But they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of
their testimony, and they did not love their lives so much that they
were afraid to die. (Rev 12:11)
The greatest things are always hedged about
by the hardest things, and we, too, shall find mountains and forests
and chariots of iron. Hardship is the price of coronation. Triumphal
arches are not woven out of rose blossoms and silken cords, but of hard
blows and bloody scars. The very hardships that you are enduring in your
life today are given by the Master for the explicit purpose of enabling
you to win your crown.
Do not wait for some ideal situation, some romantic difficulty, some
far-away emergency; but rise to meet the actual conditions which the
Providence of God has placed around you today. Your crown of glory lies
embedded in the very heart of these things—those hardships and trials
that are pressing you this very hour, week and month of your life. The
hardest things are not those that the world knows of. Down in your
secret soul unseen and unknown by any but Jesus, there is a little trial
that you would not dare to mention that is harder for you to bear than
martyrdom.
There, beloved, lies your crown. God help you to overcome, and sometime wear it.
—Selected, taken from Streams in the Desert, Vol. 1, for Nov. 16th, by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Ps. 46:1).
The question often comes, "Why didn't He help me sooner?" It is not His
order. He must first adjust you to the trouble and cause you to learn
your lesson from it. His promise is, "I will be with him in trouble; I
will deliver him and honor him." He must be with you in the trouble
first all day and all night. Then He will take you out of it. This will
not come till you have stopped being restless and fretful about it and
become calm and quiet. Then He will say, "It is enough."
God uses trouble to teach His children precious lessons. They are
intended to educate us. When their good work is done, a glorious
recompense will come to us through them. There is a sweet joy and a real
value in them. He does not regard them as difficulties but as
opportunities. --Selected.
Not always OUT of our troublous times,
And the struggles fierce and grim,
But IN--deeper IN--to our one sure rest,
The place of our peace, in Him.
--Annie Johnson Flint
We once heard a simple old colored man say something that we have never
forgotten: "When God tests you, it is a good time for you to test Him
by putting His promises to the proof, and claiming from Him just as much
as your trials have rendered necessary."
There are two ways of getting out of a trial. One is to simply try to
get rid of the trial, and be thankful when it is over. The other is to
recognize the trial as a challenge from God to claim a larger blessing
than we have ever had, and to hail it with delight as an opportunity of
obtaining a larger measure of Divine grace. Thus even the adversary
becomes an auxiliary, and the things that seem to be against us turn out
to be for the furtherance of our way. Surely, this is to be more than
conquerors through Him who loved us. --A. B. Simpson
- Streams in the Deserts, Vol. 1, for September 7th
"Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress" (Ps. 4:1).
This is one of the grandest testimonies ever given by man to the moral
government of God. It is not a man's thanksgiving that he has been set
free from suffering. It is a thanksgiving that he has been set free
through suffering: "Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress." He
declares the sorrows of life to have been themselves the source of
life's enlargement.
And have not you and I a thousand times felt this to be true? It is
written of Joseph in the dungeon that "the iron entered into his soul."
We all feel that what Joseph needed for his soul was just the iron. He
had seen only the glitter of the gold. He had been rejoicing in youthful
dreams; and dreaming hardens the heart. He who sheds tears over a
romance will not be most apt to help reality; real sorrow will be too
unpoetic for him. We need the iron to enlarge our nature. The gold is
but a vision; the iron is an experience. The chain which unites me to
humanity must be an iron chain. That touch of nature which makes the
world akin is not joy, but sorrow; gold is partial, but iron is
universal.
My soul, if thou wouldst be enlarged into human sympathy, thou must be
narrowed into limits of human suffering. Joseph's dungeon is the road to
Joseph's throne. Thou canst not lift the iron load of thy brother if
the iron hath not entered into thee. It is thy limit that is thine
enlargement. It is the shadows of thy life that are the real fulfillment
of thy dreams of glory. Murmur not at the shadows; they are better
revelations than thy dreams. Say not that the shades of the prison-house
have fettered thee; thy fetters are wings -- wings of flight into the
bosom of humanity. The door of thy prison-house is a door into the heart
of the universe. God has enlarged thee by the binding of sorrow's
chain. --George Matheson
If Joseph had not been Egypt's prisoner, he had never been Egypt's
governor. The iron chain about his feet ushered in the golden chain
about his neck. --Selected -Streams in the Desert, Vol. 1, for September 8th
"A life need not be great to be beautiful. There may be as much beauty in a tiny flower as in a majestic tree, in a little gem as in a great jewel. A life may be very lovely and yet be insignificant in the world's eyes. A beautiful life is one that fulfills its mission in this world, that is what God made it to be, and does what God made it to do. Those with only commonplace gifts are in danger of thinking that they cannot live a beautiful life - cannot be a blessing in this world. But the smallest life that fills its place well is far lovelier in God's sight than the largest and most splendidly gifted - yet fails in its divine mission."
