FAITH & TRUST / FEAR & WORRY / DOUBT & UNBELIEF
RELATED INDEX TOPICS: Answered Prayer, Communion with God, Contentment, Doubt, Positiveness, Peace, Testimonies of Faith.
1. An old Scotsman operated a little rowboat for transporting passengers. One day a passenger noticed that the good old man had carved on one oar the word "Faith," & on the other oar the word "Works." Curiosity led him to ask the meaning of this. The old man, being a well-balanced Christian & glad of the opportunity for testimony, said, "I will show you."
So saying, he dropped one oar & plied the other called Works, & they just went around in circles. Then he dropped that oar & began to ply the oar called Faith, & the little boat just went around in circles again--this time the other way around, but still in a circle.
After this demonstration the old man picked up Faith & Works, & plying both oars together, sped swiftly over the water, explaining to his inquiring passenger, "You see, that is the way it is in the Christian life. Dead works without faith are useless, & 'faith without works is dead' also, getting you nowhere. But faith & works pulling together make for safety, progress, & blessing."
2. Let us not rebel against delay. We must not steal tomorrow out of God's hands. God is never too late. He is always right on time.
3. When Hudson Taylor, the famous missionary, first went to China, it was in a sailing vessel. Very close to the shore of cannibal islands the ship was becalmed, & it was slowly drifting shoreward unable to go about & the savages were eagerly anticipating a feast.
The captain came to Mr. Taylor & besought him to pray for the help of God. "I will," said Taylor, "provided you set your sails to catch the breeze." The captain declined to make himself a laughing stock by unfurling in a dead calm. Taylor said, "I will not undertake to pray for the vessel unless you will prepare the sails." And it was done.
While engaged in prayer, there was a knock at the door of his stateroom. "Who is there?"
The captain's voice responded, "Are you still praying for wind?"
"Yes."
"Well," said the captain, "you'd better stop praying, for we have more wind than we can manage."
4. Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, & receives the impossible.
5. Faith is to accept the impossible, do without the indispensable, & bear the intolerable.
6. Faith is idle when circumstances are right, only when they are adverse is one's faith in God exercised. Faith, like muscle, grows strong & supple with exercise.
7. Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps.
8. Thy Will be done. No greater words than these
Can pass from human lips, than these which rent
Their way through agony & bloody sweat,
And broke the silence of Gethsemene
To save the World from sin.
--G.A. Studdert-Kennedy
9. Sometimes I'm sad, I know not why
My heart is sore distressed;
It seems the burdens of this World
Have settled on my heart.
And yet I know ... I know that God
Who doeth all things right
Will lead me thus to understand
To walk by FAITH ... not SIGHT.
And though I may not see the way
He's planned for me to go...
The way seems dark to me just now.
But oh, I'm sure He knows!
Today He guides my feeble step
Tomorrow's in His right ...
He has asked me to never fear ...
But walk by FAITH ... not SIGHT.
Some day the mists will roll away.
The sun will shine again.
I'll see the beauty in the flowers.
I'll hear the bird's refrain.
And then I'll know my Father's hand
Has led the way to light
Because I placed my hand in His
And walked by FAITH ... not SIGHT.
--Ruth A. Morgan
10. In 1856, David Livingstone faced a grave peril in Africa. He was passing through the wild country of the native chief Mburuma. The chief was hostile & had been seeking to rouse the countryside against the man's expedition. Reports had been that he was seen creeping toward the camp!
Alone in his tent, Livingstone opened his Bible & read the Promise on which he had staked his life so often. Then he wrote in his diary,
"January 14, 1856. Evening. Felt much turmoil of spirit in prospect of having all my plans for welfare of this great region knocked on the head by savages tomorrow. But Jesus said, 'All power is given unto Me in Heaven & in Earth. Go ye therefore & teach all nations ... & lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.'
"This is the word of a Gentleman of the most strict & sacred honour, so that's the end of fear. I will not cross furtively tonight as I intended. Nay, verily, I shall take observations for latitude & longitude tonight, though they may be the last, I feel quiet & calm now, thank God!"
11. A coloured church congregation had met to pray for rain to release a long dry spell. The preacher looked severely at his flock & said, "Brothers & sisters, you'll knows why we is here. Now what I wants to know is--where is yo' umbrellas?"
12. A little faith will bring your soul to Heaven; a great faith will bring Heaven to your soul.
13. Where reason cannot wade, there faith may swim.
14. Faith does the same against the Devil as unbelief does against God.
15. A little lad was keeping his sheep one Sunday morning. The bells were ringing for church, & the people were going over the field, when the little fellow began to think that he, too, would like to pray to God. But what could he say? He had never learned a prayer. So he knelt down & commenced the alphabet--A, B, C, & so on to Z.
A gentleman happening to pass on the other side of the hedge heard the lad's voice, &, looking through the bushes, saw the little fellow kneeling with folded hands & closed eyes, saying, "A, B, C."
"What are you doing, my little man?" "Please, sir, I was praying." "But what are you saying your letters for?"
"Why, I didn't know any prayer, only I felt that I wanted God to take care of me & help me to care for the sheep; so I thought if I said all I knew, he would put it together & spell all I want."
"Bless your heart, my little man, He will, He will, He will. When the heart speaks right, the lips can't say wrong."
16. Hannah Whithall Smith tells about a man sliding down a rope into a well. He supposed the rope to be of ample length, but to his dismay he reached the end of it without touching the bottom of the well with his feet. He tried in vain to climb up the rope, & dared not let go for fear of being dashed to pieces. He held on as long as he could, & when utterly exhausted let the rope slip from his grasp. He fell--just three inches!
17. Faith in God is indispensable to successful statesmanship.
18. The southern tip of Africa used to be called "Cape of Tempests." Its swirling seas & continuously adverse weather conditions caused sailors great anxiety & took many lives. But a certain Portuguese, determined to find a safer route through those seas to the renowned Land of Cathay, discovered a safer passage round this promontory. And the area was renamed the "Cape of Good Hope."
19. True patience means "waiting without worrying."
20. You will never learn faith in comfortable surroundings.
21. In a cellar in Cologne, Germany after WW2 were found these words on the wall:
I BELIEVE ...
I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining;
I believe in love, even when I feel it not;
I believe in God, even when He is silent.
22. I learned to swim in boyhood, but it was only this summer that I achieved complete mastery of myself in the water. For 30 years I had assumed that I must constantly struggle to keep from sinking.
One day an expert swimmer watched me for a few minutes & then cried: "Stop fighting the water & trust it to hold you up. Use your strength & get somewhere."
Under his direction, a few moments sufficed to convince me he was right. I lay flat in the water without moving hands or feet & to my delight, it held me up. Then I struck out, using my strength to forge ahead. What a revelation! Why did not someone tell me that years ago?
So many constantly struggle to be Christians, when if they would only trust Christ they would be kept.
23. George W. Boschke was the famous engineer who built the gigantic sea wall to protect Galveston, Texas, from the horrible floods which had brought disaster to the city. He built his sea wall with a sure confidence of a thoroughgoing engineer & master workman. From Galveston he went to Oregon to build railroads in an undeveloped section of the state. Boschke was in a camp 40 miles away from the nearest railroad when an exhausted messenger rode in & handed a telegram to his assistant. The message said that the Galveston sea wall had been washed away by a second furious hurricane. The assistant was in consternation & dreaded to hand the telegram to his chief. Boschke read the telegram, smiled, handed it back & said, "This telegram is a black lie. I built that wall to stand."
He turned away & went about his work. It turned out that the message was based on a false report. True, there had been a hurricane as severe as that which had flooded the city before, but Boschke's sea wall had not been moved. It stood firm. "I built that wall to stand," said Boschke & went smiling about his work amid rumours of disaster.
24. The minister's sermon concerned the relationship between fact & faith. "That you are sitting before me in this church," he said, "is fact. That I am standing, speaking from this pulpit, is fact. But it is only faith that makes me believe anyone is listening!"
25. The greatest victories are the victories of faith. It is not so much what we can do that counts, but what we can trust God to do.
26. The steps of faith fall on the seeming void & find rock beneath.
27. Faith is belief in action.
28. He does not lead me year by year
Nor even day by day,
But step by step my path unfolds;
My Lord directs my way.
Tomorrow's plans I do not know,
I only know this minute;
But He will say, "This is the way,
By faith now walk in it."
And I am glad that it is so,
Today's enough to bear;
And when tomorrow comes, His grace
Shall far exceed its care.
What need to worry then, or fret?
The God Who gave His Son
Holds all my moments in His hand
And gives them, one by one.
--Barbara C. Ryberg
29. Dwight L. Moody's favourite verse was Isaiah 12:2: "I will trust, & not be afraid." He used to say: "You can travel first class or second class to Heaven. Second class is, 'What time I am afraid, I will trust.' First class is, 'I will trust, & not be afraid.' That is the better way. Why not buy a first-class ticket?"
30. Bishop Bashford, in one of his Episcopal tours in China, was one night compelled to sleep outdoors, under the trees, the hotel keeper warning him about marauders. Being watchful & wakeful awhile, he thought of the words of the Psalmist, & then said to the Lord, "There is no use both of us being wake," so he slept the sleep of the just.
31. A poor woman, in an Eastern city, made complaint to the Sultan that while she slept her all was taken by thieves. "Wherefore did you sleep?" asked the Sultan.
"My Lord," was the response, "I slept because I thought you were ever awake."
The Sultan, pleased with her simple faith in his care of his people, restored to her more than she had lost. How calmly may the Christian both lie down & sleep, knowing that his God is ever guarding him, for He slumbers not, neither is weary of watching.
32. One day a man went running & puffing into the railroad station to catch a train, but missed it. He looked at his watch & said, "Watch, I had a lot of faith in you."
A friend overheard him & said, "Don't you know that faith without works is dead?"
33. Faith ends where worry begins, & worry ends where faith begins.
34. Faith is what made the little girl take an umbrella to a prayer meeting called especially to pray for rain. Grownups wore sun glasses.
35. 'Tis far, far better to let Him choose
The way that we should take;
If only we leave our lives to Him,
He will guide without mistake.
We, in our blindness, would never choose
A pathway dark & rough,
And so we should ever find in Him,
"The God Who Is Enough."
36. The local parks commission had been ordered to remove the trees from a certain street which was to be widened. As they were about to begin, the foreman & his men noticed a robin's nest in one of the trees & the mother robin sitting on the nest. The foreman ordered the men to leave the tree until later.
Returning, they found the nest occupied by little wide-mouthed robins. Again they left the tree. When they returned at a later date they found the nest empty. The family had grown & flown away. But something at the bottom of the nest caught the eye of one of the workmen--a soiled little white card. When he had separated it from the mud & sticks, he found that it was a small Sunday school card & on it the words, "We trust in the Lord our God."
37. Build a little fence of trust around today;
Fill the space with loving deeds, & therein stay.
Look not through the sheltering bars upon tomorrow;
God will help thee bear what comes of joy or sorrow.
--Mary Frances Butts
38. I once saw a man in an insane asylum whose chief trouble was his fear that he wouldn't get his next meal. As soon as one meal was out of the way, he began to worry about the next. Most of his time & strength were spent in that worry. But that man was in an insane asylum. As long as we are out of one we ought to act more reasonable.
39. Another year I enter
Its history unknown;
Oh, how my feet would tremble
To tread its paths alone!
But I have heard a whisper,
I know I shall be blest;
"My presence shall go with thee,
And I will give thee rest."
What will the New Year bring me?
I may not, must not know;
Will it be love & rapture,
Or loneliness & woe?
Hush! Hush! I hear His whisper;
I surely shall be blest;
"My presence shall go with thee,
"And I will give thee rest."
40. He does not believe that does not live according to his belief.
41. Believing & obeying always run side by side.
42. Faith & obedience are bound up in the same bundle. He that obeys God, trusts God; & he that trusts God, obeys God.
43. Walking by faith means being prepared to trust where we are not permitted to see.
44. Faith is in the spiritual realm what money is in the commercial realm.
45. A six-year-old went into a bank & asked to see the president. A courteous clerk showed her into his private office. She explained that her girls' club was raising money for a new club house & would he please contribute?
The banker laid a dollar & a dime on the desk & said, "Take your choice, Miss."
She picked up the dime & said, "My mother always taught me to take the smallest piece." Picking up the dollar bill also, she added: "But so I won't lose this dime, I'll take this piece of paper to wrap it up in."
46. Faith enables us so to rejoice in the Lord that our infirmities become platforms for the display of His grace.
47. All God's giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on God being with them.
48. The larger faith we bring, the larger measure we carry from Christ.
49. Before faith & obedience become acts of man they are gifts of God.
50. A weak faith may receive a strong Christ.
51. F - orsaking
A - ll
I
T - ake
H - im
52. "Now I lay me" -- say it, darling;
"Lay me," lisped the tiny lips
Of my daughter, kneeling, bending,
O'er her folded finger tips.
"Down to sleep" -- "to sleep," she murmured,
And the curly head drooped low;
"I pray the Lord," I gently added,
"You can say it all, I know."
"Pray the Lord" -- the words came faintly,
Fainter still -- "My soul to keep,"
Then the tired head fairly nodded,
And the child was fast asleep.
But the dewy eyes half opened
When I clasped her to my breast,
And the dear voice softly whispered,
"Mamma, God knows all the rest."
Oh, the trusting, sweet confiding
Of the child-heart! Would that I
Thus might trust my Heavenly Father,
He who hears my feeblest cry.
53. Trusting means drawing on the inexhaustible resources of God.
54. When Abraham went out, he was not sure of his destiny, but he was sure of his company.
55. Faith follows God implicitly, albeit with trembling on occasion; while sight calculates, considers, cautions & cringes.
56. Faith never fears that it will overdraw its account at the Bank of Heaven.
57. Some people think they need faith as big as a mountain to remove a mustard seed.
58. A friend tells of overhearing two little girls, playmates, who were counting over their pennies. One said, "I have five pennies."
The other said, "I have ten."
"No," said the first little girl, "you have just five cents, the same as I."
"But," the second child quickly replied, "my father said that when he came home tonight, he would give me five cents, & so I have ten cents." The child's faith gave her proof of that which she did not as yet see, & she counted it as being already hers, because it had been already promised by her father.
59. A story is told that once the passengers of a vessel steaming along the St. Lawrence River were very angry because, in spite of the fact that heavy fog was encircling the boat, full speed ahead was maintained. At last they went to the first mate, & complained, "Oh, don't be afraid!" the mate replied, with a smile. "The fog lies low, & the captain is high above it, & can see where we are going."
