Supposing vs. Trusting

" It's all that supposing that's making you so miserable. You'd better give that up and simply trust the Lord."

~ Streams in the Desert

Songs in the Night

"The strength of a ship is only fully determined when it faces a hurricane, and the power of the gospel can only be fully exhibited when a Christian is subjected to some fiery trial. We must first understand that for God to give 'songs in the night', He must first make it night."

~ Streams in the Desert

God Works for Our Good

"In a thousand trials, it is not just five hundred of them that work 'for the good' of the believer, but nine hundred and ninety-nine, plus one."

~ George Mueller

Watch and Pray

" There is always a temptation to shorten your time in prayer. After a difficult day of work, when you kneel at night to pray with tired eyes, do not use your drowsiness as an excuse to resign yourself to early rest. Then when morning breaks and you realize you have overslept, resist the temptation to skip your early devotion or to hurry through it....

A life without prayer is a powerless life. It may be a life filled with a great deal of activity and noise, but it will be far removed from Him who day and night prayed to God."

~ Streams in the Desert

The Other Side

"Let us go over to the other side" (Mark 4:35).

"In this passage of Scripture, the disciples were obeying His command, yet they encountered the fiercest of storms and were in great danger of being drowned...

"Christ said, 'Let us go over to the other side'--not 'to the middle of the lake to be drowned.'"

~ Streams in the Desert

Don't Give in to Depair

" I implore you to not give in to despair. It is a dangerous temptation, because our Adversary has refined it to the point that it is quite subtle. Hopelessness constricts and whithers the heart, rendering it unable to sense God's blessings and grace. It also causes you to exaggerate the adversities of life and makes your burdens seem too heavy for you to bear. Yet God's plans for you, and His ways of bringing about His plans, are infinitely wise."

~ Madame Guyon

Wisely Chosen for You

" You may be experiencing little sunshine, but the long periods of gloomy darkness have been wisely chosen for you, for perhaps a lengthy stretch of summer weather would have made you like parched land or a barren wilderness. Your Lord knows best, and the clouds and the sun wait for His command."

~ Streams in the Desert

When Stars Shine Brightest

"Stars shine brightest during the long dark night of winter. And gentian wildflowers display their fairest blooms among the nearly inaccessible heights of mountain snow and ice."

~ Streams in the Desert

Our Most Significant Days

"We never know the trials that await us in the days ahead. We may not be able to see the light through our struggles, but we can believe that those days, as in the life of Job, will be the most significant we called upon to live."

~ Streams in the Desert

All Sufficient Grace

"And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me. And he said, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness..." (2 Cor. 12:7-9).

This is another set of verses that are very special to me right now. I, like Paul, have asked and asked the Lord to let me breathe. I've told Him over and over again that I've had enough of these fiery trials, and I've asked Him to remove them. Yet, did God do that when Paul begged him to remove his thorn in the flesh? No, what did He do? In essence He said, "Paul, I'm not promising that I'll remove this hardship from your life. However, I am promising that I'll be right there with you. And My grace and strength is enough to get you through." You know, that's exactly what God is saying to me. His grace and strength are all sufficient. They are more than enough to get me through.

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness..." (2 Cor. 12:9).