sis). Which relates to the word paraclete or “one who comes alongside to help.” This word is also used as a name for the Holy Spirit. Paul, the writer of this letter to the Corinthians, was specifically talking about how God comforted him by helping him – providing him strength, boldness, and courage through the many trials he faced in his ministry.

The Holy Spirit helps all believers in the same way He helped Paul – strengthening us through the trials we face in our own lives. But God’s comfort doesn’t stop there. We who have been comforted by God’s great mercy are able to comfort others who are suffering and facing difficult situations. 

– Lauren Ibach in “The Bible in a Year: A Reading Plan Focusing on God’s Character”

#6038

BEING ANGRY WITH GOD – Part 1 of 2

"Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.”  (Psalm 4:4 NKJV)

Author John Killinger tells about the manager of a minor league baseball team who got so frustrated with his center fielder’s performance that he jerked him out of the game and played the position himself. The first hard-hit ball that came to the manager took a bad hop and smashed into his mouth. His next play was a high fly ball that he lost in the sun -- until it smacked him in the forehead. The third ball that came his way was a hard line drive that flew between his hands and popped him in the eye. Furious, the manager ran off the field to the dugout, grabbed the center fielder by the shirt and shouted, “You’ve got center field so messed up, even I can’t play it!” (From “750 Engaging Illustrations for Pastors, Teachers, and Writers”)

When it comes to the difficult seasons of our lives, God is the subject of more than His share of fingerpointing. A seventeen-year-old accused of burning down a church in Nashville, Indiana explained at his trial that he took a cigarette lighter to the nearly century-old building because, in his words, “I was angry with God.”

One woman, having lost both her husband and son in separate accidents, posted a notice on the internet that declared: “I am ANGRY at God. I am VERY ANGRY!” She dared to say out loud what you and I really feel sometimes. When our world is turned upside down, it’s easy to believe that God is the culprit.

God understands our anger, and when we pray, it’s a good thing to tell Him what we honestly feel. But sustained bitterness toward the Lord who loves us is irrational and unwise. 

-- David Jeremiah in “Keep the Faith: How to Stand Strong in a World Turned Upside Down”

#5951

EMBRACING HOPE IN THE MIDST OF TRAGEDY

I cannot imagine what it would be like to endure a tragedy without the hope that God offers.  Without Jesus Christ, there is no hope.  There is simply an eternal, black, cold and unrelenting void.  Just last week I came face to face with a man who didn't believe in anything.  What a miserable way to end life.

Of course, we Christians grieve when those we love are taken from us, but we do not grieve as those who have no hope.  We do not believe that people cease to exist when they die; the Bible tell us that we will again see all those loved ones who put their faith in Christ.  As Paul writes, "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who die, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.  We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have died in Him" (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).

Hope is available to us, even in the midst of tragedy.  And not only hope for eternal life, but hope of being reunited with those we love.  Hope is available now, even in tragedy, because God has promised to walk with us through any disaster that might over take us.

-- Luis Palau in “Where Is God When Bad Things Happen?”

#5942

PAIN – THE GREAT TEACHER

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”  (Romans 8:28 NIV)

Luci Shaw, my dear friend, mentor, and favorite poet, was widowed in midlife. When her husband Harold was diagnosed with cancer, Luci made a thoughtful vow to God. She said, “Lord, I promise never to give up on You, never to desert the faith.” Luci said that that promise, “like a marriage vow that sometimes staples a faltering relationship,” held her during the seven years of Harold’s illness, and finally, in his death (from “God in the Dark”). I think Luci exemplifies how a woman of wisdom responds to suffering. Her pain, which she did not deny, was immense. She told me that being a widow was “radical surgery – like being cut in half.” But she also resolved to trust God and to learn from her suffering. In an article in "Christian Living” (June, 1986), Luci said, “I’m learning to welcome pain, and not to dodge it. It’s one of the most valuable lessons. Pain has a refining work to do in us, if we welcome it. It teaches us what is temporal, what is superficial, and what is abiding and deep. I’m trying to let pain do its work in me.” 

-- Dee Brestin in “A Woman of Insight”

#5923

PAIN – THE GREAT EQUALIZER

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”  (Revelation 21:4 NKJV)

Affliction is a great equalizer.  It makes us all brothers and sisters in a very special way.  Almost anyone who has ever shared a hospital room remembers their roommate; they have traveled together in the fellowship of suffering, and even if they never see each other again, they often feel uniquely close.  This is partly because pain treats us all alike.  It's easier to endure sickness in a private room than in a ward, but when you have to depend on a nurse or an aide for bedpan and bathing, it makes no difference whether you're rich or poor, learned or ignorant. And if you're accustomed to being independent, the burden may be all the harder to bear.

In 1893, shortly after Grover Cleveland had come into his second term in the presidency, it was discovered that he had cancer of the throat and jaw.  National leaders feared that if his illness became public knowledge, the shaky financial condition of the country might grow into a full panic.  So they arranged for a medical team to join the president on a yacht, and skilled surgeons operated as the craft rolled up the East River. "If you must have surgery," someone might say, "that's the way to have it."  Perhaps. But Cleveland wrote later, "I have learned how weak the strongest man is under God's decree; and I see in a new light the necessity of doing my allotted work in the full apprehension of the coming night."

Pain is a great equalizer.  Peasant or president, rich or poor, the dimensions are pretty much the same. 

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas in “If Experience Is Such a Good Teacher Why Do I Keep Repeating the Course?”

#5922

NEARNESS TO GOD

“I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.”  (Psalm 40:8 NKJV)

If you find, in the course of daily events, that your self-consecration is not perfect -- that is, that your will revolts at His will -- do not be discouraged, but fly to your Savior and stay in His presence till you obtain the spirit in which He cried in His hour of anguish, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42 NKJV) Every time you do this it will be easier to do it; every such consent to suffer will bring you nearer to Him, and in this nearness to Him you will find such peace, such blessed -- sweet peace as will make your life infinitely happy, no matter what may be its mere outside conditions. 

-- Elizabeth Prentiss in “Stepping Forward”

#5902