Are you tempted to complain of the way your Great Captain is leading you? Believe that He can see the end of the way. Then, declare, "Thou, Lord ... makest me dwell in safety."
60. A man was compelled one night to cross a wide, frozen river. Notwithstanding the assurances of those who were thoroughly familiar with the region & repeatedly crossed on the solid ice, the traveler feared to undertake the trip, but finally began to crawl his way over. When near the middle of the frozen stream he was startled by a sound in the distance, & caught sight of a Negro driving a heavy team of horses pulling a great load of pig iron; yet there was not the least sign of a crack in the ice.
Will the Word of God hold? Some fear to trust it. Why, man, it can't fail!
61. Let faith have elbow room.
62. We live by faith & faith lives by exercise.
63. Faith is fostered by prayer, is fortified by the study of the Word, & is fulfilled by our yielding moment by moment to the Lord Jesus Himself.
64. Belief is a truth held in the mind. Faith is a fire in the heart.
65. Life asks no questions that faith cannot answer.
66. Faith keeps us, but God keeps our faith.
67. Dr. Talmage once told a story of how, when a young man, he was inclined to be rather skeptical. One day, after he had asked an old minister "why" this, & "how" that, the aged man replied, "Talmage, you must let Almighty God know some things you don't know." He acted on the advice, trusted, & preached to thousands afterward.
68. A little fellow in the slum section of a large city was induced to attend a mission Sunday School, & by-&-by became a faithful little Christian. He seemed quite settled in his Christian faith, but someone, surely in a thoughtless mood, tried to test or shake his simple faith in God, asking him, "If God loves you, why does He not take better care of you? Why doesn't He tell someone to bring you shoes & a warm coat & better food?" This little fellow thought a moment, then with tears starting in his eyes, said, "I guess He does tell somebody, but somebody forgets."
69. Looking through binoculars in the Alps, a group of scientists saw a healthy specimen of a rare plant which they wanted. It was located, however, on a valley floor. Although they had ropes & climbing equipment, the cliffs appeared too steep for anyone of their weight. Just then a young lad with his dog came bounding down the path. They stopped him with this proposition: For a certain amount of money they would tie a strong rope around his waist, lower him to the valley floor, & draw him up again when he had uprooted the plant. He considered a moment, then without a word returned the way he had come. In a few minutes, however, he again appeared, leading by the hand a burly Swiss mountaineer. "All right, gentlemen," he said, "I will get your plant. But my father will hold the rope."
70. Some men remind me of a poor immigrant who was discovered walking on the tracks of a railroad in New Jersey. On his back he carried a huge bulk & as he trudged on, tired & halt, he resembled Bunyan's pilgrim with his burden. In passing a station an agent ordered him off the track, reminding him he was liable to arrest for trespassing. The man demurred & produced a railroad ticket good for passage from Jersey City to Scranton. The agent looked at him in amazement, & asked why he was walking when he might ride.
The stranger replied that he thought the ticket gave him only the privilege of walking over the road. His right was explained to him, & the tired man with delight boarded the first train for his destination.
Surely the angels must look with wonderment at the thousands who trudge along, anxious & careworn, bearing life's burdens without Divine help & future hope.
Ah, how many of God's children, through distrust & disbelief, fail to "possess their possessions!"
71. Faith's answer to the question "How" is one word, "God!"
72. Believers are not hired servants, supporting themselves by their own work, but children maintained at their Father's expense.
73. Believe your beliefs & doubt your doubts; do not make the mistake of doubting your beliefs & believing your doubts.
74. Faith is a refusal to panic.
75. Some people are always telegraphing to Heaven for God to send a cargo of blessings to them; but they are not at the wharfside to unload the cargo when it comes.
76. "God knows the way of the righteous,
Even though it be dark & drear;
He knows when we're tired & weary,
Our burdens too heavy to bear;
We ask, as the shadows lengthen,
'Lord, lift Thou this burden of care!'
And often His voice replieth:
'My child, I placed it for you there!
With grace that is all-sufficient,
That you might grow stronger in Me,
So trust, weary child, your Father,
He knoweth & careth for thee!'"
77. Would it not be better to leave tomorrow with God? That is what is troubling man; tomorrow's burdens, tomorrow's duties. Martin Luther, in his autobiography says:
"I have one preacher that I love better than any other on Earth; it is my little tame robin, who preaches to me daily. I put crumbs upon my window sill, especially at night. He hops onto the window sill when he wants his supply, & takes as much as he desires to satisfy his need. From thence he always hops to a little tree close by & lifts up his voice to God & sings his carols of praise & gratitude, tucks his little head under his wing & goes fast to sleep, & leaves tomorrow to look after itself. He is the best preacher that I have on Earth."
78. A skillful surgeon recently undertook the responsibility of performing a serious operation on the eyes of an Eastern monarch which proved highly successful. After the king's recovery the problem of presenting his account puzzled the doctor, for he was dubious as to what figure would correctly estimate the value of the result achieved; as in Eastern countries it is a serious wrong to charge the king more or less than the actual value. Taking a blank billhead the doctor wrote across it: "The king can do no wrong," & respectfully submitted it to the monarch. His answer was a letter enclosing a sum far beyond his highest hopes. When we know not what to pray for, let us leave it to our Heavenly King Who doeth all things well.
79. Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man's power ends.
80. So many Christians badly need a faith lift!
81. Religious faith is not a final goal to be reached, but a highway to be travelled.
82. Faith is the link that binds our nothingness to almightiness.
83. Courage is fear that has gone to God in prayer.
84. Faith that is sure of God is the only faith there is.
85. Oliver Cromwell's secretary was dispatched to the continent on some important business. He stayed one night at a seaport town, & tossed on his bed, unable to sleep.
According to an old custom, a servant slept in his room, & on this occasion slept soundly enough. The secretary at length awakened the man who asked how it was that his master could not rest.
"I am so afraid something will go wrong with the embassage," was the reply.
"Master," said the valet, "may I ask a question or two?"
"To be sure."
"Did God rule the world before we were born?"
"Most assuredly He did."
"And will He rule it after we are dead?"
"Certainly He will."
"Then, master, why not let Him rule the present, too?"
The secretary's faith was stirred, peace was the result, & in a few minutes both he & his servant were in sound asleep.
86. For feelings come & feelings go,
And feelings are deceiving;
My warrant is the Word of God,
Naught else is worth believing.
Though all my heart should feel condemned
For want of some sweet token,
There is One greater than my heart
Whose word cannot be broken.
I'll trust in God's unchanging Word
Till soul & body sever;
For, though all things shall pass away,
His Word shall stand forever.
--Martin Luther
87. Mother gazed in consternation at the seemingly expanding bump on Bobby's head. Bobby, six years old, had just come home from school. "How did you get such a bump? Who hit you?" inquired the anxious mother. "Were you fighting the other children?" Then said the mother, "Come here, let me put cold compresses on it right away!!"
Backing toward his bedroom door, little Bobby pleaded, "Jus' a minute, please. I want to talk to Jesus!" His private session over, he went cheerfully to play. But a few moments later, his mother called him for the application of the aforementioned cold compresses. Whereupon, Bobby questioned, "Aw, Mommy, why don't you give Jesus a chance?"
88. No one can become a Christian on his own terms.
89. A wise man once said that enthusiasm is nothing but faith with a tin can tied to its tail.
90. The World will not be convinced of your faith by the sourness of your face.
91. Before a person sets out to test his faith by trying to move a mountain, he should begin with a molehill & work up.
92. If we would venture more upon the naked promise of God, we should enter a world of wonders to which as yet we are strangers.
93. During an earthquake, a few years ago, the inhabitants of a small village were very much alarmed.
One old woman, whom they all knew, was surprisingly calm & joyous.
At length, one of them said to her, "Mother, are you not afraid?"
"No, I rejoice to know that I have a God Who can shake the world!"
94. For many years the mother of Tom Carter prayed that God would save her boy & make a preacher out of him. Her boy was a wicked sinner. He landed in prison, but the mother still prayed for him, believing that God would answer her prayers. One day she received a telegram from the prison, saying that her son was dead.
The mother was stunned for a few minutes. Then she went to her room. There she prayed with her open Bible before her. She said to the Lord, "O God, I have believed the promises Thou didst give me in Thy Word. I have believed that I would live to see Tom saved & preaching the Gospel. Now, a telegram says he is dead. Lord, which is true, this telegram or Thy Word?"
She rose from her knees & wired the prison: "There must be some mistake. My boy is not dead." And there WAS a mistake. Tom Carter was alive! Not long afterward he was saved. When he was released from prison, he became a mighty soul-winner & preacher.
95. Faith gives us the courage to face the present with confidence & the future with expectancy.
96. Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, & receives from God the impossible.
97. We may not know what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future.
98. A person's faith is not judged by what he says about it, but by what he does about it.
99. Faith is to the soul what a mainspring is to a watch.
100. The greatness of our fears shows us the littleness of our faith.
101. Faith without works is like an automobile without gas.
102. It is sickly faith that is shaken because some frail human being goes wrong.
103. Faith forces its way to Christ through every obstacle.
104. Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.
105. It is related of Alexander the Great, that, on one occasion a courtier asked him for some financial aid. That great leader told him to go to his treasurer & ask for whatever amount he wanted. A little later, the treasurer appeared & told Alexander the man had asked for an enormous sum, & that he hesitated to pay out so much. "Give him what he asks for," replied the great conqueror; "he has treated me like a KING in his asking, & I shall be like a king in my giving!"
Greatly grieved must be our God because of the smallness of our requests of Him!
"Thou art coming to a King,
LARGE petitions with thee bring;
For His grace & power are such,
None can ever ask too much!"
106. Theodore Monod was once telling a little friend about Christ healing blind Bartimaeus, "And what," said he to the boy, "would you have asked from Jesus if you had been blind?"
"Oh," said the child, with glowing face & kindling eyes, "I should have asked Him for a nice little dog with a collar & chain, to lead me about."
How often do we ask for the blind man's dog instead of the seeing man's eyes?
107. O Thou of little faith,
God hath not failed thee yet!
When all looks dark & gloomy,
Thou dost so soon forget!
Forget that He has led thee,
And gently cleared thy way;
On clouds has poured His sunshine,
And turned thy night to day!
And if He's helped thee hitherto,
He will not fail thee now;
How it must wound His loving heart
To see thy anxious brow!
Oh! doubt not any longer,
To Him commit thy way;
Whom in the past thou trusted,
And is the same today!
108. Through faith we understand
The things we cannot know --
The hidden pattern God has planned,
And why each thread is so;
We trace life's vast design
And lose His golden strand,
But when our wills with His entwine
Through faith we understand.
Through faith we understand
What to our sight is dim,
And still Love's sweet, all-knowing hand
Leads those who trust in Him.
Ours not to know the way,
But bow to His command;
And when our childlike hearts obey,
Through faith we understand.
-- E. Margaret Clarkson
109. Faith gives us the courage to face the present with confidence, & the future with expectancy.
110. Faith builds a bridge from this World to the next.
111. There are a thousand ways of pleasing God, but not one without faith.
112. If your faith cannot move mountains, it ought to at least climb them.
113. Believe that life is worth living & your belief will help create the fact.
114. John W. Knight, was a Methodist circuit rider. Before his conversion, he was a notorious, blatant atheist. When God saved him his life was totally changed. It is said that, wherever he went, a revival of "the old-time religion" broke out. Bishop Pierce, in his biography of "Uncle Knight," tells some interesting stories of him. The following incident shows the old circuit rider's faith. A destroying drought had cast its sear mantle over a countryside. Crops were withering & lying in the parched fields. "Uncle Knight" & others wended their way to the little Crawford Church in Putnam County, Georgia, to pray for rain. "Uncle Knight," however, was the ONLY one who took an umbrella with him to the prayer meeting. On bended knees the old man began to pray as follows: "O, Lord, we need rain. O, Lord, we need much rain. O, Lord, we don't want any drizzly-drazzly rain. We want a gully-washer!" God, as He always does, honoured the simple faith of the old circuit rider, & the people soon knew the answer to the ancient question, "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?"
115. Some years ago, two men, a bargeman & a collier, were in a boat above the rapids of a cataract, & found themselves unable to manage it, being carried so swiftly down the current that they must both inevitably be borne down & dashed to pieces. One was saved by grasping a rope that was thrown to him. The same instant that the rope came into his hand, a log floated by the other man. The thoughtless & confused bargeman, instead of seizing the rope, laid hold on the log. It was a fatal mistake; they were both in imminent peril; but the one was drawn to shore, because he had a connection with the people on the land, while the other, clinging to the loose, floating log, was borne irresistibly along, & never heard of afterwards.
Faith has a saving connection with Christ. Faith is on the shore, holding the rope, &, as we lay hold of it with the hand of our confidence, He pulls us to the shore; but our good works, having no connection with Christ, are drifted along down to the gulf of fell despair.
116. Faith is the daring of the soul to go farther than it can see.
117. Your faith gets a real test when you find yourself face to face with a need with nothing less than a $20 bill in your wallet.
118. Faith is the wind that blows the sail of our ship of hope toward the desired destination.
119. When you become wrinkled with care & worry, it's time to have your FAITH lifted.
120. Canst thou take the barren soil
And with all thy pains & toil
Make lilies grow?
Thou canst not. O helpless man,
Have faith in God--He can.
Canst thou paint the clouds at eve?
And all the sunset colours weave
Into the sky?
Thou canst not. O powerless man,
Have faith in God--He can.
Canst thou still thy troubled heart
And make all cares & doubts depart
From out thy soul?
Thou canst not. O faithless man,
Have faith in God--He can.
121. I believe the promises of God enough to venture an eternity on them.
122. My times are in that mighty Hand
That formed the Earth, the Moon & stars;
That measured oceans, Heaven spanned,
And for the sea set doors & bars.
Why should I fear what man can do,
When in that Hand I rest secure?
In life, or death, 'twill bear me through
There I have shelter, safe & sure.
My times are in my Father's Hand
How could I wish or ask for more?
For He Who has my pathway planned,
Will guide me till my journey's o'er.
My times are in my Saviour's Hand,
Nail-pierced upon the Cross for me,
And He will lead me to that land,
Where I with Him shall ever be.
-- Margaret K. Fraser
123. When the soul is much discouraged
By the roughness of the way,
And the cross we have to carry
Seems heavier every day;
When some cloud that overshadows
Hides our Father's face from view,
Oh, 'tis well then to remember,
He has blessed us hitherto!
Looking back the long year over
With a varied path--& yet,
All the way His hand has led us
Past each hindrance we have met;
Giv'n to us the pleasant places--
Cheered us all the journey through;
Passing through the deepest waters,
He has blessed us hitherto!
