To begin my quiet times, I like to
read from a devotional book. I don’t
stick to one; I have a few that I choose from.
The short devotionals help me to get ready and focused on listening to
what God has to say to me. Today I chose
Streams in the Desert by L.B.Cowman.
She had the excellent habit of writing down things she heard or read
that she wanted to remember, and that is what the book is…the collection of her
most treasured spiritual finds. They
come from great books, ministers and missionaries of and before her time. Today I read what George Mattheson wrote
about waiting for hope. “Even when my joy
is gone, give me the strength to stand victoriously in the darkest night and
say, ‘To my heavenly Father, the sun still shines.’ I will have reached the point of greatest
strength once I have learned to wait for hope” (288).
After my devotional reading, I read
Psalm 6. It is not a cheerful David who
pins this one. I went on and read Psalm 7. David is crying out to God for
deliverance! I am now pondering the questions, “What do
these Psalms tell me about God and about my relationship with Him?” Reading Psalm 6 and 7 again, I find that I can be honest and real with God. My songs and prayers to Him do not always have
to be happy; I can trust Him and weep at the same time. These Psalms show me that when life gets
difficult and sorrow comes, my faith in God must not falter (as is often the
case when we experience pain.) God is Good.
He will be the last thing standing when
all else fails. He stands with us when
life falls apart. He shields us when we
are left defenseless. We can trust and wait for His mercy, knowing that He
hears and accepts our prayers. Even when
we do not see answers, we know that He has them, and that they are right. When we have nothing on earth to be thankful
for, we can still give thanks because of His righteousness. When there is no one left to sing to and
nothing more to sing about, we can follow David’s example and sing to the LORD
Most High.
Heavenly
Father,
Help
me to run to you when I need protection, justice, help and comfort. Help me not to walk slowly to you, after I
have tried other ideas, people, or avenues.
Help me RUN to you. You continually
show me that you are Enough. Help my
life to prove that wonderful truth over and over, just like the hymn says,
“'Tis
so sweet to trust in Jesus,
And
to take him at his word;
Just
to rest upon his promise,
And
to know, "Thus saith the Lord."
Jesus,
Jesus, how I trust him!
How
I've proved him o'er and o'er!
Jesus,
Jesus, precious Jesus!
O
for grace to trust him more!”
Cowman, L.B. Streams in the Desert. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997. Print.
Stead, Louisa M.R. “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” 1882.
