streams in the desert by l. b. cowman, excerpt

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About Streams in the Desert

An Updated Edition in Today’s Language

For years, the beloved classic devotional Streams in the Deserthas sustained and replenished God’s weary desert travelers.Now,bursting forth like a sparkling clear river of wisdom, encour-agement, and inspiration, this updated edition of Streams in theDesert promises to revive and refresh today’s generation of faith-ful sojourners,providing daily Scripture passages from the pop-ular, readable New International Version—and modern, easy-to-understand language that beautifully captures the timelessessence of the original devotional.

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Praise for Streams in the Desert, Updated Edition

“Jim Reimann’s updating of Streams in the Desert is a much-needed book for our time, and a worthy companion to hisupdated My Utmost for His Highest. This new volume is trulyfresh water from a time-tested fountainhead of faith.”

—Gary Smalley

“The author has sifted through ideas and concepts and comeout with a shining work that uplifts and encourages the read-er. . . .A Handbook of strength and comfort.”

—Barbara Johnson, Spatula Ministries

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STREAMSIN THE

DESERT3 6 6 D A I L Y

D E V O T I O N A L R E A D I N G S

L . B . C O W M A NE D I T E D B Y J A M E S R E I M A N N

EDITOR OF MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST,

UPDATED EDITION

A N U P D A T E D E D I T I O N I N T O D A Y ’ S L A N G U A G E

®

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Streams in the Desert®

Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader™ FormatCopyright © 1997 by Zondervan

This updated edition is based on the original text of Streams in the DesertCopyright 1925, 1953, and 1965 by Cowman Publications, Inc., and Copyright © 1996 by Zondervan

Requests for information should be addressed to:Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

ISBN: 0-310-24470-6

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from theHoly Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973,1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission ofZondervan. All rights reserved. Note: when italics or small capitals areused for emphasis in Scripture quotations, that use is the author’s, notthe original translators’.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical,photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printedreviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.

Interior design by Sue Vandenberg Koppenol


Table of Contents

Praise for Streams in the Desert, Updated Edition 3

Introduction to the Updated Edition 9

A Personal Word from L. B. Cowman 11

January 12

February 55

March 94

April 135

May 176

June 215

July 255

August 293

September 333

October 371

November 411

December 446

Contributors Index 489

Scripture Index 495

Subject Index 504

About the Authors 510

About the Publisher 513


Dedication to the Updated Edition

To Aaron,my second-born son.You have endured a greatdeal this past year: a sudden brain aneurysm and massivehemorrhage, surgery, and an on-going recovery period.Yetthrough it all, you have been a joy to all of us who love youand evidence of God’s loving protection.You have not com-plained but have been a living example of the Spirit of Godhaving His perfect way in the heart of a child of His. Maythe Lord continue to use your life as a testimony for oth-ers of Christ’s enduring power and grace.

Sometimes the Lord’s way is hard,Leading through many stresses and storms;But Satan’s harsh touch is barred,And God’s character He surely forms.

Though you nearly tasted death,You’ve learned how God sovereignly spares;He renewed your life and breath,Displaying how graciously He cares.

Yet today still unrevealed,He has made for you a perfect plan;Just follow the path He’s willed,And you’ll soon become a godly man.

James Reimann

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’declares the Lord,‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to giveyou hope and a future’” (Jer. 29:11).

“I always pray with joy. . .being confident of this, that hewho began a good work in you will carry it on to com-pletion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:4, 6).

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“Through waves, and clouds, and stormsHe gently clears the way.”

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Introduction to the Updated Edition

October 24, 1995, is a date I will never forget. I was called out ofa business meeting with the terrifying news that my second-born son,Aaron, had just had a massive brain hemorrhage while away at school.After having won a scholarship to college and spending only six weeksthere, he had been found in a park near the school, calling out forhelp.After a number of people ignored him, a “good Samaritan”final-ly stopped to help. She called 911—saving him from certain death.Aaron had emergency surgery to remove a blood clot that had grownto the size of a tennis ball.