Surely, then our souls should trust Him,
Tho' the clouds be dark o'erhead;
We've a Friend that draweth closer
When our other friends have fled;
When our pilgrimage is over,
And the Gates we're sweeping through,
We shall see, with clearer vision,
How He blessed us hitherto!
124. Both faith & fear sail into the harbour of your mind, but only faith should be allowed to anchor.
125. Faith is something like electricity. You can't see it, but you can see the light.
126. Living without faith is like driving in a fog.
127. Faith with works is a force. Faith without works is a farce.
128. No one can live in doubt when he has prayed in faith.
129. Faith helps us walk fearlessly, run confidently, & live victoriously.
130. Did you ever wonder about the Trinity? John Wesley said: "Bring me a worm that can comprehend a man, & then I will show you a man that can comprehend the triune of God!"
Never try to arouse faith from within. You cannot stir up faith from the depths of your heart. Leave your heart, & look into the face of Christ.
131. Upon the breeze, the autumn leaves
Are carried thither, yon;
They rest at last, upon the grass,
One moment, then they're gone.
They're tossed about, & in & out,
They fly across the way;
And up & down, they sail around--
The wind they must obey.
Now, if you please, the autumn leaves
Are much like most of us;
We're tossed about, by fear & doubt,
And things we rare discuss.
This need not be, for you or me--
There is a surer way;
The solid Rock, will bear the shock,
No matter what the fray.
He who believes, is not like leaves,
That drift with every wind;
His faith is fixed in God, unmixed
With doubts that Satan sends.
He walks with God, while Earth he trods--
He's led by pow'r Divine;
When life is through, beyond the blue,
He'll dwell in lands sublime.
--C. Carl Williams
132. "Dreadfully tarnished," exclaimed a woman as she showed a massive piece of family silver to a friend. "I cannot keep it bright unless I use it!"
To which the friend replied, "That is just the way with faith. You cannot keep faith bright unless you use it!"
133. An aged Indian, half naked & famished, wandered into one of our Western settlements, begging for food to keep him from starving. While eagerly devouring the bread bestowed by the hand of charity, a bright coloured ribbon, from which was suspended a small dirty pouch, was seen around his neck. On being questioned, he said it was a charm given him in his younger days; & opening it, displayed a faded, greasy paper, which he handed to the investigator for inspection. It proved to be a regular discharge from the Federal Army, entitling him to a pension for life & signed by General Washington himself.
134. Faith is the magic formula that supplies starch to the spine.
135. Don't be afraid to go out on a limb. That's where the fruit is.
136. It's difficult, if not impossible, to have faith in God if a man has too much faith in himself.
137. Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.
138. At times we may not know where God is, but we can be confident that He knows where we are.
139. Faith is the starting-post of obedience.
140. Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.
141. Augustine was once walking by the sea shore. He was greatly perplexed about the doctrine of the Trinity. He observed a little boy with a sea shell running to the water, filling it & then pouring it into a hole which he had made in the sand. "What are you doing, my little man?" asked Augustine.
"Oh," said he, "I am trying to put the ocean in this hole!"
Augustine learned his lesson, & as he walked away, he said, "That is what I am trying to do. I see it now. Standing on the shores of time I am trying to get into this little finite mind of mine things which are infinite." Let us be content to let God know some things which we cannot know.
142. So on I go, not knowing,
I would not, if I might;
I'd rather walk in the dark with God
Than go alone in the light;
I'd rather walk by faith with Him,
Than go alone by sight!
143. He took the loaves & fishes few
And fed the hungry throng.
He saw the mite of faith he had
And made the cripple strong.
He took the lumps of clay & gave
The blind man precious sight.
He, seeing Mary's trust in Him,
Brought Lazarus back to light.
He takes my whispered, silent prayer,
My faith like mustard seed
And makes what once was vague & dim,
Reality indeed!
--Chorsten Christensen
144. One morning Mary said to her grandmother, whose only companion she was, "Granny, what shall we do this morning? We have nothing for breakfast."
"We will light the fire & put on the kettle & set the table, & tell our Heavenly Father. Even if He turns stones into bread we will have our breakfast," answered her grandmother. Soon came a knock at the door.
It was a little old man. "Have you got such a thing as an old grindstone you could sell me?" he said. Granny had, & he bought it for ten shillings.
"Let us kneel down again," said Granny, "and give thanks, then you can run to the shop & buy some food for breakfast, Mary."
So the Lord did turn a stone into bread.
145. Don't worry about your mistakes. Some of the dullest people don't make any.
146. I believe that in any setting, the tendency to place personal feeling above the Scriptures is always an insult to God.
147. Shame on us for being paupers when we were meant to be princes.
148. Faith either moves mountains or tunnels through.
149. There is no need to nervously pace the deck of the ship of life when the Great Pilot is at the wheel.
150. The story is told that during the great Plague in London, several centuries ago, the stricken people were dying by thousands, & all roads leading out were crowded with fugitives. A Negro was helping pack a carriage that stood at a door on Craven Street, Strang. His master was abandoning his town house for his country home. The Negro said to another, "Since my lord leaves London for fear of the plague, his God must live in the country, I suppose." This was not sarcasm, for he had but recently come from Africa, where the gods are supposed to have local shrines & jurisdictions.
The nobleman, who overheard the remark, was struck by it. "That ignorant fellow has taught me something that I had well-nigh forgotten," he said to himself. "My God is truly everywhere. He can keep me safe in town as well as in the country. Lord, pardon my mistrust." He remained in London & applied himself to caring for some of the stricken ones, many of whom were utterly alone & helpless, deserted by their relatives & neighbours. The God that Lord Craven trusted preserved him, & the plague did not come nigh his dwelling.
151. Captain Johnson was serving his men as chaplain on an island in the South Pacific. He prepared to go on a bombing raid on Japanese-occupied islands several hundred miles away. The mission was a complete success. On the homeward course the plane began to lose altitude & the engines seemed to fade out. But God had provided an island, & a safe landing was made. Later they learned that the enemy was just one-half mile in each direction, yet their landing had not been discovered.
The staff sergeant came & said, "Chaplain, you have been telling us for months of the need of praying & believing God to answer in time of trouble, & that He does it right away. Now it is your chance to prove what you have been preaching. We're out of gas, base is several hundred miles away ... & almost surrounded by Japanese." Johnson began to pray & lay hold of the promises & believed that God would work a miracle. All afternoon he was on his knees. Night came & the crew slept on the ground. Johnson continued to pray. About 2 a.m. the staff sergeant was strangely aroused &, walking to the water's edge, discovered a metal float, which had drifted up on the beach--a barge on which were 50 barrels of high octane gasoline.
In a few hours the crew reached their home base safely. An investigation revealed that the skipper of a U.S. tanker, finding his ship in sub-infested waters, had his gasoline cargo removed so as to minimise the danger of a torpedo hit. Barrels were placed on barges & put adrift 600 miles from where Johnson & the plane crew were forced down. God had navigated one of these barges through wind & current & beached it 50 steps from the stranded men.
152. It is faith alone that justifies, but faith that justifies can never be alone.
153. Prayer is asking for rain. Faith is carrying the umbrella.
154. Trust Him--when dark days assail you;
Trust Him--when your faith is small.
Trust Him--when to simply trust Him is the hardest thing of all.
155. Hope for the best, be prepared for the worst, & take what comes with a grin.
156. Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark.
157. My six daughters sometimes gather around me, telling me how they need shoes, money for music lessons & for many other things. Sometimes I have been compelled to say, "Go easy! I am not made out of money. We will just have to get what we can afford & go without the rest." But I never read in God's Word where He ever told anybody, "Go easy! I don't have very much. I have already strained Myself giving to others. I cannot give as much as you ask." No, no!
One of our greatest sins about praying is that we do not ask for enough. We do not take what God is willing to give. God forgive us our little, stingy, unbelieving prayers!
158. Faith is not CLINGING--It is LETTING GO!
159. "Trust & OK", was the way one boy sang the Gospel song.
160. Every tomorrow has two handles. We may take hold of it by the handle of anxiety, or we can take hold of it by the handle of faith.
161. Better to be patient on the road than a patient in the hospital.
162. Like farmers we need to learn that we can't sow & reap the same day.
163. Canadian medical circles report that worry seems to increase chances of infectious disease, in that it weakens the body's ability to fight off germs.
A recent study of cases of streptococcal infection, according to Dr. Robert Haggerty, revealed that one out of four cases occurred after prolonged trauma & anxiety.
Death, divorce, failure in school or at work, serious illness in the family etc., are some of the situations listed as providing fertile ground for germs.
164. It just may be that our hospitals would have fewer pedestrian patients if there were more patient pedestrians.
165. Patience is the greatest of all shock absorbers. About the only thing you can get in a hurry is trouble.
166. Once David Ben-Gurion, Premier of Israel, was told that a certain desert development problem was insoluble. Even quantities of water would not provide the solution. The experts said so, & that seemed to be that. The Premier, however, took a more forceful approach. "Let's look for another set of experts," he suggested. The work went on.
167. Lord, give me faith!--To live from day to day,
With tranquil heart to do my simple part,
And, with my hand in Thine, just go Thy way.
Lord, give me faith--to trust, if not to know;
With quiet mind in all things Thee to find,
And child-like, go where Thou wouldst have me go.
Lord, give me faith!--To leave it all to Thee,
The future is Thy gift, I would not lift
The veil Thy Love has hung 'twixt it & me.
168. Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe on His gentle breast,
There, by His Love o'ershaded,
Sweetly my soul shall rest.
Hark! 'Tis the voice of angels
Borne in a song to me,
Over the fields of glory,
Over the jasper sea.
Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe from corroding care,
Safe from the World's temptations,
Sin cannot harm me there.
Free from the blight of sorrow,
Free from my doubts & fears;
Only a few more trials,
Only a few more tears!
Jesus, my heart's dear refuge,
Jesus has died for me;
Firm on the Rock of Ages
Ever my trust shall be.
--Fanny Crosby
169. When my Mother was dying, she nearly killed herself trying to have faith. It was not until through the Word of God & the Revelation of God, that she received faith from God, that she had the faith! Trying to have faith nearly killed her! She was worn out with the effort! Trying to have faith is a work of the flesh! Accepting faith through His Word is a work of God's Grace, like Salvation.--Dad
170. Many people want an affidavit from God proving that He really exists.
171. O'er uncharted sea
To their hearts' desire
Do men of faith set sail,
While the beaten men
Walk with fearful hearts
Along life's beaten trail.
The men of faith will challenge
Both men & Satan's wrath,
But the beaten men will compromise
And walk the beaten path.
Beaten roads are for beaten men,
As they walk with measured tread,
With tuneless souls they move along
To dwell among the dead.
But men of faith climb unscaled walls,
And sail uncharted sea.
They dare to cross convention's bounds
To set the captives free.
-- Thomas Wyatt
172. If you are on a gloomy line,
Get a transfer.
If you're inclined to fret & pine,
Get a transfer.
Get off the track of Doubt & Gloom,
Get on a Sunshine Train, there's room.
Get a transfer.
If you are on the Worry Train,
Get a transfer.
You must not stay there & complain;
Get a transfer.
The Cheerful Cars are passing through,
And there is lots of room for you,
Get a transfer.
If you are on the Grouchy Track,
Get a transfer.
Just take a Happy Special back,
Get a transfer.
Jump on the train & pull the rope,
That lands you at the Station Hope,
Get a transfer.
173. Roy McClain tells of a beggar who stopped a lawyer on the street in a large southern city & asked him for a quarter. Taking a long, hard look into the man's unshaven face, the attorney asked. "Don't I know you from somewhere?"
"You should," came the reply. "I'm your former classmate. Remember, second floor, old Main Hall?"
"Why, Sam, of course I know you!" Without further question the lawyer wrote a cheque for $100. "Here, take this & get a new start. I don't care what's happened in the past, it's the future that counts." And with that he hurried on.
Tears welled up in the man's eyes as he walked to a bank nearby. Stopping at the door, he saw through the glass the well-dressed tellers & the spotlessly clean interior. Then he looked at his filthy rags. "They won't take this from me. They'll swear that I forged it," he muttered as he turned away.
The next day the two men met again. "Why Sam, what did you do with my cheque? Gamble it away? Drink it up?"
"No," said the beggar as he pulled it out of his dirty shirt pocket & told why he hadn't cashed it.
"Listen, friend," said the lawyer. "What makes that cheque good is not your clothes or appearance, but my signature. Go on, cash it!"
174. I guess you're just going to have to trust the Lord: It's come to that! As the lady asked during the storm, "Oh Captain, what are we going to do?"
He said, "I guess we'll just have to trust the Lord." She said, "Oh my God! Has it come to that?"
--Dad
175. Hope springs eternal in the human heart, but with some the spring is getting very weak.
176. Some people pray for a bushel, but carry a cup.
177. Faith bolstered up with the prop of the Promises cannot fail.
178. When Spurgeon was riding home one evening after a heavy day's work & feeling very wearied & depressed, the verse--"My grace is sufficient for thee" came to him. He immediately compared himself to a little fish in the Thames, apprehensive lest, drinking so many pints of water in the river each day, it might drink the Thames dry, & hearing Father Thames say to it, "Drink away, little fish, my stream is sufficient for thee."
Then he thought of a little mouse in the granaries of Joseph in Egypt, afraid lest it might--by daily consumption of the corn it needed--exhaust the supplies & starve to death: When Joseph came along &, sensing its fear, said, "Cheer up, little mouse, my granaries are sufficient for thee."
179. Some of you seem so fearful that God isn't able that you're like the guy that was crossing the ice-frozen Ohio river on his hands & knees, fearful that he was going to break through & drown, when all of a sudden he saw a double team of horses coming pulling a load of pig iron confidently over the very ice on which he was so hesitantly crawling! Let me tell you: God can take it! He can handle any load you want to give Him--both barrels!--Dad
180. Faith makes invisible things visible, absent things present, & things that are very far off to be very near to the soul.
181. A man at his wit's end is not at his faith's end.
182. Nothing but faith will ever rectify the mistakes of reason on divine things.
183. Faith can place a candle in the darkest night.
184. A weak hand may receive a rich jewel.
185. We are not to think that, where we see no possibility, God sees none.
186. God's ways are behind the scenes, & He moves all the scenes He is behind.
187. Abraham's steps of faith--He left all for God, left all with God, found all in God & yielded all to God.--Heb.11:8-10; 16-17; Rom.4:12.
