Seas of sorrow, seas of trial, bitterest anguish, fiercest pain, rolling surges of temptation, sweeping over heart and brain. They shall never overflow us for we know His word is true. All His waves and all His billows. He will lead us safely through!
"Threatening breakers of destruction
Doubt's insidious undertow,
shall not pink us, shall not drag us
Out of ocean depth of Woe;
For His promise shall sustain us.
Praise the Lord, whose word is true.
We shall not go down or under
For He saith "Thou Passeth through" __ Johnson Flint.
"Threatening breakers of destruction
Doubt's insidious undertow,
shall not pink us, shall not drag us
Out of ocean depth of Woe;
For His promise shall sustain us.
Praise the Lord, whose word is true.
We shall not go down or under
For He saith "Thou Passeth through" __ Johnson Flint.
Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried: Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied. I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate, And the Master so gently said, “Child, you must wait”. “Wait? You say, wait! ” my indignant reply. “Lord, I need answers, I need to know why! Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard? By Faith, I have asked, and am claiming your Word. My future and all to which I can relate hangs in the balance, and YOU tell me to WAIT? I’m needing a ‘yes’, a go-ahead sign, or even a ‘no’ to which I can resign. And Lord, You promised that if we believe we need but to ask, and we shall receive. And Lord, I’ve been asking, and this is my cry: I’m weary of asking! I need a reply! Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate As my Master replied once again, “You must wait.” So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut and grumbled to God, “So, I’m waiting…. for what?” He seemed, then, to kneel, and His eyes wept with mine, And he tenderly said, “I could give you a sign. I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun. I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run. All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be. You would have what you want But, you wouldn’t know Me. You’d not know the depth of My love for each saint; You’d not know the power that I give to the faint; You’d not learn to see through the clouds of despair; You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there; You’d not know the joy of resting in Me When darkness and silence were all you could see. You’d never experience that fullness of love As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove; You’d know that I give and I save…. (for a start), But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart. The glow of My comfort late into the night, The faith that I give when you walk without sight, The depth that’s beyond getting just what you asked Of an infinite God, who makes what you have LAST. You’d never know, should your pain quickly flee, What it means that “My grace is sufficient for Thee.” Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come true, But, Oh, the Loss! If I lost what I’m doing in you! So, be silent, My Child, and in time you will see That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me. And though oft’ may My answers seem terribly late, My most precious answer of all is still, “WAIT.
A little girl walked to and from school daily. Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made her daily trek to the elementary school. As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with thunder and lightning. The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school and she herself feared that the electrical storm might harm her child. Following the roar of thunder, lightning, like a flaming sword, would cut through the sky. Full of concern, the mother quickly got into her car and drove along the route to her child’s school. As she did so, she saw her little girl walking along, but at each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up and smile. Another and another were to follow quickly and with each the little girl would look at the streak of light and smile. When the mother’s car drove up beside the child she lowered the window and called to her. “What are you doing? Why do you keep stopping?” The child answered, “I am trying to look pretty, God keeps taking my picture.” May God bless you today as you face the storms that come your way. And don’t forget to SMILE then
An Atheist and a Christian were hiking up a mountain; they came upon a large rock and decided to rest. While there, they talked about their jobs, families, and how good it was to enjoy nature. Their conversation then drifted toward the supernatural. “I do not believe in God because there is no proof of his existence,” said the Atheist. The Christian did not immediately respond, but instead gazed upon the tall pines and blue sky above him. “No,” said the Christian, “we cannot actually see, hear, or touch God, but we can know that God exists since we can see the results of His work.” The Christian continued, “Think of all the magnificent things we saw today… grand mountains, hundred of varieties of trees, flowers, insects, birds… and even you and I! There is beauty in all these things; they are good.” The Atheist replied, “Yes, nature is definitely awesome, but I believe this all came about by chance.” Again, the Christian peered at the billowy clouds above him, then asked, “We cannot see air, can we? We know that it exists because we see the effects of air. We see the trees sway and leaves rustle, but we do not actually see air nor wind. The effects of God are all around. We just have to take the time to look.” Without another word, the Atheist and Christian continued their long journey up the mountain. An Atheist and a Christian - Author Unknown