Far better in its place the lowliest bird
Should sing aright to Him the lowliest song,
Than that a seraph strayed should take the word
And sing His glory wrong. - Selected.
-Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
taken from Streams in the Desert, Vol. 2, August 6th
Art thou weary, tender heart? Be glad of pain! In sorrow sweetest things will grow, As flowers in rain. God watches; thou wilt have the sun, When clouds their perfect work have done. - Adelaide Procter
"It is the life closest to the "Man of Sorrows"
who was Himself acquainted with grief
that can bring blossoms of joy and peace.
If His joy is in us, our joy is made full."
- Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
The song I sing is faint and sad, Yet 'tis of love I'm singing; And soon it shall be strong and glad Through realms of glory ringing. A song of love and sighs today, Of love and joy tomorrow, To Him Who poured His life away Upon the tree of sorrow. - Anonymous.
"We must learn to sing - to sing as we enter the valleys of shadow.
We sing as we work. We sing as we rejoice.
Can we sing as we suffer?
How difficult it is to sing when you cannot see beyond affliction.
But the secret is to look beyond the immediate circumstance
and behold the reward in glory."
- Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
"Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. Why art thou cast down, oh my soul? Hope thou in God for I shall yet praise Him."
~ Psalm 27:3; 42:5 ~
Take away faith, and in vain we call to God. There is no other road betwixt our souls and Heaven. Blockade that road and we cannot communicate with the Great King. Faith links us with Divinity.
An outstanding minister said that one evening he found himself staggering along under a load that was heavy enough to crush half a dozen strong men. Out of sheer exhaustion he put it down and took a good look at it. He found that it was all borrowed. Part of it belonged to the following day; part of it belonged to the following week, and here he was borrowing it that it might crush him now - a very stupid but a very ancient blunder.
Never yield to gloomy anticipations. Who told you that the night would never end in day? Who told you that the winter of your discontent should proceed from frost to frost, from snow and ice and hail to deeper snow? Do you not know that day follows night, that flood comes after ebb, that spring and summer succeed winter? Place your hope and confidence in God. He has no record of failure."
- Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
- taken from Streams in the Desert, Volume 2, December 26th
"They were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the Word in Asia."
~ Acts 16:6 ~
It is interesting to study the methods of His guidance as it was
extended towards these early heralds of the Cross. It consisted largely
in prohibitions, when they attempted to take another course than the
right. When they would turn to the left, to Asia, He stayed them. When
they sought to turn to the right, to Bithynia, again He stayed them. In
after years Paul would do some of the greatest work of his life in that
very region; but just now the door was closed against him by the Holy
Spirit. The time was not yet ripe for the attack on these apparently
impregnable bastions of the kingdom of Satan. Apollos must come there
for pioneer work. Paul and Barnabas are needed yet more urgently
elsewhere, and must receive further training before undertaking this
responsible task.
Beloved, whenever you are doubtful as to your course, submit your
judgment absolutely to the Spirit of God, and ask Him to shut against
you every door but the right one. Say, "Blessed Spirit, I cast on Thee
the entire responsibility of closing against my steps any and every
course which is not of God. Let me hear Thy voice behind me whenever I
turn to the right hand or the left."
In the meanwhile, continue along the path which you have been already
treading. Abide in the calling in which you are called, unless you are
clearly told to do something else. The Spirit of Jesus waits to be to
you, O pilgrim, what He was to Paul. Only be careful to obey His least
prohibition; and where, after believing prayer, there are no apparent
hindrances, go forward with enlarged heart. Do not be surprised if the
answer comes in closed doors. But when doors are shut right and left, an
open road is sure to lead to Troas. There Luke awaits, and visions will
point the way, where vast opportunities stand open, and faithful
friends are waiting. --Paul, by Meyer
Is there some problem in your life to solve,
Some passage seeming full of mystery?
