That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.
—Zeph. 1:15
6832 Pressed Out
Pressed out of measure and pressed to all length,
Pressed so intensely it seems beyond strength;
Pressed in the body and pressed in the soul,
Pressed in the mind till the dark surges roll;
Pressure by foes, and pressure by friends,
Pressure on pressure, till life nearly ends,
Pressed into loving the staff and the rod;
Pressed into knowing no helper but God;
Pressed into liberty where nothing clings,
Pressed into faith for impossible things;
Pressed into living a life in the Lord,
Pressed into living a Christ-life outpoured!
—Walter B. Knight
6833 Defining God’s Yoke
A teacher read to her class the text, “My yoke is easy.”
“Who can tell me what a yoke is?” she asked.
A boy said, “A yoke is something they put on the necks of animals.”
Then the teacher asked, “What is the yoke God puts on us?”
A little girl said, “It is God putting His arms around our necks.”
6834 The Two Angels
A Jewish tradition relates that after the fall the two angels of God—judgment and Mercy—were sent forth together to do their office upon the sinning but redeemed race, and together they act to this day.
Where one afflicts, the other heals. Where one makes a rent, the other plants a flower. Where one craves a wrinkle, the other kindles a smile. Where one scowls a storm, the other spreads a rainbow. Where one poises a glittering sword, the other covers our naked head with succoring wing.
—Current Anecdotes
6835 Not An Extra Grain
No physician ever weighed out medicine to his patient with half so much care and exactness as God weighs out to us every trial. Not one grain too much does He ever permit to be put in the scale.
—Gospel Message
6836 Always The Path Out
A distinguished painter was conducting a class for aspiring artists. He was speaking on the subject of artistic composition. He emphasized that it was wrong, for example, to portray a woodland, a forest or a wilderness, without painting into it a path out of the trees. When a true artist draws any kind of picture, say a landscape, he always gives picture an “out”. Otherwise the tangle of trees and the trackless spaces depress and dismay the onlooker.
6837 “Cloud Land”
A German picture, called “Cloudland”, hangs at the end of a long gallery; and at first sight looks like a huge, repulsive daub of confused color, without form or comeliness. As you walk toward it, it begins to take shape, and proves to be a mass of little cherub faces. Like those in Raphael’s “Madonna San Sisto.” Close to the picture, you see only an innumerable company of little angels and cherubims.
6838 Judson And The Jews
When Adoniram Judson was dying, news came to him that some Jews in Turkey had been converted through reading the account of his sufferings in Burma. “This awes me,” said Judson to his wife. “This is good news. When I was a young man, I prayed for the Lord to send me to the Jews in Jerusalem as a missionary. But He sent me to Burma to preach and to suffer the tortures of imprisonment. Now, because of my sufferings, God had brought some Jews in Turkey to repentance!”
6839 The Unwell At Work
Charles W. Morton, an Atlantic Monthly editor, once told of the Harvard freshman who came to Dean Briggs’ office to explain his tardiness in handing in an assignment. “I’m sorry, sir, but I was not feeling very well,” he offered.
“Young man,” Briggs said, “please bear in mind that by far the greater part of the world’s work is carried on by people who are not feeling very well.”
—Charles A. Wagner
6840 Easy Road Crowded
The easy roads are crowded,
And the level roads are jammed;
The pleasant little rivers
With the drifting folks are crammed,
But off yonder where its rocky
Where you get a better view,
You will find the ranks are thinning
And the travelers are few.
Where the going’s smooth and pleasant
You will always find the throng,
For the many, more’s the pity,
Seem to like to drift along;
But the steps that call for courage,
And that task that’s hard to do.
In the end results in glory
For the never-wavering few.
—Selected
6841 Two Cables Between Father-Son
Lord Caradon, the British envoy to the United Nations knows how to put Christianity to work in times of trouble. Speaking at a luncheon held by the American Bible Society in May 1969, he recalled the time when he had served as governor of Cyprus in the midst of a very troubled political situation.
Knowing of his devout father’s concern, the young governor was not surprised when he received a cable from England containing the words: “Two Corinthians: Eight, Nine.” He knew the passage: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.”
It was a message of encouragement and assurance. Back to the anxious father went this cable: “Romans Five: Three, Four.” The reply cable was a testimony of faith and hope: “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope.”
RESPONSES TO TROUBLES
6842 “It Came To Pass”
In a testimony meeting in the South, an illiterate Christian got up and said that she was always blessed by the words “And it came to pass.”
“When I was upset by troubles. I go to the Bible, and I never get far before I read “It came to pass.” And I say “Bless the Lord it didn’t come to stay—it came to pass!””
—Ironside
6843 “Wellington Defeated … ”
The Duke of Wellington led the English forces against those of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. News of the history-making battle came by sailing vessel to the south coast of England, and it was wigwagged by semaphore overland toward London.
