—what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.—Numbers 10:32

If you would learn you must study. And you cannot live a life of obedience to God without being a student of His Word. Only as we study God’s Word do we come to understand our opportunities and obligations. We are blessed to bless. From the story behind our text we learn three valuable lessons, pointed out here by the late F. B. Meyer:

We get by giving. – If the river-bed were to hoard up its waters, they would become stagnant and noisome. It is only in parting with them that it receives constant supplies from the crystal fountain-head. So, if we keep God’s good things to ourselves, we make it impossible to receive more. You cannot put more water into a full glass. But as we part with them we get more and better. Distribute five loaves, and you have twelve baskets of fragments.

We learn by teaching. – To stay in a class till you shall feel fully educated, is to miss one prime means of education. There is no way of discovering what we do not know, and getting grounded in what we do, like that of imparting what we have learned to others. Would you learn, teach. Would you grow in grace, tell of the grace which has saved you.

We keep what we give away. – Hoard your money, and you lose it. Give it away, and it is caught in bags that wax not old, and stored beyond the reach of moth or thief. “There is that scattereth, and increaseth yet more; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth only to want” (Pro 11:24). This is folly to the worldling, but sober fact to the child of the King. 

“Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed”   (Isaiah 54.4).

We shall not be ashamed of our faith. Carping critics may assail the Scriptures upon which we ground our belief, but every year the LORD will make it more and more clear that in His Book there is no error, no excess, and no omission. It is no discredit to be a simple believer; the faith which looks alone to Jesus is a crown of honor on any man’s head and better than a star on his breast.

We shall not be ashamed of our hope. It shall be even as the LORD has said. We shall be fed, led, blest, and rested. Our LORD will come, and then the days of our mourning shall be ended. How we shall glory in the LORD who first gave us lively hope and then gave us that which we hoped for!

We shall not be ashamed of our love. Jesus is to us the altogether lovely, and never, never, shall we have to blush because we have yielded our hearts to Him. The sight of our glorious Well-beloved will justify the most enthusiastic attachment to Him. None will blame the martyrs for dying for Him. When the enemies of Christ are clothed with everlasting contempt, the lovers of Jesus shall find themselves honored by all holy beings, because they chose the reproach of Christ rather than the treasures of Egypt. — Faith’s Checkbook, C H Spurgeon

Regardless of how rough the way or how great the suffering, the song writer was right when he wrote,”It Will Be Worth It All”.

“—-what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away!” (James 4:14)

Whether it be a funeral, a picture, a loved one’s favorite chair, a place, etc. we are repeatedly reminded of the brevity of life. Concerning this subject, James Meikle (1730-1799) gave us this food for thought:

What is all this struggle in the world for? Why so many attempts to be something, and have something—in the sphere of nothing? This struggle for passing vanities, is as if the foam and bubbles should contend for station on the rapid stream—but in a moment they are are gone!

We forget that we are but of yesterday—and tomorrow we are no more. It is a shame to think so much about these few fleeting days—and so little of endless ages.

—- look to the generations past. How few of our deceased acquaintances are remembered! And how soon, like them, shall we also be forgotten! Perhaps the names of a few, signalized by an uncommon fame, may yet tingle in our ears; but what is this to those who are fixed in their final state? Could it mitigate their misery, who have begun their everlasting howlings, that the whole world were ringing with their praises? Or, could it add to the joy of who have begun their endless hallelujahs, that every tongue were employed in praise to their memory—then well might we be pardoned in our pursuit of fame.

How frail is our life! a pile of grass, a withered leaf, dry stubble, a flower, a breath, brittle clay, fading flesh! How swift is our life! a weaver’s shuttle, an eagle, a ship, a wind that passes away, and comes not again. How short is our life! a moment, a breathing. While I bewail a departed friend, death, suddenly seizing me, translates the lamentation to another tongue that is most nearly concerned in me, who also in a little time must follow me into the silent grave, and leave the protracted elegy to be continued by their nearest relations. Thus mourning is continued, though the mourners themselves are hurried away to death in a short time!

Surely I need not be so anxious about a life so short, a state so uncertain, and a world so vain—where I am only a stranger, a pilgrim, a sojourner, and shortly leaving everything below. Let the world, then, go with me as it will, this shall not trouble me, who am daily going through the world, and shall in a little while—go entirely out of the world, to return no more. How, then, shall I spend this short life, my few winged moments, which are all appointed to me? Surely, in nothing better, than in looking out, and laying up for eternity.

—all things work together for to them that love God-—  Romans 8:28

Unless you’re walking blindfolded through this world, you can’t help but notice that things are always changing, and usually not for the better. We live in a state of flux. Add to this the fact that these changes often come fast and unexpected, and you have the ideal setting for panic, even paranoia.

The frustrating thing about this is that, in most cases, these are things we didn’t choose, we can’t change, and can’t control. That doesn’t set too well with most of us. We like to dictate how we think things should be and direct how things go. When we can’t—– well you know what happens. Millions are miserable simply because things aren’t going as they planned. And it seems impossible to change their mind. They are stuck in a rut that will eventually become their grave if they don’t get out.

My dear friends, life is what it is. We can’t stop the changes. All we can do is to decide how we will respond. I love the poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox– “Tis the Set of the Sail”. The third stanza says:
“One ship sails East,
And another West,
By the self-same winds that blow.
‘Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales,
That tells the way we go.”

So how is it with you? You can’t change the direction of the wind, but you can adjust your sails to catch the gales that propel you to your destination. As someone said,”Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out”. Do your best and then leave the rest to Him who is the Master of the sea. Nothing is beyond His control. There is no need to panic.

In 1843 Harvey Newcomb wrote, “The Young Ladies Guide to the Harmonious Development of Christian Character”. Sadly, the title alone exceeds the attention span of most modern teens. They, and we all, would do well to listen to what he said next. He began with these words,”The secret of true happiness lies in cordial acquiescence in the will of God. It is sweet to lie passive in His hand–and know no will but His!” That is a lesson all need and few ever learn. Later he writes:

Whatever may be our afflictions, so long as we are out of hell, we are monuments of His mercy. “Why does a living man complain—a man for the punishment of his sins?”

We are assured “that all things work together for good, to those who love God.” The afflictions of this life, are the faithful corrections of a kind and tender Father. “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and He scourges every son whom He receives.” How consoling the reflection—that all our sufferings are designed to mortify and subdue our corruptions, to wean us from the world, and lead us to a more humble and constant sense of dependence upon God! How ungrateful for a child of God to repine at the dealings of such a tender and faithful Father!

God will give us all that He sees is best for us. And surely we ought to be satisfied with this; for He who sees the end from the beginning, must know much better than we—what is for our good. It is our duty to maintain a contented and cheerful spirit in every situation of life. If God directs all our ways, and has promised to give us just what He sees we need, we surely ought to rest satisfied with what we have; for we know it is just what the Lord, in His infinite wisdom and unbounded goodness—sees fit to give us.