Weekend Words

 

From Be Still and Know...

"For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me." (Job 23:14)

Most of us today find it necessary to keep appointment books in order to remember our daily appointments.  With the full schedule I keep, I find it very important to keep an accurate appointment book and to check on it daily.

Job recognized that God kept an appointment of everything that was to be a part of his life.  He knew that God would do all He had appointed for him.  "So he will do to me all he has planned, and there is more ahead" (Job 23:14, LB).

Perhaps you do not understand what is happening in your life at this time.  There may be no apparent reason for your trouble.  But God has not promised that we will always understand the circumstances of our lives.  We may never know why.

However, we can be assured that nothing comes into our lives without His permission.  Paul wrote, "And we know that ALL THINGS work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).

When we believe that all he has appointed for our lives is for our good and His glory, and when we trust our lives to Him, then we can be assured He will do nothing short of His best for us.  "No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly" (Psalm 84:11).

Recently I have been working on a piece of needlepoint.  As I look at the underneath side, it is a mass of knots and ends of yarn, with no distinct pattern visible.  But it is different when it is turned over and viewed from the right side.  There is a circle of flowers done in beautiful shades of yarn.  The rest of the piece is filled in with a solid color, revealing a definite pattern.

This is an example of our lives.  We see them from the wrong side, from our viewpoint, and all we see is the confusion of our circumstances.  But God sees it from His viewpoint.  He knows just where to put each stitch and shade to complete the pattern He has appointed for our lives.

"Lo, I am with you all the appointed days" (Matthew 28:20, Variorum Version)

From Our Daily Bread Classic Gems...

The Reward of Trials 

"Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need." - Psalm 142:6

Read: Psalm 142

There are certain lessons of grace that can be learned only in the valley of pain and distress.  Show me a Christian who has suffered much and deepened his dependence on God, and I will show you a sensitive soul full of compassion for others, and with a deep love for his Saviour.

According to a legend, a king once placed a heavy stone in the roadway.  Then he hid and waited to see who would remove it.  Many who came by loudly blamed the government for not keeping the highways clear; but none assumed the duty of pushing the obstacle out of the way.  At last, a poor peasant stopped and rolled it into the gutter.  To his surprise, he found a bag full of gold embedded in the road beneath the spot where the rock had been.  A note said it was the king's reward for anyone who removed the troublesome object.

So, too, our King has hidden a blessing under every trial.  The obstacles on our path are placed there for a purpose.  By them God tests our faithfulness, turns our attention heavenward, and gives us opportunity for spiritual reward.

Hidden under the "rock of trials" that has brought you low and put you in "desperate need" is a special blessing.  Roll your burden on the Lord, and in time you will find the divine favor.

- Henry Bosch

Reflect and Pray

Let us trust Him in our troubles,  He is loving, kind, and wise;

And most often trials and troubles,  Are but blessings in disguise. - Jarvis