Atop Winchester Cathedral, the semaphore began to spell out the eagerly-awaited-for message. A dense fog began to settle down just as the words “Wellington defeated” were finished. The semaphore could no longer be seen, and the heartbreaking news of Wellington’s defeat spread throughout London.
Before long, the fog lifted and again the signaling semaphore atop the cathedral became visible. This time it spelled out the complete message of the battle: “Wellington defeated the enemy!”
—Gospel Herald
6844 Lesson From Handicapped Child
The mother of a brain-injured child wrote these words: “We would have called our daughter’s handicap the greatest tragedy of our lives if it were not for the fact that through it we came to know the Lord much better. Words cannot fully express our keen disappointment when our little girl failed to experience normal mental development. Yet her condition made us understand just a bit how our dear Saviour must feel when His children do not mature spiritually. The Lord knows that heartaches, if properly accepted will enrich our lives in a way that could not happen otherwise. Strengthened in the inner man, we come through our trials bigger and better Christians and with a new and brighter testimony.”
—Our Daily Bread
6845 Grateful For Wheelchair
Dr. Hubert Davidson visited the noted poetess, Myra Brooks Welch, who perhaps is best-known for her masterpiece, “The Touch of the Master’s Hand.” As he turned to leave her home, Myra Welch patted the arm of her wheelchair and said, “And I thank God for this.” Imagine being grateful for a wheelchair! But her talent lay undiscovered prior to her wheelchair days. Rather than becoming bitter, she chose a better way, and a wonderful ministry opened new doors of blessings for her. Her poems have blessed the whole world.
6846 “All Things For Best”
Bernard Gilpin, accused of heresy before Bishop Bonner, set out for London for trial. His favorite maxim was, “All things are for the best.” On his journey, he broke his leg. “Is all for the best now?” jested a scorner. “I still believe so,” he replied.
And so it proved, for before he was able to resume his journey, Queen Mary died. And instead of going to London to be burned, he returned home in triumph.
6847 Praying For Trouble In Ethiopia
The following prayer was prayed by an Ethiopian at Soddu, Walamo, Ethiopia: “Almighty God, from the depth of my heart I plead with thee to send us trouble. When our king was exiled we were in much trouble with the foreign [Italian] rulers. We had to meet in secret and were in constant danger of our lives. That was the time when we worked in harmony with our fellow Christians.
“Many a night after I had locked my door and gone to bed, tired from a day’s long journey of preaching and teaching, there came a persistent knocking. Lord, how I wanted to sleep, and surely but they wouldn’t want to be baptized at night and be hunted and chased and put in prison and beaten, but they said they had seen the Christian’s joy and they too wanted that religion. Every night there were more and more.
“We read Thy Word and talked about it and prayed through the nights. We shared our joy in the Lord. We worked side by side with only one desire, to preach and teach the Gospel. Then, Lord, our king came back. The foreign rulers were forced to leave our country …
“We have peace in our land. We baptize in the daytime. We are not beaten. We meet and pray, yes, but we are beginning to grow careless in our zeal for Thee. Jealousies creep in and spoil the harmony. Petty troubles take on in large meetings. We are selfish in our ambitions. Dear Lord, send us more trouble, I pray Thee, that we may forget ourselves and be so dependent on Thee that we have no time to become selfish and jealous of our fellow Christians. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.
—Grace Robinson
6848 To Suffer To Greatness
“Bisogna soffrire per essere grandi.” That was the favorite expression of the great singer Enrico Caruso. The words mean, “To be great, it is necessary to suffer.”
After years of difficulty, Caruso achieved fame; but the man communicated more than beautiful music through his voice. A music critic observed, “His is a voice that loves you, but not only a voice, a sympathetic man.” Tribulation does that for a person who accepts life’s difficulties in the proper spirit.
6849 Cedar Christians
Jesus, help me to be for Thee,
Just like a big, strong cedar tree;
When all the other trees are bare,
The cedar stands so green and fair,
The wind and storm, the ice and cold
Make it more beauty to unfold,
So I would stand in trial and test,
Just trusting You to do what’s best,
Though others fail, Lord, keep Thou me!
May I a cedar Christian be!”
—Selected
6850 Eating The Bitter Melon
The famous Oriental philosopher, Lokman, while a slave, being presented by his master with a bitter melon, immediately ate it all. “How was it possible,” said his master, “for you to eat so nauseous a fruit?”
Lokman replied, “I have received so many favours from you, it is no wonder I should, for once in my life, eat a bitter melon from your hand.” This generous answer of the slave struck the master so forcibly that he immediately gave him his liberty.