Since then Aaron has undergone months of therapy and has grace-fully endured numerous changes in his life. It is continuing to takemuch time and hard work, but he is determined to regain what hehas lost.And when I look back on the past year, I am also remindedof a number of other changes and trials our family has endured.Yet asa result, each of us has seen the sovereign hand of God at work.

Two days after my son’s surgery, Zondervan tried to contact meto see if I would be interested in writing an updated edition of Streamsin the Desert.They had no way of knowing that I was still sitting withmy son in intensive care, and from the outset I have seen this timingas sovereign—not coincidental.As I have worked on this book God hasministered to me in a mighty way—meeting me at the point of myown personal need.

Streams in the Desert’s enduring power is the result of the selectionsbeing firmly based on the truth of Scripture.As the editor of the updat-ed edition,I have endeavored to maintain the beauty of the original with-out altering its meaning, giving it the same care I gave the updated edi-tion of My Utmost for His Highest, which I edited several years ago.

For those of you familiar with both Streams in the Desert and My Utmostfor His Highest, you may be interested in knowing something of the tiebetween these two best-selling daily devotional books of all time.Not onlywere they originally published during the same time period (Streams in1925,and My Utmost in 1927),but L.B.Cowman,who compiled Streamsin the Desert, and Oswald Chambers had ministered together.They metwhen Cowman and her husband were missionaries to Japan and Cham-bers traveled there to preach.Also,both were greatly influenced by CharlesSpurgeon, the great English preacher of the late 1800s. Chambers came

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to a saving knowledge of Christ through the preaching of Spurgeon, andCowman selected more of Spurgeon’s writings for Streams in the Desertthan those of any other person.

I trust you will enjoy reading Streams in the Desert.As mentionedbefore, God has ministered to me in a mighty way as I have workedon this book, and I would like to share one very special example.

One morning as I was reading the Scriptures and praying, all of theevents of the past several months seemed to be crushing in on me. Myfamily and I were dealing with a number of changes in our lives includ-ing the sale of a business we had owned for twenty years, my oldestson leaving home to join the Navy, and Aaron leaving for college.Allthis was then followed by Aaron’s brain hemorrhage and surgery.Thenext month, my mother had to have emergency surgery, was hospital-ized for thirty days, and my wife and daughter were in a car wreck andsuffered whiplash. As I reflected on all of this, I found myself com-plaining to the Lord about my circumstances and all of the things thatseemed to be afflicting my family and me.

After I finished my prayer time, asking God to remove all my afflic-tions, I resumed my work on Streams in the Desert. To my amazement,especially since I was not in the best frame of mind, the next devotionI worked on was the one for February 19. You may want to turn tothat one now to see how providentially it applied to my situation.Themessage of this devotion was exactly what I needed to hear, and was agreat encouragement to me that God certainly is not finished with meyet.And I could honestly say after working on that devotion that myheart was reopened to the words of Paul, who said,“I have learned tobe content whatever the circumstances” (Phil. 4:11).

My prayer is that God would also minister to you through Streamsin the Desert in a similar way. I know firsthand the power of Christ thatlies within these pages, and the hope, encouragement, comfort, andstrength that comes from His Word being applied to our hearts. I trustthese insights into God’s Word will be like “Streams in the Desert” toyou during the difficult times of your life, for He has said,“Water willgush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert” (Isa. 35:6).

James ReimannEditor

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A Personal Word from L. B. Cowman

In the pathway of faith we come to learn that the Lord’sthoughts are not our thoughts, nor His ways our ways. Bothin the physical and spiritual realm, great pressure means greatpower! Although circumstances may bring us into the placeof death, that need not spell disaster—for if we trust in theLord and wait patiently, that simply provides the occasion forthe display of His almighty power.“Remember his marvelousworks that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments ofhis mouth” (Ps. 105:5 KJV).

