We often think we could do better—if we were directing the affairs of our own lives. We think we could get more happiness and greater good out of life—if things were in our hands. We would at once eliminate all that is painful and unpleasant in our lot. We would have only prosperities, with no adversities; only joys, with no sorrows. We would exclude all pain and trouble from our life. Our days would all be sunny, with blue skies—and no clouds or storms. Our paths would all be soft and easy, and strewn with flowers—without thorns or any rough places. Would we not be happier—if we could direct our own affairs, and leave out the painful, the bitter, the adverse, and the sorrowful?

So most of us would probably say at first, before we have thought of the question deeply and looked on to the end. But really the greatest misfortune that could come to us in this world—would be to have the direction of the affairs, and the shaping of the experiences of our lives, put into our own hands!

We have no wisdom to know what is best for ourselves. Today is not all of life—there is a long future, perhaps many years in this world, and then immortality hereafter. What would give us greatest pleasure today—might work us harm in days to come. Present gratification might cost us untold loss and hurt in the future.

We want pleasure, plenty, and prosperity—but perhaps we need pain, self-denial, and the giving up of things that we greatly prize.

We shrink from suffering, from sacrifice, from struggle—but perhaps these are the very experiences which will do the most good for us, which will best mature our Christian graces, which will fit us for the largest service to God and man.

We should always remember that the object of living here, is not merely to have present comfort, to get along with the least trouble, to gather the most we can of the world’s treasures, to win the brightest fame. We are here to grow into the beauty of Christ, and to do the portion of God’s will that belongs to us!

There is something wonderfully inspiring in the thought, that God has a plan and a purpose for our lives, for each life. We do not come drifting into this world—and do not drift through it like waves on the ocean. We are sent from God, each one of us with a divine plan for his life—something God wants us to do, some place He wants us to fill. All through our lives we are in the hands of God, who chooses our place and orders our circumstances, and makes all things work together for our good—and His glory. 

It is the highest honor that could be conferred upon us, to occupy such a place in the thought of God. We cannot doubt that His way for us is better than ours, since He is infinitely wiser than we are, and loves us so. It may be painful and hard—but in the pain and the hardness, there is blessing.

Of course we may not know all the reasons there are in the divine mind, for the pains and sufferings that come into our lives, or what God’s design for us in these trials is. Yet without discovering any reasons at all, however, we may still trust God, who loves us with an infinite love—and whose wisdom also is infinite!

When we get to heaven, we shall know that God has made no mistake in anything He has done for us, however He may have broken into our plans—and spoiled our pleasant dreams!

It should be reason for measureless gratitude, that our lives are not in our own poor feeble hands—but in the hands of our infinitely wise and loving Father!–J. R. Miller, 1903

“My times are in thy hand–” Psalm 31:15

—- the God of all comfort.–2 Cor. 1:3

• When I am sick, the Great Physican is at my bedside.
• When I am impoverished, the One who owns the cattle on a thousand hills is my Provider.
• When I am lonely, He is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother.
• When I am hated and despised, He loves me with an everlasting love.
• When I have sinned, He is the Blessed Redeemer who forgives and cleanses from all unrighteousness.
• When I come to the valley of the shadow of death, the Great Shepherd of the sheep leads me safely through.

Death cannot separate us from the love of God
which is in Christ Jesus—and all the blessings
which that love bestows. Death separate us? No!
Death unites us the more closely to those blessings,
by bringing us into their more full and permanent
possession.

Death imparts a realization and a permanence to all
the glorious and holy longings of the Christian. The
happiest moment of his life is his last! Then it is
that he feels how precious the privilege, and how
great the eminence—of being a believer in Jesus.

And the day which darkens his eye to all earthly scenes
—opens it upon the untold, and unimaginable, and
ever increasing glories of eternity! It is the birth
day of his immortality!

Jesus, the Conqueror of death, will approach and
place His almighty arms beneath you, and lay your
head upon His loving bosom. Thus encircled and
pillowed, you “shall not see death,” but passing
through its gloomy portal, shall only realize that
you had actually died, from the consciousness of
the joy and glory into which death had ushered
you!–Octavius Winslow

When thou passeth through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee–— Isaiah 43:2

Raging storms and rising water can be a frightful sight. Yet we serve the One who is able to calm the storm or the saint. In times of great difficulty God might not calm the circumstances around you, but He will calm you! John Jowett said, when she was dying,Mrs Booth, the mother of the Salvation Army, said quietly, “The waters are rising but I am not sinking.” But then she had been saying that all through her life. Other floods besides the waters of death had gathered about her soul. Often had the floods been out and the roads were deep in affliction. But she had never sunk! The good Lord made her buoyant, and she rode upon the storm! This, then, is the promise of the Lord, not that the waters of trouble shall never gather about the believer, but that he shall never be overwhelmed. He shall “keep his head above them.” Yes, to him shall be given the grace of “aboveness.” He shall never be under, always above! It is the precious gift of spiritual buoyancy, sanctified good spirits, the power of the Christian hope. When we are in Christ Jesus circumstances shall never be our master. One is our Master, and “we are more than conquerors in Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood.”

Dear friend it is important to note that Mrs. Booth was able to entertain that calm attitude in her time of difficulty because “she had been saying that all through her life”. She was prepared for the crisis before it came. Are you? To be calm in the crisis you must prepare for the storm by claiming God’s exceeding great and precious promises. They won’t let you down!

Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee—Psalm 55:22

Commenting on this verse, J. R. Miller wrote:
The promise is not that the Lord will remove the load we cast upon Him, nor that He will carry it for us–but that He will sustain us so that we may carry it.
He does not free us from the duty–but He strengthens us for it.
He does not deliver us from the conflict–but He enables us to overcome.
He does not withhold or withdraw the trial from us–but He helps us in trial to be submissive and victorious, and makes it a blessing to us.
He does not mitigate the hardness or severity of our circumstances, taking away the difficult elements, removing the thorns, making life easy for us–but He puts Divine grace into our hearts, so that we can live sweetly in all the hard, adverse circumstances.

Let us never forget that God’s grace strengthens (Phil. 4:13) sufficiently (2 Cor. 12:9) and supplies every need(Phil. 4:19). That is reason to rejoice!