God knows, who brings the hidden things to light.
He keeps the key.
Is there some door closed by the Father's hand
Which widely opened you had hoped to see?
Trust God and wait--for when He shuts the door
He keeps the key.
Is there some earnest prayer unanswered yet,
Or answered NOT as you had thought 'twould be?
God will make clear His purpose by-and-by.
He keeps the key.
Have patience with your God, your patient God,
All wise, all knowing, no long tarrier He,
And of the door of all thy future life
He keeps the key.
Unfailing comfort, sweet and blessed rest,
To know of EVERY door He keeps the key.
That He at last when just HE sees 'tis best,
Will give it THEE. - Anonymous -
- Streams in the Dessert, January 10th, Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
When the cloud tarried... then the children of Israel... journeyed not (Num. 9:19).
This was the supreme test of obedience. It was comparatively easy to strike tents, when the fleecy folds of the cloud were slowly gathering from off the Tabernacle, and it floated majestically before the host. Change is always delightful; and there was excitement and interest in the route, the scenery, and the locality of the next halting-place. But, ah, the tarrying.
Then, however uninviting and sultry the location, however trying to flesh and blood, however irksome to the impatient disposition, however perilously exposed to danger -- there was no option but to remain encamped.
The Psalmist says, "I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry." And what He did for the Old Testament saints He will do for believers throughout all ages. Still God often keeps us waiting. Face to face with threatening foes, in the midst of alarms, encircled by perils, beneath the impending rock. May we not go? Is it not time to strike our tents? Have we not suffered to the point of utter collapse? May we not exchange the glare and heat for green pastures and still waters?
There is no answer. The cloud tarries, and we must remain, though sure of manna, rock-water, shelter, and defense. God never keeps us at post without assuring us of His presence, and sending us daily supplies.
Wait, young man, do not be in a hurry to make a change! Minister, remain at your post! Until the cloud clearly moves, you must tarry. Wait, then, thy Lord's good pleasure! He will be in plenty of time!
--Daily Devotional Commentary
An hour of waiting!
Yet there seems such need
To reach that spot sublime!
I long to reach them--but I long far more
To trust HIS time!
"Sit still, my daughter"--
Yet the heathen die,
They perish while I stay!
I long to reach them--but I long far more
To trust HIS way!
'Tis good to get,
'Tis good indeed to give!
Yet is it better still--
O'er breadth, thro' length, down length, up height,
To trust HIS will!
--F. M. N.
Streams in the Desert - November 1, by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman ~Brittany
To run with patience is a very difficult thing. Running is apt to suggest the absence of patience, the eagerness to reach the goal. We commonly associate patience with lying down. We think of it as the angel that guards the couch of the invalid. Yet, I do not think the invalid's patience the hardest to achieve.
There is a patience which I believe to be harder--the patience that can run. To lie down in the time of grief, to be quiet under the stroke of adverse fortune, implies a great strength; but I know of something that implies a strength greater still: It is the power to work under a stroke; to have a great weight at your heart and still to run; to have a deep anguish in your spirit and still perform the daily task. It is a Christlike thing!
Many of us would nurse our grief without crying if we were allowed to nurse it. The hard thing is that most of us are called to exercise our patience, not in bed, but in the street. We are called to bury our sorrows, not in lethargic quiescence, but in active service--in the exchange, in the workshop, in the hour of social intercourse, in the contribution to another's joy. There is no burial of sorrow so difficult as that; it is the "running with patience."
This was Thy patience, O Son of man! It was at once a waiting and a running--a waiting for the goal, and a doing of the lesser work meantime. I see Thee at Cana turning the water into wine lest the marriage feast should be clouded. I see Thee in the desert feeding a multitude with bread just to relieve a temporary want. All, all the time, Thou wert bearing a mighty grief, unshared, unspoken. Men ask for a rainbow in the cloud; but I would ask more from Thee. I would be, in my cloud, myself a rainbow -- a minister to others' joy. My patience will be perfect when it can work in the vineyard. --George Matheson
When all our hopes are gone, 'Tis well our hands must keep toiling on For others' sake: For strength to bear is found in duty done; And he is best indeed who learns to make The joy of others cure his own heartache.