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January

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5






Day 31


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January 1The land you are . . . to take possession of is a land of mountains and val-leys that drinks rain from heaven. It is a land the Lord your God caresfor; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the begin-ning of the year to its end. (Deuteronomy 11:11–12)

Today we stand at the threshold of the unknown.Before us liesa new year, and we are going forward to take possession of it.Who knows what we will find? What new experiences orchanges will come our way?What new needs will arise? In spiteof the uncertainty before us, we have a cheerful and comfort-ing message from our heavenly Father:“The Lord your Godcares for [it]; the eyes of the Lord . . . are continually on it fromthe beginning of the year to its end.”

The Lord is to be our Source of supply. In Him are springs,fountains, and streams that will never be cut off or run dry.Tothose who are anxious comes the gracious promise of our heav-enly Father: If He is the Source of our mercies,mercy will neverfail us. No heat or drought can dry the “river whose streamsmake glad the city of God” (Ps. 46:4).

Yet the land we are to possess is a land of valleys and hills. Itis not all flat or downhill. If life were always smooth and level,the boring sameness would weigh us down.We need the valleysand the hills.The hills collect the rain for hundreds of fruitfulvalleys.And so it is with us! It is the difficulty encountered onthe hills that drives us to the throne of grace and brings the show-ers of blessing.Yes, it is the hills, the cold and seemingly barrenhills of life that we question and complain about,that bring downthe showers. How many people have perished in the wildernessvalley, buried under its golden sand, who would have thrived inthe hills? And how many would have been killed by the cold,destroyed or swept desolate of their fruitfulness by the wind,if notfor the hills—stern, hard, rugged, and so steep to climb? God’shills are a gracious protection for His people against their foes!

We cannot see what loss, sorrow, and trials are accomplish-ing.We need only to trust.The Father comes near to take our

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hand and lead us on our way today. It will be a good and blessedNew Year!

He leads us on by paths we did not know;Upward He leads us, though our steps be slow,Though oft we faint and falter on the way,Though storms and darkness oft obscure the day;

Yet when the clouds are gone,We know He leads us on.

He leads us on through all the unquiet years;Past all our dreamland hopes, and doubts and fears,He guides our steps, through all the tangled mazeOf losses, sorrows, and o’er clouded days;

We know His will is done;And still He leads us on.

Nicholaus Ludwig Zinzendorf

January 2The side rooms all around the temple were wider at each successive level.The structure surrounding the temple was built in ascending stages, sothat the rooms widened as one went upward.A stairway went up fromthe lowest floor to the top floor through the middle floor. (Ezekiel 41:7)

Still upward be your onward course:For this I pray today;

Still upward as the years go by,And seasons pass away.

Still upward in this coming year,Your path is all untried;

Still upward may you journey on,Close by your Savior’s side.

Still upward although sorrow come,And trials crush your heart;

Still upward may they draw your soul,With Christ to walk apart.

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Still upward till the day shall break,And shadows all have flown;

Still upward till in Heaven you wake,And stand before the throne.

We should never be content to rest in the mists of the val-ley when the summit of Mount Tabor awaits us. How pure isthe dew of the hills, how fresh is the mountain air, how richthe food and drink of those who dwell above, whose windowslook into the New Jerusalem! Many saints are content to livelike people in coal mines, who never see the sun.Tears saddentheir faces when they could be anointed with heavenly oil. I amconvinced that many believers suffer in a dungeon when theycould walk on a palace roof, viewing the lush landscape andLebanon.Wake up,believers, from your lowly condition! Throwaway your laziness, sluggishness, coldness, or whatever is inter-fering with your pure love for Christ. Make Him the Source,the Center,and the One who encompasses every delight of yoursoul.Refuse to be satisfied any longer with your meager accom-plishments.Aspire to a higher,a nobler, and a fuller life.Upwardto heaven! Nearer to God! Charles H. Spurgeon

I want to scale the utmost height,And catch a gleam of glory bright;But still I’ll pray, till heaven I’ve found,Lord, lead me on to higher ground!