188. In order to clarify what faith involved, C.H. Spurgeon used to employ this illustration. Suppose there is a fire on the third floor of a house, & a child is trapped in a room there. A huge, strong man stands on the ground beneath the window where the child's face appears, & he calls "Jump! Drop into my arms." "It is a part of faith," Spurgeon would say, "to know that there is a man there; still another part of faith to believe him to be a strong man; but the essence of faith lies in trusting him fully & dropping into his arms." Thus it is with the sinner & Christ.
189. This is the defence for the living saint & the dying saint. In olden days, when a warrior carried a shield almost as big as himself, those who recovered the slain after a battle would often use their shields that had been their protection in the battle as their biers to carry them to the burial.--Eph.6:16
190. The sunbird--one of the tiniest of birds, a native of India--builds a pendant nest, hanging it by four frail threads, generally from a spray of valaris. It is a delicate work of art, with its roof & tiny porch, which a splash of water or a child's touch might destroy. Amy Carmichael tells how she saw a little sunbird building such a nest just before the monsoon season, & felt that for once bird wisdom had failed; for how could such a delicate structure, in such an exposed situation, weather the winds & the torrential rains? The monsoon broke, & from her window she watched the nest swaying with the branches in the wind. Then she perceived that the nest had been so placed that the leaves immediately above it formed little gutters which carried the water away from the nest. There sat the sunbird, with its tiny head resting on her little porch, & whenever a drop of water fell on her long, curved beak, she sucked it in as if it were nectar. The storms raged furiously, but the sunbird sat, quiet & unafraid, hatching her tiny eggs.
We have a more substantial rest for head & heart than the sunbird's porch! We have the promises of God! Are they not enough, however terrifying the storm?
"Like a bird that found its nest,
So my soul has found its rest
In the centre of the Will of God."
191. At a noon hour recently a minister was walking along Madison Square, New York, where a number of street meetings can always be found in session. He came across a group of extraordinary size, to which a speaker, mounted on a box, was airing his religious views. He was shouting at the top of his voice: "There is no God!--And there never was a God! I dare anyone here to stand up on this box & prove that there's a God!"
The speaker flung the taunt at the crowd: "God hasn't a friend among you!"
A fresh young voice rang out: "YES, HE HAS!" A young lad elbowing his way through the centre of the throng was welcomed by his challenger & asked to state his proofs.
The young lad, throwing back his head & straightening his shoulders, began: "This man here says that there ain't no God. He tells an untruth! I know there IS a God! He says that God hasn't a friend in this crowd. He tells an untruth! I am a friend of God! He says that no one can prove that there is a God, Again, he tells an untruth, and I can prove it. God is in here right now," he said as he put his hand on his heart; "HE LIVES! He lives in ME! I hear His voice saying to me right now, 'Don't let that man put such lies over on this crowd!'"
It was truly a dramatic scene! In one solitary moment the leadership had passed from this blatant unbeliever to the boy of faith & vision! The infidel orator was unable to recapture his crowd.
192. When nothing whereon to lean remains,
When strongholds crumble to dust;
When nothing is sure but that God still reigns,
That is just the time to trust.
'Tis better to walk by faith than sight,
In this path of yours & mine;
And the pitch-black night, when there's no outer light
Is the time for faith to shine.
193. A successor of George Muller said a striking thing about "little faith" & "great faith". In a recent letter from George Allen, founder & director of the Bolivian Indian Mission, he told of a visit that he & his late wife made to the Muller Orphan Homes in Bristol. When Mrs. Allan, looking at the five large buildings, said, "Dr. Burton, it must take a lot of faith to keep all this going", Dr. Burton said, "Mrs. Allan, little faith in a strong plank will carry me over the stream; great faith in a rotten plank will land me in it."
194. Specialize in doing what you can't.
195. Be like the bird
That, pausing in her flight
Awhile on boughs too slight,
Feels them give way
Beneath her & yet sings,
Knowing that she hath wings. Victor Hugo
196. George Matheson, the great Scottish preacher, who when he was told by a famous oculist that he was going blind, wrote these lovely words,
"O love that will not let me go!
I rest my weary soul on thee."
Also,
"O joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee:
I trace the rainbow through the rain;"
-- listen to these lines from his pen:
"There are times when things look very dark to me -- so dark that I have to wait even for hope. A long-deferred fulfillment carries its own pain, but to wait for hope, to see no glimmer of a prospect & yet refuse to despair; to have nothing but night before the casement & yet to keep the casement open for possible stars; to have a vacant place in my heart & yet to allow that place to be filled by no inferior presence -- that is the grandest patience in the universe. It is Job in the tempest; it is Abraham on the road to Moriah; it is Moses in the desert of Midian; it is the Son of man in the Garden of Gethsemane."
It takes a real faith to trace the rainbow through the rain; but it takes the storm cloud to make the rainbow, & George Matheson learned to have a child-like trust, & his testimony has blessed millions throughout this generation.
197. O for a faith that will not shrink,
Tho' pressed by ev'ry foe,
That will not tremble on the brink
Of any earthly woe!
That will not murmur or complain
Beneath the chastening rod,
But, in the hour of grief or pain,
Will lean upon its God;
A faith that shines more bright & clear
When tempests rage without;
That when in danger knows no fear,
In darkness feels no doubt;
That bears, unmoved, the world's dread frown,
Nor heeds its scornful smile;
That seas of trouble cannot drown,
Nor Satan's arts beguile;
Lord, give us such a faith as this,
And then, whate'er may come,
We'll taste, e'en here, the hallowed bliss
Of an eternal home.
198. The road winds up the hill to meet the height,
Beyond the well-kept hedge it curves from sight
And yet no man would foolishly contend
That where he sees it not, it makes an end.
--Emma Carleton
199. The world is wide
In time & tide,
And--God is guide;
So do not hurry.
That man is blest
Who does his best
And leaves the rest;
And does not worry.
--Charles F. Deems
200. Thy way, not mine, O Lord!
However dark it be;
Lead me by Thine own hand,
Choose out the path for me.
Smooth let it be, or rough,
It will be still the best;
Winding or straight it matters not,
It leads me to Thy rest.
I dare not choose my lot,
I would not, if I might;
Choose Thou for me, O God!
So shall I walk aright.
The kingdom that I seek
Is Thine; so let the way
That leads to it be Thine;
Else I must surely stray.
Take Thou my cup, & it
With joy or sorrow fill;
As best to Thee may seem;
Choose Thou my good or ill.
Not mine, not mine the choice
In things or great or small;
Be Thou my guide, my strength,
My wisdom & my all.
--Horatius Bonar
201. If you trust the Lord
Your dreams will come true
Like beautiful rainbows
In skies of clear blue!
You will see Jesus, face-to-face
In your Heavenly home
In a City called "Space!"
--Jacob Selah
202. Faith finds her path through
Many a starless night;
And without wonder, meets
The coming dawn
With confidence she journeys
Toward the light,
And as she goes, the darkness
Is withdrawn.
203. You're not trusting God utterly as long as you're leaning on something else!--Like that story the old Coloured preacher told: He said, "When you wants an answer to prayer, you're always looking around for something for God to start on, a little bit of something to help God out! The Lord made the World, didn't He? He hung it on nothin', didn't He? He made it out of nothin', didn't He? Pretty good old World, isn't it? Hangs pretty good! What makes you think God has to have something to start on?--That you've gotta help God out somehow by supplying Him with some kind of means to start on, or medicine or whatever!"
Why don't you just trust the Lord & forget all that other crap!--Dad
204. Honey, jes' lissen: don't cry & fret,
Dere's all day tomorrer that ain't been touched yet,
Mought be a sunrise mek yo' heart shout,
Look jes like Hebben turned inside out;
Mought be awalkin' 'long on the road
Fin' a gold nugget big as a toad.
Mought turn a corner most any place
Bes' friend a smilin' right in you face.
Heart o' mine, lissen: Why yo fret?
Dere's a whole day tomorrer--that ain't been touched yet!
205. CHILD of My Love, fear not the unknown morrow,
Dread not the new demand life makes of thee;
Thy ignorance doth hold no cause for sorrow
Since what thou knowest not is known to Me.
Thou canst not see today the hidden meaning
Of My command, but thou the light shalt gain;
Walk on in faith, upon My promise leaning,
And AS THOU GOEST all shall be made plain.
One step thou sayest--then go forward boldly,
One step is far enough for faith to see;
Take that, & thy next duty shall be told thee,
For STEP BY STEP thy Lord is leading thee.
Stand not in fear, thy adversaries counting,
Dare every peril, save to disobey;
Thou shalt march on, all obstacles surmounting,
For I, the Strong, WILL OPEN UP THE WAY.
Wherefore go gladly to the task assigned thee;
Having My promise, needing nothing more
Than just to know, where'er the future find thee,
In all thy journeying I go before.
--Frank J. Exley
206. Many people believe their doubts & doubt their beliefs.
207. Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That "Maybe it couldn't," but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing, as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, & he did it.
Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it";
But he took off his coat & he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.
With a lift of his chin & a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, & he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done.
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat & go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That "cannot be done," & you'll do it.
--Edgar Guest.
208. Simple faith honours God & God honours simple faith.
209. Fear is unbelief parading in disguise.
210. Faith is the mother of obedience.
211. God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up His bright designs,
And works His sovereign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy & shall break
In blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
212. Yes, leave it with Him,
The lilies all do,
And they grow--
They grow in the rain,
And they grow in the dew--
Yes, they grow:
They grow in the darkness, all hid in the night--
They grow in the sunshine, revealed by the light--
Still they grow.
Yes, leave it with Him,
'Tis more dear to His heart,
You will know,
Than the lilies that bloom,
Or the flowers that start
'Neath the snow:
Whatever you need, if you seek it in prayer,
You can leave it with Him--for you are His care.
You, you know.
213. And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: "Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown!"
And he replied: "Go out into the darkness & put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light & safer than a known way."
So, I went forth, & finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night. And He led me toward the hills & the breaking of day in the lone East. So, heart, be still! What need our little life, our human life, to know,
If God hath comprehension? In all the dizzy strife of things both high & low, God hideth His intention.
--M. Louise Haskins
214. Some people run & hide their heads
Whenever storms come by
But God's children raise their hands in praise
And dance beneath the sky
They see the beauty in constant change
And never settle down
They'll even dance & laugh & sing
While earthquakes shake the ground
Don't think it strange to see them still calm
In the midst of the A-bomb blast
'Cause they know that the world you can't see
Is the only one that will last.
215. When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust & obey.
Trust & obey, for there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust & obey!
--J.H. Sammis
216. I watched a bird upon a fragile stem;
It seemed it would surely break with him;
He did not seem to worry or to mind,
For all his swaying in the wind.
He sat erect & sang his lilting song
He felt so very sure, so very strong.
FOR HE HAD WINGS!
217. Have faith in God, my heart,
Trust & be unafraid;
God will fulfil in every part
Each promise He has made.
218. A Christian labourer, working in a communist country, had been arrested & imprisoned. Shortly after his arrest, he was taken out of his cell & led to an interrogation room of the secret police.
There he found, sitting at a table, an officer of the secret police & a doctor. On the table lay an open Bible. The Christian prisoner was ordered to sit down & the interrogation began. He was asked:
"Do you believe that this book is the Word of God?"
"Yes," he answered.
The officer of the secret police then asked him to read a certain verse. It was Mark 16:18. The Christian read: "And if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them."
"Do you also believe this portion of the Bible?" the officer asked.
"Yes," answered the Christian.
The officer then put a glass full of liquid on the table & explained: "In this glass is a deadly poison. If the book is true, as you maintain it is, it will not hurt you. To show you that we're not joking, look at this."
The officer brought in a big dog & made him drink some of the liquid. In a few moments the dog was lying stiff & dead on the ground. The officer looked at the Christian & said:
"Do you maintain that this Book you call the 'Word of God' is true?"
"Yes," answered the Christian again. "It is the Word of God. It is true."
"Then drink this glass!" screamed the communist officer as the doctor was watching.
The Christian knew that this was the supreme test. He asked for permission to pray before drinking, which they allowed. He kneeled down before the table, took the glass in his hands, & prayed for his family--that they should remain unshakable in the faith. He prayed for the communist officer & the doctor--that they might find God & become Christians too. And, ending the prayer, he said:
"Oh Lord, You see how they defied You. I am ready to die. But I believe Thy Word, that says that nothing shall happen to me. If Your plans are different, I am ready to meet You. My life is in Your hand--as Thou wilt. THY WILL BE DONE!"
Having said this, he lifted up the glass & drank it all at once. The police officer & the doctor were surprised. They didn't believe he would do it, thinking he would back out of it. They were now expecting to see him drop dead like the dog did. But moments were becoming minutes. The minutes seemed like hours. A complete silence was in the room. Everyone was waiting for the unavoidable death. After some long minutes, the doctor finally moved. He took the Christian's arm & checked his pulse. It was normal. He looked for other symptoms. There were none.
At the height of surprise, he carried on his examination without managing to find any evidence of harm. And as the examination went on, he was more & more surprised. He finally dropped himself into the armchair, &, after thinking for awhile, reached into his pocket, took out his Party card, tore it in half & threw it on the floor. Then, picking up the Bible he said:
"From today on, I want to believe this Book. It must be true! I too am ready to believe in this Christ Who did such a miracle before my eyes!"
219. Teach me the faith of the mountains, serene and sublime,
The deep-rooted joy of just living one day at a time;
Leaving the petty possessions the valley-folk buy
For the glory of glad wind-swept spaces where earth meets the sky.
Teach me the faith of the mountains, their strength to endure,
The breadth and the depth of their vision, unswerving and sure,
Counting the dawn and the starlight as parts of one whole
Wrought by the Spirit Eternal, within His control.
220. During a time of great scarcity of food & poverty among the people, the government of a certain country decided to open "soup-kitchens" where the poor could obtain a daily provision of nutritive vegetable soup free of cost. Many availed themselves of the free supply. One day at the beginning of the soup-kitchen arrangement, two women emerged from neighbouring houses, one carrying a very large vessel & the other a small jug. The latter said to the former, "You don't think you'll get that filled, do you?"
"Well! I am taking this in hopes of having it filled," came the reply, "but if they don't fill it to the brim, there's no harm in taking it." Arriving at the kitchen, the woman with the small jug had first turn, & her jug was filled to the brim. Then she waited, & to her surprise, her neighbour's very large vessel was also filled to the brim. Each obtained according to her capacity.--"Ask & ye shall receive," said the Lord Jesus.--Psa.81:10; Eph.3:19-21.
