070: I will wait

April 26, 2010
Hebrews 3:14

I recently picked up my friend Bethany’s copy of LB Cowman’s book, “Streams in the Desert.” I only read a couple pages while I was waiting for her to order her coffee, and then I went home and ordered it off Amazon for myself. I absolutely LOVE this poem from March 5th:

“In the bitter waves of woe
Beaten and tossed about
By the sullen winds that blow
From the desolate shores of doubt,
Where the anchors that faith has cast
Are dragging in the gale,
I am quietly holding fast
To the things that cannot fail.

And fierce though the fiends may fight,
And long though the angels hide,
I know that truth and right
Have the universe on their side;
And that somewhere beyond the stars
Is a love that is better than fate.
When the night unlocks here bars,
I will see Him – and I will wait.”

by Washington Gladden.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the needs of the world around me and the hurt of my own heart. I know I have hope in Jesus, I know that He will bring justice to rule on the earth, and deal mercifully with the people who are faithful to Him. I know that He will work in my life and in the lives of the people around me to honor and glorify Himself and, ultimately, to bring beauty from these ashes, whether in this life or the next.

But sometimes I’m still discouraged. Sometimes I still feel beaten down and bruised and weak. Sometimes I don’t want to try to hold on any longer. It’s like when I fight with sticks at my martial arts class and my hands start to cramp from holding onto the sticks. I don’t want to hold on to them anymore, but I know if I let go I’ll be in much worse pain.

Why is it so hard to walk by faith sometimes?

Oh, Lord, help me to walk with my mind and attention and eyes fixed on You.

“The greatest challenge in receiving great things from God is holding on for the last half hour.”