Daily Strength for Daily Needs Part 12

_There are diversities of operations, but it is the same G.o.d which worketh all in all_.--I COR. xii. 6.

_I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things_.--ISA. xlv. 7.

"All is of G.o.d that is, and is to be; And G.o.d is good." Let this suffice us still, Resting in childlike trust upon His will, Who moves to His great ends, unthwarted by the ill.

J. G. WHITTIER.

This, then, is of faith, that everything, the very least, or what seems to us great, every change of the seasons, everything which touches us in mind, body, or estate, whether brought about through this outward senseless nature, or by the will of man, good or bad, is overruled to each of us by the all-holy and all-loving will of G.o.d. Whatever befalls us, however it befalls us, we must receive as the will of G.o.d. If it befalls us through man's negligence, or ill-will, or anger, still it is, in every the least circ.u.mstance, to us the will of G.o.d. For if the least thing could happen to us without G.o.d's permission, it would be something out of G.o.d's control.

G.o.d's providence or His love would not be what they are. Almighty G.o.d Himself would not be the same G.o.d; not the G.o.d whom we believe, adore, and love.

E. B. PUSEY.

March 8

_Study to show thyself approved unto G.o.d, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed_.--2 TIM. ii. 15.

_And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not_.--GAL. vi. 9.

The task Thy wisdom hath a.s.signed, Oh, let me cheerfully fulfil; In all my works Thy presence find, And prove Thine acceptable will.

C. WESLEY.

"What is my next duty? What is the thing that lies nearest to me?" "That belongs to your every-day history. No one can answer that question but yourself. Your next duty is just to determine what your next duty is. Is there nothing you neglect? Is there nothing you know you ought not to do?

You would know your duty, if you thought in earnest about it, and were not ambitious of great things." "Ah, then," responded she, "I suppose it is something very commonplace, which will make life more dreary than ever.

That cannot help me." "It will, if it be as dreary as reading the newspapers to an old deaf aunt. It will soon lead you to something more.

Your duty will begin to comfort you at once, but will at length open the unknown fountain of life in your heart."

G. MACDONALD.

March 9

_Thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy G.o.d in all that thou puttest thine hands unto_.--DEUT. xii. 18.

_Be ye thankful_.--COL. iii. 15.

Thou that hast given so much to me, Give one thing more, a grateful heart.

Not thankful when it pleaseth me, As if thy blessings had spare days; But such a heart, whose pulse may be Thy praise.

G. HERBERT.

If any one would tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness and all perfection, he must tell you to make it a rule to yourself to thank and praise G.o.d for everything that happens to you. For it is certain that whatever seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank and praise G.o.d for it, you turn it into a blessing. Could you, therefore, work miracles, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit; for it heals with a word speaking, and turns all that it touches into happiness.

WM. LAW.

March 10

_When thou pa.s.sest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee_.--ISA.

xliii. 2.

_I am with thee to deliver thee_.--JER. i. 8.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go, The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow; For I will be with thee thy troubles to bless, And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

ANON.

Turn it as thou wilt, thou must give thyself to suffer what is appointed thee. But if we did that, G.o.d would bear us up at all times in all our sorrows and troubles, and G.o.d would lay His shoulder under our burdens, and help us to bear them. For if, with a cheerful courage, we submitted ourselves to G.o.d, no suffering would be unbearable.

J. TAULER.

Learn to be as the angel, who could descend among the miseries of Bethesda without losing his heavenly purity or his perfect happiness. Gain healing from troubled waters. Make up your mind to the prospect of sustaining a certain measure of pain and trouble in your pa.s.sage through life. By the blessing of G.o.d this will prepare you for it; it will make you thoughtful and resigned without interfering with your cheerfulness.

J. H. NEWMAN.

March 11

_Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved_.--PS. lv. 22.

Now our wants and burdens leaving To His care who cares for all, Cease we fearing, cease we grieving, At His touch our burdens fall.

S. LONGFELLOW.

The circ.u.mstances of her life she could not alter, but she took them to the Lord, and handed them over into His management; and then she believed that He took it, and she left all the responsibility and the worry and anxiety with Him. As often as the anxieties returned she took them back; and the result was that, although the circ.u.mstances remained unchanged, her soul was kept in perfect peace in the midst of them. And the secret she found so effectual in her outward affairs, she found to be still more effectual in her inward ones, which were in truth even more utterly unmanageable. She abandoned her whole self to the Lord, with all that she was and all that she had; and, believing that He took that which she had committed to Him, she ceased to fret and worry, and her life became all suns.h.i.+ne in the gladness of belonging to Him. H. W. SMITH.

March 12

_The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make His face s.h.i.+ne upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace_.--NUM. vi. 24-26.

O Love, how cheering is Thy ray!

All pain before Thy presence flies; Care, anguish, sorrow, melt away, Where'er Thy healing beams arise.

O Father, nothing may I see, Nothing desire, or seek, but Thee.

P. GERHARDT.