221. Where reason cannot wade, there faith may swim.
222. Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace. It is so sure & certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.--Martin Luther
223. Faith is not an achievement; it is a gift. Yet it comes only through the hearing & study of the Word.--Martin Luther
224. Hebrews 11:1 says, "Not faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for" & the word translated substance in this verse is the Greek word hupostasis. When they translated the New Testament from the Greek nearly 400 years ago they were still puzzled by this word hupostasis, as it seemed to be some kind of business terminology not normally used in classical Greek literature. All they knew was that it meant something fairly substantial, so they translated it as substance.
But just a few years ago archaeologists uncovered the remains of an old inn in northern Israel. There they found a small iron chest containing the valuable papers of some Roman noblewoman who had owned lands & property in Israel.--And almost every paper had this title in big letters across the top: "HUPOSTASIS"! They were all TITLE DEEDS to her properties! This Roman woman had perhaps never seen her properties in Israel, but she knew they were HERS & she could PROVE her ownership because she had the Title Deeds.
Someone promised to give me a car once, & they sent the Title Deed to me by mail. Though I'd never seen the car & never driven it, I knew it was MINE because I had the Title in my hand! So faith is WHAT?--The Title Deed! "Now faith is the Title Deed to things hoped for."--Heb.11:1. If you've asked the Lord for something but haven't seen the answer yet, don't worry. If you have real faith, then you've got the Title to it in your hands & your name is written on it! It's YOURS & you WILL see it eventually!--Dad
225. What is faith? It's like a BANK ACCOUNT: The money is there in the Bank of Heaven in your name.--But you will never get a penny of it unless you go to the Bank & sign the cheque by faith & DRAW on your account. So faith is your "drawing power", it draws God's blessings from the Bank of Heaven!
Faith is also like a baby sucking milk from its mother's breast: When he nurses, the baby deliberately creates a vacuum--an emptiness--inside his mouth, & that vacuum, that suction, pulls the milk out. When you pray, you have to create a vacuum inside your heart: "Lord, here is this empty space. You fill it!" God likes to fill every vacuum, every place you open up your heart. Wherever you create a space for Him, His Spirit will flow in in all its power!
God's Spirit is also like radio waves: Everywhere in the air around us right now are radio broadcasts. But until you flip the switch & turn on your radio--in a sense, create a vacuum in your receiver--you'll never hear anything! You have to make contact by opening an electrical circuit, a channel.--And prayer works on exactly the same principle!--Dad
226. Remember the story about Elisha & the Shunanmite woman? (2Kings 4:8-37) She had no son & the Prophet prayed that she'd have one.
One day when the boy was about 12, he died of sunstroke out in the field. So immediately, by faith, his mother ran to find the Prophet.
She came & he greeted her & said, "Is it well with thee?"
She said, "It is well."
He said, "Is it well with the boy?"
She said, "It is well." Was she lying? She had such faith that even though the boy was dead, she had the faith that he was in God's hands & it was well with him. Dead or alive it was well & she had the faith that the Prophet would be able to come & bring him back to life! She told him what had happened & asked the Prophet to come & pray for him.
So Elisha came & he laid himself down on the boy's body, just the way they do nowadays in the matter of the "kiss of life," etc., to warm him like they do for people in shock. I don't know whether he actually did any artificial respiration, but I think it even says he put "his mouth upon his mouth, his body on his body"--& prayed for him, of course--& the boy sneezed seven times & woke from the dead!--Rose from the dead! So was she lying when she said, "It is well with the boy?"--Dad
227. His Plan for today is all that I ask;
With Him I can leave the "Tomorrow."
So by faith I can walk, & with Him I can talk:
Just today, with its joy or its sorrow,
He my pathway hath planned, &, led by His hand,
Through the fire while the gold He's refining,
Be it trial or test, He knows what is best,
So I travel where Love's light is shining.
228. Faith is needed all the way,
Faith to toil & faith to pray,
Faith to learn & faith to teach,
Faith to practice, faith to preach;
Faith to start each day anew,
Faith to do our duty, too;
Faith to help the weak along,
Faith to bear, in patience, wrong;
Faith to smile, though sad within,
Faith to conquer every sin,
Faith to ask Him for His care
While we earthly trials bear;
Faith to smother every sigh,
Faith to live & faith to die.
(Mat.6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 17:20)
229. "Trust" is the word used in the Old Testament: "Faith" is the equivalent in the New Testament. "Belief" is the precursor of both. Belief has to do with the head, trust & faith with the heart.
John G. Paton was making a translation of the Scriptures into the language spoken in the country where he was a missionary, & searched long for a word for "Faith." The natives had no word for "believe." One day, while working on his translation, a native entered his room &, tired out, flung himself down on one chair, resting his feet on another chair & remarking how good it was to "lean his whole weight" on the chairs. Dr. Paton noted the word he had used for "lean his whole weight." He had his word for "believe."--Acts 16:31; Rom.10:9,10.
230. The missionary's son, nearly five years of age, had been born & brought up in India, & had seen no near relatives except his parents. One day he said to his mother, "I love my Grandpa."
"How can that be, my son?" replied his mother. "You have never seen him & how can you love him?"
"But," said the child, "doesn't he send us letters, & doesn't he send presents for my birthday & at Christmas, & aren't we going on the big steamship soon to see him?"
"Whom, having not seen, we love; in Whom, though now we see Him not, yet believing, we rejoice with joy unspeakable & full of glory."--Heb.11:1; 1Pet.1:8.
231. While in India I was on my way to a convention. With several of the national brethren I arrived at the bank of a stream which seemed to be fairly deep. There was a plank over which I might cross to the other side, but I hesitated. "Why do you hesitate?" they asked. "You simply have to walk across the plank & in a few seconds you will be on the other side. This is the only stream that has to be crossed to get to the Convention."
Still I hesitated & replied, "Yes, but I do not think the plank is strong enough to bear my weight."
"No need for any fears on that score," said they. "Hundreds have already crossed in safety before you came."
"Yes, I replied, "that may be so, but I'm taller & heavier than those I have seen going across, & what is sufficient for them might not bear my weight." To prove the strength of the plank, two well-built, hefty fellows walked across together.
"Look," they said, "two of us are heavier than you, & the plank took us both together."
"All right," said I, "I'll venture." So, very slowly & hesitantly, I made my way across as they stood watching me with amused smiles.
When I reached the other side, they said, "Didn't we tell you you would be quite safe? Why didn't you take our word for it & trust the plank in the first place?"
"Yes," I explained to them, "you see it was not the strength of my faith that took me safely across, for my faith, as you know, was very weak. But it was the strength of the plank, the object in which you advised me to put my trust."--John 4:42; Acts 16:31; 2Tim.1:12.
232. Weave in faith & God will find thread.
233. What is the life of saving faith, when once begun, but a continual leaning on an unseen Saviour's Word?
234. In the Gospels, Jesus often rebukes weak faith, but never rejects it.
235. True patience means waiting without worrying.
236. Faith is unbelief parading in disguise.
237. Can't is the worst word that's written or spoken;
Doing more harm here than slander & lies;
On it is many a strong spirit broken,
And with it many a good purpose dies.
It springs from the lips of the thoughtless each morning
And robs us of courage we need through the day:
It rings in our ears like a timely-sent warning
And laughs when we falter & fall by the way.
Can't is the father of feeble endeavour,
The parent of terror & half-hearted work;
It weakens the efforts of artisans clever,
And makes of the toiler an indolent shirk.
It poisons the soul of the man with a vision,
It stifles in infancy many a plan;
It greets honest toiling with open derision
And mocks at the hopes & the dreams of a man.
Can't is a word none should speak without blushing;
To utter it should be a symbol of shame;
Ambition & courage it daily is crushing;
It blights a man's purpose & shortens his aim.
Despise it with all of your hatred of error;
Refuse it with the lodgment it seeks in your brain;
Arm against it as soon as a creature of terror,
And all that you dream of you someday shall gain.
Can't is the word that is foe to ambition,
An enemy ambushed to shatter your will;
Its prey is forever the man with a mission
And bows but to courage & patience & skill.
Hate it, with hatred that's deep & undying,
For once it is welcomed 'twill break any man;
Whatever the goal you are seeking, keep trying
And answer this demon by saying, "I can."
--Edgar Guest
238. The things that haven't been done before,
Those are the things to try;
Columbus dreamed of an unknown shore
At the rim of the far-flung sky,
And his heart was bold & his faith was strong
As he ventured in dangers new,
And he paid no heed to the jeering throng
Or the fears of the doubting crew.
The many will follow the beaten track
With guideposts on the way,
They live & have lived for ages back
With a chart for every day.
Someone has told them it's safe to go
On the road he has travelled o'er,
And all that they ever strive to know
Are the things that were known before.
A few strike out, without map or chart,
Where never a man has been,
From the beaten paths they draw apart
To see what no man has seen.
There are deeds they hunger alone to do;
Though battered & bruised & sore,
They blaze the path for the many, who
Do nothing not done before.
The things that haven't been done before
Are the tasks worthwhile today;
Are you one of the flock that follows, or
Are you one that shall lead the way?
Are you one of the timid souls that quail
At the jeers of a doubting crew,
Or dare you, whether you win or fail,
Strike out for a goal that's new?
--Edgar Guest
239. Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right.--Henry Ford
240. You don't know what faith you have until it is tested.
241. No one can give faith unless he has faith. It is the persuaded who persuade.
242. If we desire an increase of faith, we must consent to its testing.
243. One Christian lady, close to death & in great pain, decided to trust the Lord & not take her prescribed painkiller, morphine. After several convulsions she got up & wrote a note saying, "I want you to know that I feel like I'm dying.--But if I do, I want you to know that I never touched the morphine." THAT was a decision of FAITH. Only those with great faith can say as Job did, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." It's known as "the stand of faith", like Martin Luther took when ordered to deny his writings. He said, "Here I stand. I can do no other."--In other words, "Even if God doesn't defend me or protect me, I'm willing to DIE for this truth, I'm so sure of it."
--Dad
244. We need not live on the marsh & in the mists. The slopes & ridges invite us! Help us to live a mountain-top life!
245. A traveller crossed a frozen stream
In trembling fear one day;
Later a teamster drove across,
And whistled all the way.
Great faith & little faith alike
Were granted safe convoy;
One had the pangs of needless fear,
The other all the joy.
246. Not yesterday's loads
Are we called on to bear,
Nor the morrow's uncertain
And shadowy care!
Why should we look forward
Or back with dismay?
Our needs as our mercies
Are but for this day.
One day at a time,
And the day is HIS day,
He hath numbered its hours
Though they haste or delay.
His grace is sufficient
We walk not alone,
As the DAY, so the STRENGTH
That He giveth His Own!
--Anna Johnson
247. You heard about the guy who said, "They told me don't worry, things could be worse. So I quit worrying, & sure enough, things got worse!" Well, if you always expect the worst you won't be disappointed. But, of course, then you'll miss a lot of fun, because according to your expectations be it unto you. It says, "According to your faith be it unto you" (Mat.9:29), & faith is expectation.--Dad
248. Fear of failure is the father of failure.
249. An Indian fable says that a mouse was in constant distress because of its fear of the cat. A magician took pity on it & turned it into a cat. Immediately it became afraid of the dog. So the magician turned it into a dog. Immediately it began to fear the tiger. So the magician turned it into a tiger. Immediately it began to fear the hunter. Then the magician said, "Be a mouse again, you have only the heart of a mouse & I cannot help you."
250. The word "worry" is derived from an old Anglo-Saxon word meaning to strangle or to choke. How well-named the emotion it has been demonstrated again & again in persons who have lost their effectiveness due to the stultifying effect of anxiety & apprehension. A certain well-controlled carefreeness may well be an asset. Normal sensible concern is an important attribute of the mature person. But worry frustrates one's best functioning.
251. A good life fears not life nor death.
252. Let thy hope of Heaven master thy fear of death. Why shouldest thou be afraid to die, who hopes to live by dying?
253. God can secure us from fear, either by removing the thing feared, or by subduing the fear of the thing.
254. We need not look upon those enemies with fear whom God looks upon with contempt.
255. Fear is faithlessness.
256. He who does not fear God has need to fear everything else.
257. It is His Will that I should cast
My care on Him each day;
He also bids me not to cast
My confidence away.
But oh! how foolishly I act
When taken unaware,
I cast away my confidence
And carry all my care!
--James Seward
258. When the birds begin to worry
And the lilies toil & spin,
And God's creatures all are anxious,
Then I also may begin.
For my Father sets their table,
Decks them out in garments fine,
And if He supplies their living,
Will He not provide for mine?
Just as noisy, common sparrows
Can be found most anywhere--
Unto some just worthless creatures,
If they perish who would care?
Yet our Heavenly Father numbers
Every creature great & small,
Caring even for the sparrows.
Marking when to Earth they fall.
If His children's hairs are numbered,
Why should we be filled with fear?
He has promised all that's needful,
And in trouble to be near.
259. The late Dr. Peter Marshall, Chaplain of the United States Senate prayed this prayer at the opening of the Senate:
"Help us to do our very best this day & be content with today's troubles, so that we shall not borrow the troubles of tomorrow. Save us from the sin of worrying, lest stomach ulcers be the badge of our lack of faith. Amen."
260. Francis C. Ellis tells about a businessman who drew up what he called a "Worry Chart," in which he kept a record of his worries. He discovered that 40% of them were about things that probably would never happen; 30% concerned past decisions that he could not now unmake; 12% dealt with other people's criticism of him; & 10% were worries about his health. He concluded that only 8% of them were really legitimate.
261. We fear men so much because we fear God so little.
262. We are so afraid of being offensive that we are not effective.
263. If you stood alone, it would be presumption to hope. Because you are not alone, it is offence to tremble.
264. It is only the fear of God that can deliver us from the fear of man.
265. Just as obedience to the Lord is an indication of our love for Him, so is it also a proof of our fear of God.
266. A French soldier in WW1 carried with him this little receipt for worry:
"Of two things, one is certain. Either you are at the front, or you are behind the lines. If you are at the front, of two things one is certain. Either you are exposed to danger, or you are in a safe place. If you are exposed to danger, of two things one is certain. Either you are wounded, or you are not wounded. If you are wounded, of two things one is certain. Either you recover, or you die. If you recover, there is no need to worry. If you die, you can't worry. SO WHY WORRY?"
267. A Chicago physician reports that he had to abandon the use of dogs in an ulcer research program. The dogs refused to get tense & worry, & worry & tension are prominently listed as suspected causes of ulcers.
If you inflict an ulcer upon a dog by artificial methods, says the Chicago doctor, he will sit down & placidly cure himself by refusing to be bothered about anything.