Not many of us are living at our best.We linger in the low-lands because we are afraid to climb the mountains.The steep-ness and ruggedness discourage us, so we stay in the mist of thevalleys and never learn the mystery of the hills.We do not knowwhat is lost by our self-indulgence,what glory awaits if we onlyhave the courage to climb, or what blessings we will find if wewill only ascend the mountains of God! J. R. M.

Too low they build who build beneath the stars.

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January 3I [will] move along slowly at the pace of the droves before me and thatof the children. (Genesis 33:14)

What a beautiful picture of Jacob’s thoughtfulness for the cattleand the children! He would not allow them to be driven too hardfor even one day.He would not lead them at a pace equal to whata strong man like Esau could keep or expected them to keep, butonly one as fast as they were able to endure.He knew exactly howfar they could go in a day, and he made that his only considera-tion in planning their travel.He had taken the same wilderness jour-ney years before and knew from personal experience its roughness,heat, and distance.And so he said,“I [will] move along slowly.”“Since you have never been this way before” (Josh. 3:4).

We “have never been this way before,”but the Lord Jesus has.It is all untraveled and unknown ground to us, but He knowsit all through personal experience. He knows the steep placesthat take our breath away, the rocky paths that make our feetache, the hot and shadeless stretches that bring us to exhaustion,and the rushing rivers that we have to cross—Jesus has gonethrough it all before us.As John 4:6 shows,“Jesus, tired as he wasfrom the journey, sat down.” He was battered by every possi-ble torrent, but all the floodwaters coming against Him neverquenched His love. Jesus was made a perfect leader by the thingsHe suffered.“He knows how we are formed, he remembers thatwe are dust” (Ps. 103:14).Think of that when you are temptedto question the gentleness of His leading. He remembers all thetime and will never make you take even one step beyond whatyour feet are able to endure. Never mind if you think you areunable to take another step, for either He will strengthen youto make you able, or He will call a sudden halt, and you willnot have to take it at all. Frances Ridley Havergal

In “pastures green”? Not always; sometimes HeWho knowest best, in kindness leadeth me

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In weary ways, where heavy shadows be.

So, whether on the hilltops high and fairI dwell, or in the sunless valleys, whereThe shadows lie, what matter? He is there.

Barry

January 4Jesus replied,“You may go.Your son will live.”The man took Jesus athis word and departed. (John 4:50)

Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe. (Mark 11:24)

When you are confronted with a matter that requires imme-diate prayer, pray until you believe God—until with whole-hearted sincerity you can thank Him for the answer. If you donot see the external answer immediately, do not pray for it insuch a way that it is evident you are not definitely believing Godfor it.This type of prayer will be a hindrance instead of a helpto you.And when you are finished praying, you will find thatyour faith has been weakened or has entirely gone.The urgencyyou felt to offer this kind of prayer is clearly from self and Satan.It may not be wrong to mention the matter to the Lord again,if He is keeping you waiting for His answer, but be sure to doso in a way that shows your faith.

Never pray in a way that diminishes your faith.You may tell Himyou are waiting, still believing and therefore praising Him forthe answer.There is nothing that so fully solidifies faith as beingso sure of the answer that you can thank God for it. Prayersthat empty us of faith deny both God’s promises from His Wordand the “Yes” that He whispered to our hearts. Such prayersare only the expression of the unrest of our hearts, and unrestimplies unbelief that our prayers will be answered.“Now wewho have believed enter that rest” (Heb. 4:3).

The type of prayer that empties us of faith frequently arisesfrom focusing our thoughts on the difficulty rather than on

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God’s promise.Abraham,“without weakening in his faith, . . .faced the fact that his body was as good as dead. . . .Yet he didnot waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, butwas strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God” (Rom.4:19–20).May we “watch and pray so that [we] will not fall into[the] temptation” (Matt. 26:41) of praying faith-diminishingprayers. C. H. P.