A young man, a student in one of our universities, was one day taking a walk with a professor, who was commonly called the students’ friend, from his kindness to those who waited on his instructions. As they went along, they saw lying in the path a pair of old shoes, which they supposed to belong to a poor man who was employed in a field close by, and who had nearly finished his day’s work. The student turned to the professor, saying: “Let us play the man a trick: we will hide his shoes, and conceal ourselves behind those bushes, and wait to see his perplexity when he cannot find them.” “My young friend,” answered the professor, “we should never amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor. But you are rich, and may give yourself a much greater pleasure by means of the poor man. Put a coin into each shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch how the discovery affects him.” The student did so, and they both placed themselves behind the bushes close by. The poor man soon finished his work, and came across the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes. While putting on his coat he slipped his foot into one of his shoes; but feeling something hard, he stooped down to feel what it was, and found the coin. Astonishment and wonder were seen upon his countenance. He gazed upon the coin, turned it round, and looked at it again and again. He then looked around him on all sides, but no person was to be seen. He now put the money into his pocket, and proceeded to put on the other shoe; but his surprise was doubled on finding the other coin. His feelings overcame him; he fell upon his knees, looked up to heaven and uttered aloud a fervent thanksgiving, in which he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless, and his children without bread, whom the timely bounty, from some unknown hand, would save from perishing. The student stood there deeply affected, and his eyes filled with tears. “Now,” said the professor, “are you not much better pleased than if you had played your intended trick?” The youth replied, “You have taught me a lesson which I will never forget. I feel now the truth of those words, which I never understood before:‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Student and His Professor : Its More Blessed To Give Than To Receive - Author Unknown
This is a picture taken from directly above these camels in the desert at sunset. It is considered to be one of the best pictures of the year. When you look closely, you can see that the camels are the little white lines in the picture. The black images you see are just the shadows! Sometimes, our "problems" seem to be as big as the shadows...but they are little. Have a lovely day! -LOOK ONCE MORE. YOU CANNOT BELIEVE IT, RIGHT? :) Problems Big as the Shadows or not - Author Unknown
A few years ago at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100 yard dash. At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the race to the finish and win. All, that is, except one boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy. They slowed down and looked back. They all turned around and went back. Every one of them. One girl with Down's Syndrome bent down and kissed him and said,"This will make it better." All nine linked arms and walked across the finish line together. Everyone in the stadium stood, and the cheering went on for several minutes. People who were there are still telling the story. Why? Because deep down we know one thing. What matters most in this life is more than winning for ourselves. What truly matters in this life is helping others win, even if it means slowing down and changing our course
According to a Greek legend, in ancient Athens a man noticed the great storyteller Aesop playing childish games with some little boys. He laughed and jeered at Aesop, asking him why he wasted his time in such frivolous activity. "Aesop responded by picking up a bow, loosening its string, and placing it on the ground. Then he said to the critical Athenian, 'Now, answer the riddle, if you can. Tell us what the unstrung bows imply.' "The man looked at it for several moments but had no idea what point Aesop was trying to make. Aesop explained, 'If you keep a bow always bent, it will break eventually; but if you let it go slack, it will be more fit for use when you want it.' So many of us today, including me, are bogged down with being too busy. Much of life seems to be controlled by the tyranny of the urgent—unforeseen crises or needs that daily pop up unexpectedly—all of which are a vivid reminder that I, too, need to "come apart and rest a while—before I come apart." Even Jesus and his disciples, in the midst of their busy ministry, needed to take time out to get some rest. Dare we do less? There are times when we, too, need to loosen the bow
The Great Reservoir On February 21, 1858, Charles Spurgeon gave a sermon that he entitled “The Great Reservoir” in which he preached through Proverbs 4:23 – “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” The metaphor he uses to describe the heart throughout his talk is that of a water reservoir. When it is impure, empty, or divided it does not provide proper nourishment for life. One piece of the sermon in particular was especially meaningful to me – when Spurgeon gives the formula for keeping the heart pure. I have shared it below. Ah! Christian keep thy heart pure. Thou sayest, “How can I do this?” Well, there was of old a stream of Marah, to which the thirsty pilgrims in the desert came to drink; and when they came to taste of it, it was so brackish that though their tongues were like torches, and the roofs of their mouths were parched with heat, yet they could not drink of that bitter water. Do you remember the remedy which Moses prescribed? It is the remedy which we prescribe to you this morning. He took a certain tree, and he cast it into the waters, and they became sweet and clear. Your heart is by nature like Marah’s water, bitter and impure. There is a certain tree, you know its name, that tree on which the Saviour hung, the cross. Take that tree, put it into your heart, and though it were even more impure than it is, that sweet cross, applied by the Holy Spirit, would soon transform it into its own nature, and make it pure. Christ Jesus in the heart is the sweet purification. He is made unto us sanctification. Elijah cast salt into the waters; but we must cast the blood of Jesus there. Once let us know and love Jesus, once let his cross become the object of our adoration and the theme of our delight, the heart will beam its cleansing, and the life will become pure also. Oh! that we all did learn the sacred lesson of fixing the cross in the heart! Christian man! love thy Saviour more; cry to the Holy Spirit that thou mayest have more affection for Jesus; and then, how ever gainful may be thy sin, thou wilt say with the poet, “Now for the love I bear his name, What was my gain I count my loss; My former pride I call my shame, And nail my glory to his cross.” The cross in the heart is the purifier of the soul; it purges and it cleanses the chambers of the mind. Christian! keep thy heart pure, “for out of it are the issues of life.” --From " http://exithymn.wordp ress.com/..." Desire Muhireshared this story 'The Great Reservoir' on Christian stories.