268. Don't be afraid of the day you have never seen.
269. The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, & the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.
270. There is a great difference between worry & concern. Worry frets about a problem. Concern solves the problem.
271. Miss C. Leffinwell, a missionary in China, gave the following account of deliverance from death by the Boxers:
"There was a lady missionary whom the Boxers told to kneel down & have her head cut off. She knelt as told, but as she did so, she looked up into the man's face & actually smiled. As she looked at him a moment, thus smiling, it seemed as if his face began to change & to reflect the smile. He stepped back a little, & then continued to withdraw, together with his companions, until after a little they all fled, leaving the ladies alone. As the Boxers were retreating the leader turned & said to her: "You cannot die. You are immortal." If her face had shown fear, they would have killed her without hesitation. I suppose the smile seemed supernatural.
She afterward said, "I did not know that I smiled."
272. But what is this fear of the Lord? It is that affectionate reverence, by which the child of God bends himself humbly & carefully to His Father's law.
273. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, & they that lack the beginning have neither middle nor end.
274. He who fears God has nothing else to fear.
275. Those who fear the future are likely to fumble the present.
276. Fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed.
277. Fear falls before the fortress of faith.
278. Needy miners & settlers in British Columbia, engaged in stripping abandoned Fort Alcan of lumber, electrical appliances, & plumbing, made an amazing discovery. While dismantling the jail they found that the mighty locks were attached to the heavy doors, & two-inch steel bars covered the windows, but the walls of the prison were only patented wallboard of clay & paper, painted to resemble iron. A good old h eave against the walls by a man not as strong as a football tackle would have burst the wall out. Nobody ever tried it because nobody thought it possible. Many Christians are prisoners of fears that are nothing when pushed against. Satan cannot do anything against a child of God, but he loves to put barriers of papier-mch in the path of a believer to make him think that there is no progress in the direction of the will of the Lord. When by faith we push against it, we will be free.
279. A frenzied mob stormed a building where John Wesley was preaching in Falmouth, England. Wesley went out & fearlessly confronted the mob, saying, "Here I am. Which one of you has anything to say against me?" So impressed were they by the quiet courage of the little man that, without knowing what they did, they made way, & Wesley quietly walked through into the street, where he began to preach.
As he spoke, the crowd became anxious to hear, & presently the very leaders of the mop--the "captains" of it, as he called them--gathered around him & shouted, "Not a man shall touch him; let him speak!" Later he wrote in his journal, "I never saw before the hand of God so plainly shown as here."
280. An ocean liner is built so that the captain can, by pressing a button, lower steel doors separating one watertight bulkhead from another. If the hull is pierced in a disaster, this keeps the ship afloat. "In the voyage of life," advised Dr. Osler, world-renowned physician, "learn how to make doors come down & shut out the yesterdays with all their errors & failures. Learn also to lower another door to shut out the unborn tomorrows so that you can live for this day alone. As you move into the next bulkhead, close doors that will shut out both the past & the future."
281. Afraid? Of what?
To feel the spirit's glad release?
To pass from pain to perfect peace,
The strife & strain of life to cease?
Afraid -- of that?
Afraid? Of what?
Afraid to see the Saviour's face?
To hear His welcome, & to trace
The glory gleam from wounds of grace?
Afraid -- of that?
Afraid? Of what?
A flash -- a crash -- a pierced heart;
Darkness -- light-- O Heaven's art!
A wound of His is a counterpart!
Afraid -- of that?
Afraid? Of what?
To enter in Heaven's rest,
And yet to serve the Master blest,
From service good to service best?
Afraid -- of that?
Afraid? Of what?
To do by death what life could not --
Baptise with death a stony plot,
Till souls shall blossom from that spot?
Afraid -- of that?
--E.H. Hamilton
282. The function of fear is to warn us of danger, not to make us afraid to face it.
283. Fear of what is called consequences keeps most of us sober, true, & DULL.
284. When we're afraid we say we're cautious. When others are afraid we say they're cowardly.
285. Fear tends to produce the thing that it's afraid of.
286. Many people are so filled with fear that they go through life running from something that isn't after them.
287. Why do we worry about the nest?
We only stay for a day;
Or a month, or a year, at the Lord's behest,
In this habitat of clay.
Why do we worry about the road,
With its hills or deep ravine?
In a dismal path, or a heavy load,
We are helped by hands unseen.
Why do we worry about the years
That our feet have not yet trod?
Who labours with courage & trusts, not fears,
His fellowship with God.
288. Courage is armour
A blind man wears;
The calloused scar
Of outlived despairs:
Courage is Fear
That has said its prayers.
--Karle Wilson Baker
289. FEAR knocked at the door;
FAITH opened it
And -- there was no one there.
290. Folks shouldn't be fearful of tomorrow because when it comes it'll be today.
291. The only thing we have to fear is not doing something about the fear we have.
292. Fear not tomorrow. God is already there.
293. Don't let the future frighten you--you only face it a little at a time.
294. Don't take tomorrow to bed with you.
295. Roosevelt said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!"--And in a way, that's right! You must rebuke it in Jesus' name & not fear!--Dad
296. Most of my ills I have cured
And the worst I have always survived.
But the very worst ones I've endured
Were the ones that never arrived.
297. Your children are like a reflection of you. They reflect your good points, but they also reflect your vices & they certainly reflect your fears--they feel & sense your fears. This is why all family counsellors say, don't discuss family problems before children, because it's apt to cause them to be afraid & fearful & upset & to fret.--Dad
298. Well, Lord, the Devil's been trying to tell me all my life: "Sooner or later this is gonna get you or that's gonna get you or something else is gonna get you--your heart's gonna get you or your lung's gonna get you or your side's gonna get you." I had this pain in my side, Lord, since I was 12 years old, & heart trouble since I was 12 years old, but none of them ever got me yet & I'm still here.
So the Devil's a liar, Lord, but some of us scare pretty easy. When he says "Boo!" we run! When he says, "I'm gonna get you!" we believe it & surrender. Oh, Lord, help us to put up a fight, the fight of faith, the good fight of faith, put on the armour, all of its parts.--Dad
299. An energetic start beats stage fright, too. Florenz Ziegfeld, the great theatrical producer, knew this. He applied it on opening nights to bring out top performances by his stars who were afflicted with first-night jitters.
Ziegfeld would stand in the wings beside a star nervously awaiting her cue. When the cue came, Ziegfeld would give the star an unexpected kick on the posterior, pushing her onto the stage. Surprise would displace nervous tension, & the star would do her best.
The first seconds of any public appearance are the hardest. Give yourself a swift kick & get under way.
Discover what you can really do by putting on extra power at the start.
300. One night thing about a college education is that it enables us to worry more intelligently about things all over the World.
301. An educated man will sit up all night & worry over things a fool never dreamed of.
302. A lot of people who are worrying about the future ought to be preparing for it.
303. Why worry if your hair falls out? Suppose it ached & you had to have it pulled like teeth.
304. True patience means waiting without worrying.
305. When they first brought Leila to me, she was half out of her mind. Dr. Timothy Leary had given her a dose of LSD that was 25 times stronger than normal, & it had scared her out of her wits & knocked her clear out of her mind for two whole years! She was just beginning to gradually recover, & half the time she'd still have blackouts or stop talking right in the middle of a sentence & stare blankly off into space, wide-eyed with fear.
I thought, "Lord, if I can't do anything but implant the Scripture in her mind where she can't forget it, & she will think about it, the power of the WORD will deal with the Devil!" So I held her hands & looked straight into her eyes & said, "Leila, 'perfect love casts out all fear.' Now you say it." Sometimes she'd just sit there & look at me blankly as if she didn't hear me, but I just kept saying it, & finally she'd repeat, "Perfect love...casts out...all fear."
I still didn't seem to be getting through to her like I should, so I pulled her up close to me & held her just like a baby, & told her again & again, "Jesus loves you, Leila. I love you." I quoted the Scriptures over & over again right in her ear, & slowly she began to repeat them after me. Finally she was able to say whole phrases. It took about three or four hours, but that night the power of the Enemy in her life was BROKEN & she was DELIVERED! She was quoting whole verses & her eyes began to shine with light instead of fear. She just hugged me & wept on my shoulder & the battle was won! The power of the Word & love & the Holy Spirit had done it!--Dad
306. This is the story of a lady who during the Second World War was living in a country occupied by the enemy. One day soldiers came to her flat, to find out if she was hiding any Resistance fighters. They searched, but found no one & went away.
A day or so later there came a knock at her door. Outside stood a man whom she recognised as a top Resistance leader. She could see that he was desperately tired & at the end of his tether.
"Come in, come in," she said. She opened the door of a small room on the left just behind the front door. Behind the door there was a chair. "Sit down there, " she said, "& I will get you some coffee." Thankfully the man sat down, & his hostess hurried off to get the coffee.
But just then there came another loud knock at the door. She opened it to find to her horror that there were Gestapo men outside.
"Oh, God," she thought--for she believed in God--"help me not to show fear." And to the soldiers she said, "You have searched my flat already."
"And we're searching it again," they said, pushing their way in.
"Very well," she said. "But you won't find anyone here." The men were watching her narrowly, but she showed no sign of anxiety. "Here you are," she said, opening the door of the little room behind the front door. "You see--no one."
After searching the other rooms, the Gestapo men went off. Because she was given the strength not to be afraid, they never found the Resistance leader who was sitting so quietly on the chair behind the door in the little room.
307. Psychiatrists don't have to worry as long as other people do.
308. If you can't help worrying, remember that worrying can't help you either.
309. People who like to worry have a greater & more varied number of things to choose from than ever before.
310. And there was the poor old man who worried so much about his debts that the hair began to fall out of his wig.
311. It doesn't make sense to worry about the future. Why open an umbrella before it starts to rain?
312. Once he was the most timorous of men; by practicing self-assurance, he became one of the boldest; he was the trust-busting, audience-swaying, Big-Stick-wielding President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt.
"Having been a rather sickly & awkward boy," he confesses in his autobiography, "I was, as a young man, at the first both nervous & distrustful of my powers. I had to train myself painfully & laboriously not merely as regards my body but as regards my soul & spirit."
Fortunately, he has disclosed how he achieved the transformation. "When a boy," he wrote, "I read a passage in one of Marryat's books [Frederik Marryat, British naval officer and writer (1792-1848)] which always impressed me. In this passage, the captain of some small British man-of-war is explaining to the hero how to acquire the quality of fearlessness. He says that at the outset almost every man is frightened when he goes into action, but that the course to follow is for the man to keep such a grip on himself that he can act just as if he were not frightened. After this is kept up long enough, it changes from pretense to reality, & the man does in very fact become fearless by sheer dint of practicing fearlessness when he does not feel it.
"This was the theory upon which I went. There were all kinds of things of which I was afraid at first, ranging from grizzly bears to "mean" horses & gunfighters; but by acting as if I were not afraid I gradually ceased to be afraid. Most men can have the same experience if they choose."
313. Worry never changes a single thing--except the worrier.
314. One good reason for not worrying is that you won't feel like a fool when things turn out all right.
315. Worry never accomplishes anything except wrinkles--which gives you another thing to worry about.
316. Schedule all your worrying for a specific half hour about the middle of the day--then take a nap during that period.
317. There is no point in worrying about forgetting things as you grow older because you'll soon forget what you forgot.
318. Those who live in a worry invite death in a hurry.
319. Perpetual worry will get you to one place ahead of time--the cemetery.
320. The only person who can afford to worry is the one who doesn't need to.
321. Don't worry too much about what lies ahead. Go as far as you can see, & when you get there, you can see farther.
322. Grandpa & Grandma were too busy scratching for a living to need books on how to stop worrying.
323. Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.
324. Things that never happen seem to worry us most.
325. The man who worries about the condition of the World will never run out of things to worry about.
326. Worry is as wicked as swearing. Swearing is taking God's name in vain; worry is taking God's Promises in vain.
327. Worry reminds us of a treadmill--it can wear you to a frazzle & you still don't get anywhere.
328. One good rule for living is not to worry about the future until we have learned to manage the present.
329. The reason worry kills more people than work is that people worry more than they work.
330. People would worry less about what others think of them if they only realised how seldom they do.
331. When you're robbed by worry, it's always an inside job.
332. Things are really tough when you have so many worries that a new one has to be kept waiting until you can get around to it.
333. If I am of the Shepherd's fold,
Then shall I know the Shepherd's voice
And gladly make His way my choice.
We are saved by faith, yet faith is one
With life, like daylight & the sun.
Unless they flower in our deeds,
Dead, empty husks are all the creeds.
To call Christ, Lord, but strive not to obey,
Belies the homage that with words I pay.
--Maud Frazer Jackson
334. Deep sorrows sometimes prove to be God's masked mercies. The worst sorrows in life are not its losses, & misfortunes, but its fears.
335. Don't let tomorrow use too much of today!
336. The woods were dark & the night was black
And only an owl could see the track;
But the cheery driver made his way
Through the great pine woods as if it were day.
I asked him, "How do you manage to see?"
The road & the forest are one to me."
"To me as well," he replied, "And I
Can only drive by the path in the sky."
I looked above, where the tree tops tall
Rose from the road, like an ebony wall;
And lo! a beautiful starry lane
Wound as the road wound & made it plain.
And since, when the path of my life is drear,
And all is blackness & doubt & fear,
When the horrors of midnight are here below
And I see not a step of the way to go,
Then, oh! then, I can look on high
And walk on Earth by the light in the sky.
--Amos R. Wells
337. Some of your hurts you have cured,
And the sharpest you still have survived,
But what torments of grief you endured
From evils that never arrived!
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
338. Worry is like a good rocking chair--it will give you something to do, but it won't get you anywhere.
339. The centipede was happy quite
Until the frog, for fun,
Asked her, "Which leg goes after which?"
Which wrought her mind to such a pitch
She lay distracted in a ditch,
Considering how to run.
340. Why worry about the future? The present is more than most of us can handle.
341. To worry about what we can't help is useless; to worry about what we can help is stupid.
342. Worry! Why worry? What can worry do?
It never keeps a trouble from overtaking you.
It gives you indigestion & woeful hours at night,
And fills with gloom the passing days, however fair & bright.
It puts a frown upon your face & sharpness in your tone;
You're unfit to live with others & unfit to live alone.
Worry! Why worry? What can worry do?
It never keeps a trouble from overtaking you.
Pray! Why pray? What can praying do?
Praying really changes things, arranges life anew.
It's good for digestion, gives peaceful hours at night,
And fills the grayest, gloomiest days with rays of glowing light.