Faith is not a sense, nor sight, nor reason, but simply takingGod at His word. Christmas Evans

The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the begin-ning of true faith is the end of anxiety. George Mueller

You will never learn faith in comfortable surroundings.Godgives us His promises in a quiet hour, seals our covenants withgreat and gracious words, and then steps back, waiting to seehow much we believe.He then allows the Tempter to come,andthe ensuing test seems to contradict all that He has spoken.Thisis when faith wins its crown.This is the time to look up throughthe storm, and among the trembling, frightened sailors declare,“I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me”(Acts 27:25).

Believe and trust; through stars and suns,Through life and death, through soul and sense,His wise, paternal purpose runs;The darkness of His ProvidenceIs starlit with Divine intents.

January 5Then Asa . . . said,“Lord, there is no one like you to help the power-less against the mighty.” (2 Chronicles 14:11)

Remind God of His exclusive responsibility:“There is no onelike you to help.”The odds against Asa’s men were enormous.“Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with a vast armyand three hundred chariots” (v. 9). It seemed impossible for Asa

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to hold his own against that vast multitude.There were no allieswho would come to his defense.Therefore his only hope wasin God.

It may be that your difficulties have come to such an alarm-ing level that you may be compelled to refuse all human help.In lesser trials, you may have had that recourse, but now youmust cast yourself on your almighty Friend. Put God betweenyourself and the enemy.

Asa, realizing his lack of strength, saw Jehovah as standingbetween the might of Zerah and himself.And he was not mis-taken. We are told that the Cushites “were crushed beforethe Lord and his forces” (v. 13), as though heavenly warriorsthrew themselves against the enemy on Israel’s behalf. God’sforces so overwhelmed the vast army of the enemy that theyfled.Then all Israel had to do was follow up and gather theplunder.Our God is “the Lord of hosts” (Isa. 10:16 KJV),whocan summon unexpected reinforcements at any moment tohelp His people.Believe that He is between you and your dif-ficulty, and what troubles you will flee before Him, as cloudsin the wind. F. B. Meyer

When nothing on which to lean remains,When strongholds crumble to dust;

When nothing is sure but that God still reigns,That is just the time to trust.

It’s better to walk by faith than sight,In this path of yours and mine;

And the darkest night, when there’s no outer lightIs the time for faith to shine.

“Abraham believed God” (Rom. 4:3), and said to his eyes,“Stand back!”and to the laws of nature,“Hold your peace!”andto an unbelieving heart,“Silence, you lying tempter!” He sim-ply “believed God.” Joseph Parker

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January 6When you pass through the waters . . . they will not sweep over you.(Isaiah 43:2)

God does not open paths for us before we come to them, orprovide help before help is needed.He does not remove obsta-cles out of our way before we reach them.Yet when we are atour point of need, God’s hand is outstretched.

Many people forget this truth and continually worry aboutdifficulties they envision in the future.They expect God to openand clear many miles of road before them, but He promises todo it step by step, only as their need arises.You must be in thefloodwaters before you can claim God’s promise. Many peopledread death and are distressed that they do not have “dyinggrace.”Of course, they will never have the grace for death whenthey are in good health.Why should they have it while in themidst of life’s duties, with death still far away? Living grace iswhat is needed for life’s work and calling, and then dying gracewhen it is time to die. J. R. M.

“When you pass through the waters”Deep the waves may be and cold,

But Jehovah is our refuge,And His promise is our hold;

For the Lord Himself has said it,He, the faithful God and true:

“When you come to the watersYou will not go down, BUT THROUGH.”

Seas of sorrow, seas of trial,Bitter anguish, fiercest pain,

Rolling surges of temptationSweeping over heart and brain—

They will never overflow usFor we know His word is true;

All His waves and all His billows

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He will lead us safely THROUGH.

Threatening breakers of destruction,Doubt’s insidious undertow,

Will not sink us, will not drag usOut to ocean depths of woe;

For His promise will sustain us,Praise the Lord, whose Word is true!

We will not go down, or under,For He says,“You will pass THROUGH.”