—Walter Baxendale
6851 Frosts Needed
A young man was trying to establish himself as a peach grower. He had worked hard and invested his all in a peach orchard which blossomed wonderfully—then came a frost. He did not go to church the next Sunday, nor the next, nor the next. His minister went to see him to find the reason. The young fellow exclaimed: “I’m not coming any more. Do you think I can worship a God who cares for me so little that He will let a frost kill all my peaches?”
The old minister looked at him a few moments in silence, then said kindly: “God loves you better than He does your peaches. He knows that while peaches do better without frosts, it is impossible to grow the best men without frosts. His object is to grow men, not peaches.”
—Christian Worker’s Magazine
6852 Confederate Acceptance Of Reverses
When the Confederate army retreated after Gettysburg, General Lee wrote to Jefferson Davis a remarkable letter, saying: “We must expect reverses, even defeats. They are sent to teach us wisdom and prudence, to call forth greater energies, and to prevent our falling into greater disasters.”
True of a nation’s life, this is also profoundly true of the life of the individual. And what shall we say of sickness, sorrow, and affliction? Shall these things overwhelm us, or shall we be able to say, with that great spirit who kept both his soul and his body under the dominion of a great and holy purpose, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Rom. 3:37)?
—C. E. Macartney
6853 Vine Clings In Fiercest Storm
The vine clings to the oak during the fiercest of storms. Although the violence of nature may uproot the oak, twining tendrils still cling to it. If the vine is on the side of the tree opposite the wind, the great oak is its protection: if it is on the exposed side, the tempest only presses it closer to the trunk.
In some of the storms of life, God intervenes and shelters us; while in others He allows us to be exposed, so that we will be pressed more closely to Him.
—B. M. Launderville
6854 God By Test Of Experience
Dan Poling’s son, Clark, faced his father across the desk and abruptly said, “Dad, what do you know about God?” “Mighty little.” That startled the son. He straightened but held his eyes as his father said: “Mighty little do I know about God, mighty little by the test of absolute knowledge—less now, perhaps, than I thought I knew when I sat where you sit! But Clark, what I do know by the test of experience—sickness and health, sorrow and joy, death and life—what I do know about God changes my life!”
—Daniel A. Poling
6855 Man Downstairs Not Quitting
Eugene Fields, considered to be one of America’s greatest columnists, told of a dark hour in his life. That morning he stepped into the editor’s office. “There’ll be no column this morning: I’m quitting.”
The editor studied him a moment and then, braced himself, said quite casually, “Gene, I’ve got a printer downstairs who three months ago lost his wife, and this morning he has three children down with scarlet fever, and he’s not quitting.” He stayed.
—Pastor’s Manual
6856 Sunshine Through Rain
Help me to see the sunshine through the rain,
What I count loss may somehow be gain.
Help me to sing when I would cry
Knowing that thou art standing by.
6857 Can Only Spill Out
A nurse in one of the great London hospitals complained to Bishop Taylor Smith that she had been rudely treated by some of the patients.
“Thank God for that!” he said.
“What do you mean?” asked the astonished nurse.
“Why,” said the Bishop, “if you are carrying a vessel and somebody knocks up against you, you can only spill out of the vessel what is inside. And when people misjudge and persecute us, we can only spill what is inside.”
6858 John Wesley’s Wife
John Wesley had a terrible wife. She tormented him beyond measure. But he said that he attributed most of his success to his wife—that she kept him on his knees and because he was kept on his knees, he had the victory.
—The Bible Friend
6859 Start Using Religion
Jim happened to meet the minister on the street one day, and during the conversation told him of all the troubles he had had during the past year. He wound up with: “I tell you right now, preacher, it’s enough to make a man lose his religion.”
“Seems to me, Jim,” the minister told him quietly, “it’s enough to make a man use his religion.”
6860 To Tribulate
A coloured woman, when reproved for undue expression of grief, said, “Now, look here, honey; when de good Lord sends us tribulations, don’t you s’pose He ’spects us to tribulate?”
—Christian Chronicle
6861 Epigram On Troubles
• It seems like some people always have the roses while others are always picking the thorns.
• It’s a strange life. You can skate on thin ice and end up in hot water.
• Out of the frying pan into the fire.
—English Saying
• From the jaws of the crocodile into the teeth of the tiger.
—Malay Proverbs
• Never go out to meet trouble. If you will just sit still, nine times out of ten someone will intercept it before it reaches you.
—Calvin Coolidge
• It requires more courage to suffer than to die.
• Nothing happens to you that hasn’t happened to someone else.
—William Feather
• Stormy weather is what man needs from time to time to remind him he’s not really in charge of anything.
—Bill Vaughan
• From the Regina, Sask., Leader-Post: “Water for the pool is pumped in from the lake through a faltering system.”
See also: Fear ; Persecution ; Tears ; Sorrow ; I Pet. 2:21; 4:13; I Thess. 3:4.