It puts a smile upon your face, & the love-note in your tone,
Makes you fit to live with others & fit to live alone.
Pray! Why pray? What can praying do?
It brings God's Love & power from Heaven to live & work with you.
Praise! Why praise? What does praising do?
Praise satisfies the heart of God & brings new joy to you,
Provides a tonic for the soul, & keeps you always bright
With memories of blessings sent, & joyful songs at night.
And when there's "Thank you" on your face, & the praise-note's in your tone,
Folks all will want to live with you: you'll never be alone.
Praise! Why praise? What does praising do?
Praise always says that God is good: Experience proves it true.
(Phi.4:6-7)
343. Well, I am done, my nerves are on the rack:
I've laid it down today:
It was the last straw broke the camel's back--
I've laid that down today.
And I'll not fume, nor fret, nor fuss, nor fight:
I'll walk by faith a bit & not by sight.
I think the universe will work all right--
I've laid it down today.
So here & now, the overweight, the worry--
I'll lay it down today.
The all-too-anxious heart, the tearing hurry--
I'll lay it down today.
O eager hands! O feet so prone to run!
I think that He Who made the stars & sun
Can mind the things you've had to leave undone:
Do lay them down today!
(Psa.44:22; 1Pet.5:7)
344. Bishop Taylor Smith used to write the following in autograph books:
The worried cow would have lived till now
If she had saved her breath;
But she feared her hay wouldn't last all day,
And she mooed herself to death. (Luke 12:29-32)
345. When you see the lilies spinning in distress,
Taking thought to manufacture loveliness;
When you see the little birds build barns for store,
That's the time for you to worry, not before. (Luke 12:27,28)
346. There's not a worry in the World worth the worry.
347. Jerome K. Jerome, one of our greatest thinkers & writers, tells:
"One day I had a finger that ached in the joint & I decided promptly that I had arthritis. So I went over to the public library & got a medical book & looked up arthritis. By the time I got through reading two pages, I had arthritis in every joint in my hands, & my knees besides. It scared me & I turned the pages & there was leukemia, & I read everything about it. Before I had finished, I knew I had leukemia. I turned the page to ulcers & I said, 'So, now I know what causes those pains in my stomach I've wondered about. I've got ulcers.'
"I turned to pellagra, & I just knew I had pellagra. The only thing I found in that medical book that I didn't have was housemaid's knee & I wondered why I didn't have that. I went straight to the doctor who had examined me lots of times & had always told me there wasn't anything wrong. I told him about all of these things I knew I had.
"The doctor sat there for a long time before he said, '& now that you've diagnosed your case so well, I'm going to give you a prescription. And you can take it to the drugstore & get it filled." He wrote it out & folded it up, & I headed for the drugstore. The druggist took the prescription & looked at it. He frowned & made out like he was scratching his head, then he folded it back up & said, 'You know, I'm sorry, but I don't have any of this in my drugstore.'
"I said, 'What? Don't you have the biggest drugstore in this part of the city?'
"'Yes,' he said, 'but the things the doctor has prescribed for you don't come in a bottle.' He handed it back to me & said, 'You take it & read it for yourself.'
"I opened it & this is what it said. 'Walk eight miles every day, come home & eat a beef steak for supper, & stop reading things you've got no business reading.' It is a dangerous thing to look down at yourself. You get to feeling sorry for yourself."
348. The highway of fear is the shortest route to defeat.
349. Worry is saying, "I'm going to handle this problem myself.--Without God."
350. Ungodly fear: That God will allow me to be hurt. Godly fear: That I will do something to grieve God.
351. Do the thing you fear, & the death of fear is certain.
352. In 1938, a man with a home on the South shore of Long Island ordered himself a long-desired barometer from Abercrombie & Fitch, the famous New York City sporting goods store.
The barometer arrived on the morning of September 21st, & the owner proudly hung it up on the back porch. Half-an-hour later he took a peek at his high-priced toy & was irritated to find the needle stuck at "Hurricane."
Quickly he sat down & wrote an angry letter to Abercrombie & Fitch, demanding a new barometer. When he returned home from the local post office after mailing the letter, both barometer & house were missing. September 21, 1938, was the day of the worst hurricane ever to hit Long Island.
353. Thomas Paine on his deathbed expressed the wish that all copies of his most famous work, Age of Reason, had been thrown in the fire, for "if the Devil has ever had any agency in any work, he has had it in writing that book."
354. Men lightly drop a faith they feebly hold.
355. Faith is the assurance that the thing God has said in His Word is true. And that God will act according to what He has said in His Word.
356. Having gotten all wrinkled up with care & worry, it's a good time to get your faith lifted.
357. Faith is a principle by which to live, & not a problem to be solved.
358. Fear not tomorrow, God is already there.
359. Faith makes all things possible & Love makes them easy.
360. Faith either removes mountains or tunnels through.
361. The greatness of our fear shows us the littleness of our faith.
362. Faith believes the Word of God for what it cannot see, & is rewarded by seeing what it believes.
363. Faith is believing what God says simply because it is God Who says it.
364. None live so pleasantly as those who live by faith.
365. Faith is the gateway of communion with God. Love is the gateway of ministry to men.
366. How often we trust each other,
And only doubt our Lord.
We take the word of mortals,
And yet distrust His Word.
But, oh, what light & glory
Would shine o'er all our days.
If we always would remember
God means just what He says.
367. Waiting! Yes, patiently waiting!
Till next steps made plain shall be;
To hear, with the inner hearing,
The Voice that will call for me.
Waiting! Yes, quietly waiting!
No need for an anxious dread;
Shall He not assuredly guide me,
Who giveth me daily bread?
Waiting! Yes, hopefully waiting!
With hope that needn't grow dim;
The Master is pledged to guide me,
And my eyes are unto Him.
Waiting! Yes, expectantly waiting!
Perhaps it may be today
The Master will quickly open
The gate to my future way.
Waiting! Yes, trustfully waiting!
I know, though I've waited long,
That, while He withholds His purpose,
His waiting cannot be wrong.
Waiting! Yes, waiting. Still waiting!
The Master will not be late;
He knoweth that I am waiting
For Him to unlatch the gate.
--J.D.Smith
368. It was usually the custom of Robert Ingersol, at the close of his lectures, to "prove" the non-existence of God by taking his watch from his pocket, & arrogantly say, "If there is a God, I defy Him to strike me dead within the next five minutes!" Standing before the audience, with watch in hand, he could count off the minutes: "One minute; two minutes; three minutes; four minutes; five minutes!" And, then with a smirk of satisfaction wreathing his face, he would triumphantly say, "There, I told you there was no God!"
Hearing of Ingersol's blatant blasphemy, Joseph Parker said, "Does the gentleman from America think that he can exhaust God's patience in five minutes?"
369. Dr. John G. Paton of the New Hebrides awoke one night to find the natives firing the church right by his home. Committing himself to God, he went to face the savages. He said, "They yelled in rage & urged each other to strike the first blow, but the Invisible One restrained them. I stood invulnerable beneath His invisible shield. At this dread moment a rushing & a roaring sound came from the south like the noise of muttering thunder. They knew from previous hard experience that it was one of their awful tornadoes of wind & rain. The mighty roaring of the wind, & the cloud pouring in torrents awed them into silence. Some began to withdraw from the scene, all lowered their weapons of war, & several, terror-struck, exclaimed: "That is Jehovah's rain! Truly their Jehovah is fighting for them & helping them. Let us away!"
370. The World is still waiting for the first wise atheist.
371. An atheist is a man without any invisible means of support.
372. It amazes me to find an intelligent person who fights against something which he does not at all believe exists.
373. I can see how it might be possible to look down upon the Earth & be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look into the heavens & say there is no God.
374. There are no atheists in foxholes & rubber rafts.
375. How did the atheist get his idea of that God whom he denies?
376. When a candle flickers out
It can be lit again
When the bottle is poured out
It can be filled again.
When the day & its light's gone
The sun will shine again
When clear skies are all gone
The blue shall come again.
When the leaves begin to fall
The new will grow again
When Summer turns into Fall
The Spring'll bring hope again
When your love is lost for good
You still can love again
When you're dead & gone for good
You will rise up again!
377. "Have you, perchance found a diamond pendant? I feel sure I lost it last night in your theater," asked a woman who did not identify herself to the manager of the theater. "Not yet, madam," said the manager, "but we will search diligently for it. Please hold the line for a minute while I make inquiry." Returning a few moments later to the telephone, the manager said, "I have good news for you! The diamond pendant has been found!" There was no reply, however. "Hello! Hello! Hello!" said the manager but the woman who made the inquiry about the lost diamond pendant had failed to wait. The manager endeavored to trace the call, but without success.
Many of God's children are like that woman. They fail to wait on the Lord. His answer to our prayers will come in His good time. The promise is sure: "Call unto Me, & I will answer thee." (Jer.33:3)
378. No man will say, "There is no God" till he is so hardened in sin that it has become his interest that there should be none to call him to account.
379. Unless the being of God be presupposed, no tolerable account can be given of the being of any thing.
380. The footprint of the savage in the sand is sufficient to attest the presence of man to the atheist, yet he will not recognise God, Whose Hand is impressed upon the entire Universe.
381. There are more atheists in lip than in life.
382. The late Dr. J.H. Jowitt said that he was once in a most pitiful perplexity, & consulted Dr. Berry of Wolverhampton.
"What would you do if you were in my place?" he entreated.
"I don't know, Jowitt, I am not there, & you are not there yet. When do you have to act?"
"On Friday," Dr. Jowitt replied.
"Then," answered Dr. Berry, "you will find your way perfectly clear on Friday. The Lord will not fail you."
And sure enough, on Friday all was plain. Give God time, & even when the knife flashes in the air the ram will be seen caught in the thicket. Give God time, & even when Pharaoh's host is on Israel's heels, a path through the waters will be suddenly open. Give God time, & when the bed of the brook is dry, Elijah shall hear the guiding voice.
383. A little fellow, sent to the country one Summer by the Tribune Fresh Air Fund, for the first time in his life was shown into a bedroom in the farmhouse where he was to be entertained, & told he was to sleep there. It was like another world to the little fellow, who had always slept in the slums, often in some dark hallway or in the street. As he surveyed the soft bed with its white spread & pillows, he felt sure there must be a mistake. However, for a brief moment or two he ventured to throw himself upon the spread & feel for once in his life he had lain upon a real bed. But fearing that the rightful owner would come in & find him there, he quietly slipped off & curled himself up on the floor to sleep. In the early morning the farmer's wife came in to see that all was right. She gave a great exclamation as she saw him curled up under the bed. It was only by dint of much physical & mental persuasion that she was able to get him under the sheets & make him believe that it was really for him. Alas, how many of God's children are like that poor little lad, sleeping under the bed when they might be resting on the soft bosom of His Love & enjoying the "peace that passeth all understanding."
384. Did you ever raise a radish? You put a small black seed into the black soil, & in a little while you return to the garden & find the full grown radish. The top is green, the body white & almost transparent, & the skin a delicate red or pink. What mysterious power reaches out & gathers from the ground the particles which give it form & size & flavour? Whose is the invisible brush that transfers to the root, growing in darkness, the hues of the summer sunset? If we were to refuse to eat anything until we could understand the mystery of its creation we would die of starvation--but mystery, it seems, never bothers us in the dining room; it is only in the church that it causes us to hesitate.
385. Doubt indulged soon becomes doubt realised.
386. The art of doubting is easy, for it is an ability that is born with us.
387. Satan loves to fish in muddy water.
388. Nothing is more offensive to God than disbelief of His promise & despair of the performance of it because of some difficulties that seem to lie in the way.
389. If a care is too small to be turned into a prayer it is too small to be made into a burden.
390. In Tewin churchyard, a short distance from King's Cross Station, in England, stands a great four-trunked tree growing out of a grave. Its presence there has given rise to much speculation among the residents of that section. The grave from which it grows is that of Lady Anne Grimston.
Is the tree a monument to a woman's disbelief or did it happen to grow there merely by chance? Nobody knows.
Lady Anne Grimston did not believe in life after death. When she lay dying in her palatial home, she said to a friend, "I shall live again as surely as a tree will grow from my body."
She was buried in a marble tomb. The grave was marked by a large marble slab, & surrounded by an iron railing. Years later the marble slab was found to be moved a little. Then it cracked, & through the crack a small tree grew.
The tree continued to grow, tilting the stone & breaking the marble masonry until today it has surrounded the tomb with its roots, & has torn the railing out of the ground with its massive trunks. The tree at Lady Anne Grimston's grave is one of the largest in England.
Was it mere chance that caused the tree to grow there? Perhaps God the Almighty took her challenge.
391. A woman was famed for her sanctity & her beautiful life. When people visited her town, if they were interested in divine things, they almost always went to see her. One day someone went to see her, & when he was ushered into her room, he said, "I am so glad to see you; you are the woman of the strong faith."
"No, sir," she replied.
"But," he said, "everybody tells me what great things you have done."
"No, I am the woman of the weak faith in the strong Saviour," she said. (Luke 17:6; Heb.11:33,34)
392. Thomas wouldn't even believe it when Jesus appeared! "I'm not going to believe it until I can stick my fingers in the holes!"--Can you imagine a guy with such a morbid curiosity? But the Lord was merciful & He satisfied him anyhow. So the Lord even has mercy on the Doubting Thomasses. Another doubter was the man who came to Him requesting a healing & the Lord said, "All things are possible to him that believeth," & he answered, "Lord, I believe, but help Thou mine unbelief!" (Mark 9:23,24).
So don't condemn all doubters! They're pretty aggravating & quite a nuisance & ask you a Hell of a lot of questions, & you've got to give them Scripture after Scripture & proof after proof. But that's important! "Be ready to give an answer to every man that asketh thee" (1Pet.3:15). Some really want to know!--Dad
393. No alcoholic was ever more in bondage to his habit of drink than many Christians are to their habit of doubting. In fact many Christians have settled down under their doubts as though they had contracted an incurable disease.
394. Unbelief in Salvation is far, far more than entertaining an erroneous conception of God's way of Salvation: it is a species of hatred against Him.
395. Unbelief is not simply an infirmity of fallen human nature, it is a heinous crime.
396. If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you'd like to win, but think you can't,
It's almost a cinch you won't.
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But sooner or later the man who wins
Is the one who thinks he can.
397. A newspaper cutting referred to a striking story in an anonymous book of memoirs published not long ago. The writer met the woman who nursed the great agnostic, Professor J.H. Huxley, through his last illness. She said that as he lay dying the great skeptic suddenly looked up at some sight invisible to mortal eyes, &, staring a while, whispered at last, "So it is true."