Annie Johnson Flint

January 7I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. (Philippi-ans 4:11)

Paul, while being denied every comfort, wrote the abovewords from a dark prison cell.

A story is told of a king who went to his garden one morn-ing, only to find everything withered and dying. He asked theoak tree that stood near the gate what the trouble was.The oaksaid it was tired of life and determined to die because it was nottall and beautiful like the pine tree.The pine was troubled becauseit could not bear grapes like the grapevine.The grapevine wasdetermined to throw its life away because it could not stand erectand produce fruit as large as peaches.The geranium was frettingbecause it was not tall and fragrant like the lilac.

And so it went throughout the garden.Yet coming to a vio-let, the king found its face as bright and happy as ever and said,“Well,violet, I’m glad to find one brave little flower in the midstof this discouragement.You don’t seem to be the least dis-heartened.”The violet responded, “No, I’m not. I know I’msmall, yet I thought if you wanted an oak or a pine or a peachtree or even a lilac, you would have planted one. Since I knew

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you wanted a violet, I’m determined to be the best little violetI can be.”

Others may do a greater work,But you have your part to do;

And no one in all God’s familyCan do it as well as you.

People who are God’s without reservation “have learned tobe content whatever the circumstances.”His will becomes theirwill, and they desire to do for Him whatever He desires themto do.They strip themselves of everything, and in their naked-ness find everything restored a hundredfold.

January 8I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.(Ezekiel 34:26)

What is your season today? Are you experiencing a season ofdrought? If so, then it is the season for showers.Are you goingthrough a season of great heaviness with dark clouds? Then thattoo is the season for showers.“Your strength will equal yourdays” (Deut. 33:25).“I will send . . . showers of blessing.” Noticethat the word “showers” is plural.

God will send all kinds of blessings. And all His blessings gotogether like links in a golden chain. If He gives you savinggrace, He will also give you comforting grace. God will send“showers of blessings.” Look up today, you who are dried andwithered plants.Open your leaves and flowers and receive God’sheavenly watering. Charles H. Spurgeon

Let but your heart become a valley low,And God will rain on it till it will overflow.

You, O Lord, can transform my thorn into a flower.And Ido want my thorn transformed into a flower. Job received sun-shine after the rain, but was the rain all wasted? Job wants to

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know, and I want to know, if the rain is related to the sunshine.Only You can tell me—Your cross can tell me. You havecrowned Your sorrow. Let this be my crown,O Lord. I will onlytriumph in You once I have learned the radiance of the rain.George Matheson

The fruitful life seeks rain as well as sunshine.

The landscape, brown and dry beneath the sun,Needs but the cloud to lift it into life;The dews may dampen the tree and flower,But it requires the cloud-distilled showerTo bring rich greenness to the lifeless life.

Ah, how like this, the landscape of a life:Dews of trial fall like incense, rich and sweet;But meaning little in the crystal tray—Like moths of night, dews lift at break of dayAnd fleeting impressions leave, like lips that meet.

But clouds of trials, bearing burdens rare,Leave in the soul, a moisture settled deep:Life stirs by the powerful law of God;And where before the thirsty camel trod,There richest beauties to life’s landscape leap.

Then read you in each cloud that comes to youThe words of Paul, in letters large and clear:So will those clouds your soul with blessing feed,And with a constant trust as you do read,All things together work for good. Fret not, nor fear!

January 9I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with theglory that will be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18)

I once kept a bottle-shaped cocoon of an emperor moth fornearly one year.The cocoon was very strange in its construc-tion.The neck of the “bottle” had a narrow opening through

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which the mature insect forces its way.Therefore the abandonedcocoon is as perfect as one still inhabited, with no tearing of theinterwoven fibers having taken place.The great disparity betweenthe size of the opening and the size of the imprisoned insectmakes a person wonder how the moth ever exits at all. Of course,it is never accomplished without great labor and difficulty. It isbelieved the pressure to which the moth’s body is subjected whenpassing through such a narrow opening is nature’s way of forc-ing fluids into the wings, since they are less developed at the timeof emerging from the cocoon than in other insects.