Streams in the Desert - October 30, by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman ~Brittany
When it rises up, the mighty are terrified, at its thrashing about they withdraw. (Job 41:25)
God uses most for His glory those people and things which are most
perfectly broken. The sacrifices He accepts are broken and contrite
hearts. It was the breaking down of Jacob’s natural strength at Peniel
that got him where God could clothe him with spiritual power. It was
breaking the surface of the rock at Horeb, by the stroke of Moses’ rod
that let out the cool waters to thirsty people.
It was when the 300 elect soldiers under Gideon broke their pitchers, a
type of breaking themselves, that the hidden lights shone forth to the
consternation of their adversaries. It was when the poor widow broke the
seal of the little pot of oil, and poured it forth, that God multiplied
it to pay her debts and supply means of support.
It was when Esther risked her life and broke through the rigid
etiquette of a heathen court, that she obtained favor to rescue her
people from death. It was when Jesus took the five loaves and broke
them, that the bread was multiplied in the very act of breaking,
sufficient to feed five thousand. It was when Mary broke her beautiful
alabaster box, rendering it henceforth useless, that the pent-up perfume
filled the house. It was when Jesus allowed His precious body to be
broken to pieces by thorns and nails and spear, that His inner life was
poured out, like a crystal ocean, for thirsty sinners to drink and live.
It is when a beautiful grain of corn is broken up in the earth by
DEATH, that its inner heart sprouts forth and bears hundreds of other
grains. And thus, on and on, through all history, and all biography, and
all vegetation, and all spiritual life, God must have BROKEN THINGS.
Those who are broken in wealth, and broken in self-will, and broken in
their ambitions, and broken in their beautiful ideals, and broken in
worldly reputation, and broken in their affections, and broken ofttimes
in health; those who are despised and seem utterly forlorn and helpless,
the Holy Ghost is seizing upon, and using for God’s glory. “The lame
take the prey,” Isaiah tells us.
O break my heart; but break it as a field
Is by the plough up-broken for the corn;
O break it as the buds, by green leaf seated,
Are, to unloose the golden blossom, torn;
Love would I offer unto Love’s great Master,
Set free the odor, break the alabaster.
O break my heart; break it victorious God,
That life’s eternal well may flash abroad;
O let it break as when the captive trees,
Breaking cold bonds, regain their liberties;
And as thought’s sacred grove to life is springing,
Be joys, like birds, their hope, Thy victory singing.
—Thomas Toke Bunch
Do not begin to be anxious (Phil. 4:6, PBV).
Not a few Christians live in
a state of unbroken anxiety, and others fret and fume terribly. To be
perfectly at peace amid the hurly-burly of daily life is a secret worth
knowing. What is the use of worrying? It never made anybody strong;
never helped anybody to do God's will; never made a way of escape for
anyone out of perplexity. Worry spoils lives which would otherwise be
useful and beautiful. Restlessness, anxiety, and care are absolutely
forbidden by our Lord, who said: "Take no thought," that is, no anxious
thought, "saying what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or
wherewithal shall we be clothed?" He does not mean that we are not to
take forethought and that our life is to be without plan or method; but
that we are not to worry about these things.
People know you live in the realm of anxious care by the lines on your
face, the tones of your voice, the minor key in your life, and the lack
of joy in your spirit. Scale the heights of a life abandoned to God,
then you will look down on the clouds beneath your feet. --Rev. Darlow Sargeant
It is always weakness to be fretting and worrying, questioning and
mistrusting. Can we gain anything by it? Do we not unfit ourselves for
action, and unhinge our minds for wise decision? We are sinking by our
struggles when we might float by faith.
Oh, for grace to be quiet! Oh, to be still and know that Jehovah is
God! The Holy One of Israel must defend and deliver His own. We may be
sure that every word of His will stand, though the mountains should
depart. He deserves to be confided in. Come, my soul, return unto thy
rest, and lean thy head upon the bosom of the Lord Jesus. --Selected Peace thy inmost soul shall fill
Lying still!
-Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, Streams in the Desert, October 8th ~Brittany
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his inner being shall flow rivers of living water (John 7:38).
Some of us are shivering and wondering why the Holy Spirit does not
fill us. We have plenty coming in, but we do not give it out. Give out
the blessing that you have, start larger plans for service and blessing,
and you will soon find that the Holy Ghost is before you, and He will
present you with blessings for service, and give you all that He can
trust you to give away to others.
There is a beautiful fact in nature which has its spiritual parallels.
There is no music so heavenly as an Aeolian harp, and the Aeolian harp
is nothing but a set of musical chords arranged in harmony, and then
left to be touched by the unseen fingers of the wandering winds. And as
the breath of heaven floats over the chords, it is said that notes
almost Divine float out upon the air, as if a choir of angels were
wandering around and touching the strings.
And so it is possible to keep our hearts so open to the touch of the
Holy Spirit that He can play upon them at will, as we quietly wait in
the pathway of His service. --Days of Heaven upon Earth
When the apostles received the baptism with the Holy Ghost they did not
rent the upper room and stay there to hold holiness meetings, but went
everywhere preaching the gospel. --Will Huff "If I have eaten my morsel alone,"
The patriarch spoke with scorn;
What would he think of the Church were he shown
Heathendom-huge, forlorn,
Godless, Christless, with soul unfed,
While the Church's ailment is fullness of bread,
Eating her morsel alone?
"Freely ye have received, so give,"
He bade, who hath given us all.
How shall the soul in us longer live
Deaf to their starving call,
For whom the blood of the Lord was shed,
And His body broken to give them. bread,
If we eat our morsel alone!"
--Archbishop Alexander
"Where is Abel thy brother?" (Gen. 4:9).
- Streams in the Desert, for September 23rd, by Mrs. Charles Cowman ~Brittany
Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him. (Job 13:15)
For I know whom I have believed. (2 Timothy 1:12)
I will not doubt, though all my ships at sea
Come drifting home with broken masts and sails;
I will believe the Hand which never fails,
From seeming evil worketh good for me.
And though I weep because those sails are tattered,
Still will I cry, while my best hopes lie shattered:
"I trust in Thee."
I will not doubt, though all my prayers return
Unanswered from the still, white realm above;
I will believe it is an all-wise love
Which has refused these things for which I yearn;
And though at times I cannot keep from grieving,
Yet the pure ardor of my fixed believing
Undimmed shall burn.
I will not doubt, though sorrows fall like rain,
And troubles swarm like bees about a hive.
I will believe the heights for which I strive
Are only reached by anguish and by pain;
And though I groan and writhe beneath my crosses,
I yet shall see through my severest losses
The greater gain.
I will not doubt. Well anchored in this faith,
Like some staunch ship, my soul braves every gale;
So strong its courage that it will not quail
To breast the mighty unknown sea of death.
Oh, may I cry, though body parts with spirit,
"I do not doubt," so listening worlds may hear it,
With my last breath.
"'In fierce storms,' said an old seaman, 'we must do one thing; there is only one way: we must put the ship in a certain position and keep her there.'
This, Christian, is what you must do. Sometimes, like Paul, you can see neither sun nor stars, and no small tempest lies on you; and then you can do but one thing; there is only one way.
Reason cannot help you; past experiences give you no light. Even prayer fetches no consolation. Only a single course is left. You must put your soul in one position and keep it there.
You must stay upon the Lord; and come what may--winds, waves, cross-seas, thunder, lightening, frowning rocks, roaring breakers--no matter what, you must lash youself to the helm, and hold fast your confidence in God's faithfulness, His covenant engagement, His everlasting love in Christ Jesus. - Richard Fuller
Taken from Streams in the Desert and Springs in the Valley Morning Devotional by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
This devotional was such a blessing to me when I read it the other day! We must fix our hearts steadfastly upon the Lord, trusting in Him, committing our ways to Him. He is so worthy of our trust, if we will only throw ourselves upon Him in complete confidence. He is so faithful! Although this post is a little long, I can't help but to share this song because it has been a blessing to me the last few days and very much goes along with the devotional. It is based on one of my favorite Scripture passages in Isaiah, talking about having confidence in God, in all that He is, and waiting upon Him. I hope you will be blessed by it as well!