398. What room is there for troubled fear?
I know my Lord, & He is near;
And He will light my candle, so
That I may see the way I go.
There need be no bewilderment
To one who goes where he is sent;
The trackless plain, by night & day
Is set with signs lest he should stray.
My path may cross a waste of sea,
But that need never frighten me--
Or rivers full to the very brim,
But they are open ways to Him.
My path may lead through wood at night,
Where neither moon nor any light
Of guiding star or beacon shines;
He will not let me miss my signs.
Lord, grant to me a quiet mind,
That, trusting Thee--for Thou art kind--
I may go on without a fear,
For Thou, my Lord, art always near.
399. The blindness of unbelievers in no way detracts from the clarity of the Gospel; the sun is no less bright because blind men do not perceive its light.
400. Unbelief is the great obstruction to Christ's favours.
401. Many people believe their doubts & doubt their beliefs.
402. Unbelief is so deeply rooted in the human heart that when God performs miracles on Earth, unbelief doubts whether He can perform them in Heaven, & when He does them in Heaven, whether He can do them on Earth.
403. He holdeth the waters in the hollow of His hand,
This mighty restless seething sea in His hand.
Oh, hand so sure, so safe, so strong
That it can hold the sea,
Mid the storm-tossed waves of the sea of life
It can, it will, hold me.
--M.Slattery
404. It can't be done,
It never has been done;
Therefore I will do it.
405. Don't try to think why you can't. Think how you can.
406. Rocked in the cradle of the deep,
I lay me down in peace to sleep;
Secure I rest upon the wave,
For Thou, O Lord, hast power to save.
I know Thou wilt not slight my call,
For Thou dost mark the sparrow's fall;
And calm & peaceful shall I sleep,
Rocked in the cradle of the deep.
When in the dead of night I lie
And gaze upon the trackless sky,
The star-bespangled heavenly scroll,
The boundless waters as they roll,--
I feel Thy wondrous power to save
From perils of the stormy wave:
Rocked in the cradle of the deep
I calmly rest & soundly sleep.
And such the trust that still were mine,
Though stormy winds swept o'er the brine,
Or though the tempest's fiery breath
Roused me from sleep to wreck & death.
In ocean cave still safe with Thee,
The germ of immortality;
And calm & peaceful shall I sleep,
Rocked in the cradle of the deep.
--Emma Willard
407. Worry is faith in the negative, trust in the unpleasant, assurance of disaster & belief in defeat.
408. I dare not fret anymore than I dare curse & swear. John Wesley
409. We can never be too much on our guard against unbelief. It is the oldest sin in the World.
410. It is not the work, but the worry
That makes the World grow old,
That shortens the years of many
Before half their life is told.
It is not the work, but the worry
That places on life a band,
The cares & fears that crowd the years
That break the heart of man.
411. What do atheists do with their money? Surely they wouldn't carry around anything that says, "In God We Trust."
412. The atheist can't find God for the same reason that a thief can't find a policeman.
413. Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win,
By fearing to attempt.--William Shakespeare
414. Out of life's misery born of man's sins
A fuller, richer life begins.
For when we are helpless with no place to go
And our hearts are heavy & our spirits are low,
If we place our poor, broken lives in GOD'S Hands
And surrender completely to HIS Will & demands,
The "darkness lifts" & the "sun shines through"
And by His touch we are "born anew"...
So praise God for trouble that "cuts like a knife"
And disappointments that shatter your life,
For with PATIENCE to wait & FAITH to ENDURE
Your life will be blessed & your future secure,
For GOD is but TESTING your FAITH & your LOVE
Before He "appoints you" to rise far above
All the small things that so sorely distress you,
For God's only intention is to STRENGTHEN & BLESS you.
415. Once, while addressing an open-air meeting, an atheist asked Bishop Carpenter if he believed that Solomon made love to the Queen of Sheba. "When I get to Heaven I will ask him," said the Bishop.
"But supposing," the other persisted, "he is not there?"
"Then you will have to ask him," was the quick retort.
416. When Caesar was advised by his friends to be more cautious as to the security of his person, & not to walk among the people without arms or anyone to protect him, he replied: "He who lives in the fear of death, every moment feels its tortures; I will die but once."
417. A French colonel had one day punished a young officer, just arrived from Saint-Cyr, for showing fear during his first battle. Marshal Foch to whose notice it came, severely reprimanded the disciplinarian. "Colonel!" said he, "none but a coward dares to boast that he has never known fear!"
418. Gerald B. Winrod, who was editor of an American magazine, The Defender, related a remarkable story about an atheist who had been very bold, blatant & outspoken against God & the Bible. He had defied God by saying, "If there is a God, my grave will be infested with snakes." At the funeral it was necessary to remove a snake from the grave before the coffin could be lowered, the sexton saying that he had killed four big snakes at one time, yet never saw a snake at any other grave.
Mr. Winrod's informant said he would ask a gentleman in Ohio to give him more details, & in due course he received a further word, together with a picture of the bronze monument of the atheist, Chester Beddell, who had died in 1908 at the age of 82. The letter said, "Mr. Beddell said while living there was no God, & he never did believe in one. He did not hesitate to speak of these things. ... He built the monument years before his death. His statue is of bronze, & in his uplifted right hand there is a scroll with this inscription, "Universal Mental Liberty." Under his left foot is a scroll representing the Bible, with the inscription, "Superstition." Before his death he made this remark: "If there is a God, or any truth in the Bible, let my body be infested with snakes." Since his burial the family lot has been full of snake holes around the curbing. Snakes can be seen any day you visit the graveyard. Last year 20 of us went out on the 30th of October, & saw three snakes. The neighbours there say the more they kill, the thicker they seem to be."
Later the opportunity came to Mr. Winrod to make an observation of his own. While engaged in a conference in Youngstown, he was taken by car to North Benton. He asked an old man if he could tell him where the Beddell grave was. "Sure, everybody around here knows where Chet Beddell was buried," said the old-timer. "You can't miss it--big monument in the graveyard. Looking for snakes?"
Later, another man said, "Well, if Beddell did ask for snakes, he sure got'em!"
He & his companions came to the place in question where they saw the monument, the uplifted scroll, the other scroll under his foot, the stern bronze countenance. They approached the grave, camera in hand. Was it a hoax, or was it true? One of his companions was the first to see a snake. "Look there," he shouted. Yes! There it was. They walked round the grave & counted six snakes. His companion killed one. He photographed one. They also took other photographs. The sexton told them that he killed four that morning--he had killed as many as 20 snakes in a single day. Finally he said, "I don't know, maybe the Lord did have something to do with it."
It is a remarkable story, & only one of the many others that could be related of the danger of putting God out of the life.
--E.Matheson in Gathered Gems. Psa.14:1; 53:1
419. A good sample for an atheist is to serve him a delicious meal & then ask him if he believes there is a cook.
420. An atheist is the fellow who shakes his fist & defies the God he claims doesn't exist.
421. An atheist hopes the Lord will do nothing to disturb his disbelief.
422. Can we not learn, like tired children, to fall into the everlasting arms & rest, not in what we know, but in what we trust?
423. The late Mr. Harold St. John, well-known minister of the Word of God, referring to the skeptic's objection to iron floating & swimming, described his arrival at Southampton Docks to embark for North Africa. Before him was a colossal mass of iron, the ship on which he had booked his passage, & he embarked on it. Soon the iron that had been floating in the docks began to swim & in due course he landed at the port for which he was bound. On his return, having to make the journey very speedily, he went to the airfield where he saw another tremendous mass of metal. When he went aboard, he found that the metal could fly.
424. Kepler, the astronomer, was troubled by one of his friends who denied the existence of God & took the view of the universe which prevails in some circles today, namely, that it came into being of itself by mechanical methods. Kepler, in order to convince his friend, constructed a model of the sun with the planets circling round it. When his friend came into the Observatory & saw the beautiful model, he exclaimed with delight, "How beautiful it is! Who made it?"
And Kepler carelessly answered, "No one made it: It made itself!"
His friend looked at him & said, "Nonsense, tell me who made it."
Kepler then replied, "Friend, you say that this little toy could not make itself. It is but a very weak imitation of this great universe which, I understood, you believe did make itself."
425. An American cutlery manufacturer wrote: "It takes a girl in our factory two days to learn to put the 17 parts of a meat chopper together. It may be that these millions of worlds, all balanced so wonderfully in space--it may be they just happened: It may be, by a million of years of tumbling about, they finally arranged themselves. I don't know. I am merely a plain manufacturer of cutlery. But this I do know that you can shake the 17 parts of a meat chopper around in a washtub for the next 17 millions of years, & you 'll never make a meat chopper." (Gen.1:1; Col.1:16,17; Heb.1:2)
426. If there are any good traits about the atheist, he got them from Christianity.
427. The trouble with being an atheist is you have nobody to talk to when you're alone.
428. It may be hard to believe in God, but it's much harder not to believe in Him.
429. The worst possible moment for an atheist is when he feels grateful & has no one to thank.
430. When the famous minister, Phillips Brooks, was critically ill years ago & not expected to recover, visitors were not permitted to see him. Bob Ingersoll, the famous agnostic, who didn't know that visitors were not allowed, called at the hospital & asked to see Dr. Brooks. He was told that visitors were not permitted, but that they always reported to the patient when friends called. When the sick man was told that Mr. Ingersoll had called, Dr. Brooks insisted that he be allowed to come in.
When Mr. Ingersoll entered the room, he said: "I appreciate this very much, but why do you see me, when you deny yourself to your other friends?"
"Well, you see," replied Dr. Brooks, "I feel confident to seeing most of my friends in the next world, but this is my last chance to see you."
431. 'There is a God,' all nature cries.
I see it painted on the skies;
I see it in the flowering spring,
I hear it when the birdlings sing.
I see it in the flowing main,
I see it on the fruitful plain,
I see it stamped on hail & snow,
I see it where the streamlets flow;
I see it in the clouds that soar,
I hear it when the thunders roar;
I see it when the morning shines,
I see it when the day declines;
I see it on the mountain height,
I see it in the smallest mite.
I see it everywhere abroad:
I feel--I know--there is a God. (Gen.1:1-31; Psa.14:1)
432. Are you passing through a testing?
Is your pillow wet with tears?
Do you wonder what the reason
Why it seems God does not hear?
Why it is you have no answer
To your oft repeated plea?
Why the Heaven still is leaden
As you wait on bended knee?
But faithful is He Who promised
He will never let you fall,
Daily will the strength be given,
Strength for each & strength for all.
He'll gladly share your pain with you,
He'll gladly give you peace,
Till your tired & wearied body
Find its blessed glad release!
So till then just keep on trusting
Through the sunshine & the rain,
Through the tears & through the heartaches
Through the smiles & through the pain,
Knowing that our Father watches,
Knowing daily strength He'll give,
Victory for each passing hour,
THIS is life, so let us live!
433. A skeptic in London recently in speaking of the Bible, said that it was quite impossible in these days to believe in any book whose authority was unknown. A Christian asked if the compiler of the multiplication table was known. "No!" he answered.
"Then, of course, you do not believe in it."
"Oh yes," was the skeptic's reply, "I believe in it because it works well."
"So does the Bible," was the rejoinder. The skeptic had no answer to that.
434. Worry worry worry
She knew worry was a SIN,
But each night she'd worry worry
Till her loved ones all were in.
Worry worry worry,
It was like a funeral pall,
If they climbed up on a ladder
She was sure that they would fall.
Even at the hour of midnight
She would steal from bed to bed,
Listen to the sleepers breathing,
Making sure they were not dead.
If they SNEEZED they had pneumonia,
If they coughed it was TB!
Till the very air about her
Got as blue as blue could be.
Late from school, why she'd get frantic,
SURELY they had been kidnapped!
Every tumble brought her running
Positive their bones had snapped.
Every stray dog had the rabies,
Every TRAMP was a criminal,
Till at last it seemed it really
Wasn't safe to life at all!
When they were out in the traffic
Her alarm was so extreme
That one night she slept exhausted
And she dreamed a WORRIED DREAM.
Dreamed that God had grown impatient
With His child who worried so
For He personally had managed
ALL that happened here below.
Dreamed He TOOK her loved ones to Him
So she needn't worry more,
They were all safe up in Heaven,
None were LEFT to worry for.
In her dream she was a 'sobbing,
"Even though my worries cease,
Lord, I find I cannot bear it,
Such an empty bitter peace!"
When she woke they were still 'round her,
All her children & her John,
Did it teach her? Not a lesson!
Worriedly she worries on!
--Grandmother
435. One day at a time
With its failures & fears,
With its hurts & mistakes,
With its weakness & tears,
With its portion of pain,
And its burden of care: One day at a time
We must meet & must bear.
One day at a time
To be patient & strong,
To be calm under trial
And sweet under wrong.
Then its toiling will pass
And its sorrow shall cease,
It shall darken & die
And the night shall bring peace.
Just a day at a time,
A day seems so long,
And the heart is not brave,
And the soul is not strong.
So wonderful Christ,
Be Thou near all the way,
Give courage & patience
And strength for TODAY!
436. Faith is believing when all seems past hoping,
Although receiving no glimmer of light,
Leaving the grieving & doubting & groping
To those who are living only by sight.
Faith is still trusting completely God's promise,
When it would almost seem God has forgot,
Scorning to be a weak doubter like Thomas,
Seeking no sign nor bemoaning our lot.
Faith is believing in God, & in clinging
To hopes of a future that one day shall be,
Faith is the courage to trust without doubting
That all that we hope for we one day shall see.
437. There comes a wondrous message
When my hopes are growing dim,
I can hear it through the darkness,
Like some sweet & far off hymn,
"Nothing is too hard for Jesus,
Christian, put your trust in Him!"
When my frame is worn with sickness,
And with tears my eyelids swim,
I can h ear the promise ringing
Like some sweet & Heavenly hymn,
"Nothing is too hard for Jesus,
Christian, put your trust in Him!"
And when my way is clothed in darkness
And my foes are fierce & grim
Still it sings above the conflict
Like some glad victorious hymn,
"Nothing is too hard for Jesus,
Christian, put your trust in Him!"
And when my heart is crushed with anguish
And the water reach the brim
Faith can hear the mighty chorus
Like some mighty battle hymn,
"Nothing is too hard for Jesus,
Christian, put your trust in Him!"
Oh, let us claim the mighty promise,
Let us light the torches dim,
Let us join the mighty chorus,
Let us swell the glorious hymn,
"Nothing is too hard for Jesus,
Let us put our trust in Him!"