I happened to witness the first efforts of my imprisoned mothto escape from its long confinement.All morning I watched itpatiently striving and struggling to be free. It never seemed ableto get beyond a certain point,and at last my patience was exhaust-ed.The confining fibers were probably drier and less elastic thanif the cocoon had been left all winter in its native habitat,as naturemeant it to be. In any case, I thought I was wiser and more com-passionate than its Maker, so I resolved to give it a helping hand.With the point of my scissors, I snipped the confining threadsto make the exit just a little easier. Immediately and with per-fect ease, my moth crawled out, dragging a huge swollen bodyand little shriveled wings! I watched in vain to see the marvelousprocess of expansion in which these wings would silently andswiftly develop before my eyes.As I examined the delicately beau-tiful spots and markings of various colors that were all there inminiature, I longed to see them assume their ultimate size. Ilooked for my moth, one of the loveliest of its kind, to appear inall its perfect beauty.But I looked in vain.My misplaced tender-ness had proved to be its ruin.The moth suffered an aborted life,crawling painfully through its brief existence instead of flyingthrough the air on rainbow wings.

I have thought of my moth often, especially when watchingwith tearful eyes those who were struggling with sorrow, suf-fering, and distress. My tendency would be to quickly alleviatethe discipline and bring deliverance.O shortsighted person that

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I am! How do I know that one of these pains or groans shouldbe relieved? The farsighted,perfect love that seeks the perfectionof its object does not weakly shrink away from present,momen-tary suffering. Our Father’s love is too steadfast to be weak.Because He loves His children,He “disciplines us . . . that we mayshare in his holiness” (Heb. 12:10).With this glorious purposein sight, He does not relieve our crying. Made perfect throughsuffering, as our Elder Brother was, we children of God are dis-ciplined to make us obedient, and brought to glory throughmuch tribulation. from a tract

January 10Paul and his companions . . . [were] kept by the Holy Spirit frompreaching the word in the province of Asia. (Acts 16:6)

It is interesting to study the way God extended His guidance tothese early messengers of the Cross. It consisted mainly in pro-hibiting their movement when they attempted to take a courseother than the right one.When they wanted to turn to the left,toward Asia, He stopped them.When they sought to turn to theright, toward Bithynia in Asia Minor, He stopped them again. Inhis later years,Paul would do some of his greatest work in that veryregion,yet now the door was closed before him by the Holy Spir-it.The time was not yet ripe for the attack on these apparentlyimpregnable bastions of the kingdom of Satan.Apollos neededto go there first to lay the groundwork. Paul and Barnabas wereneeded more urgently elsewhere and required further trainingbefore undertaking this responsible task.

Beloved,whenever you are in doubt as to which way to turn,submit your judgment absolutely to the Spirit of God, askingHim to shut every door but the right one.Say to Him,“BlessedSpirit, I give to You the entire responsibility of closing every roadand stopping every step that is not of God. Let me hear Yourvoice behind me whenever I ‘turn aside to the right or to theleft’ [Deut. 5:32].”

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In the meantime, continue along the path you have alreadybeen traveling. Persist in your calling until you are clearly toldto do something else. O traveler, the Spirit of Jesus is waitingto be to you what He was to Paul. Just be careful to obey evenHis smallest nudging or warning.Then after you have prayedthe prayer of faith and there are no apparent hindrances, goforward with a confident heart. Do not be surprised if youranswer comes in doors closing before you. But when doors areshut to the right and left, an open road is sure to lead to Troas.Luke waits for you there,and visions will point the way to wherevast opportunities remain open,and faithful friends are waiting.from Paul, by F. B. 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 handWhich widely opened you had hoped to see?

Trust God and wait—for when He shuts the doorHe 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 lingerer He,

And of the door of all your future lifeHe 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 is best,Will give it THEE.

Anonymous

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streams in the desert by l. b. cowman, excerpt

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