Disappointment--His Appointment

"Disappointment -- His Appointment"

Change one letter, then I see

That the thwarting of my purpose

Is God's better choice for me.

His appointment must be blessing,

Tho' it may come in disguise,

For the end from the beginning

Open to His wisdom lies.

"Disappointment -- His Appointment"

Whose? The Lord, who loves me best,

Understands and knows me fully,

Who my faith and love would test;

For, like loving earthly parent,

He rejoices when He knows

That His child accepts, UNQUESTIONED,

All that from His wisdom flows.

"Disappointment -- His Appointment"

"No good thing will He withhold,"

From denials oft we gather

Treasures of His love untold,

Well He knows each broken purpose

Leads to fuller, deeper trust,

And the end of all His dealings

Proves our God is wise and just.

"Disappointment -- His Appointment"

Lord, I take it, then, as such.

Like the clay in hands of potter,

Yielding wholly to Thy touch.

All my life's plan in Thy moulding,

Not one single choice be mine;

Let me answer, unrepining --

"Father, not my will, but Thine."

Edith Lillian Young

Worthsmithery Pays Off

Here's a fun (and charitable) way to enhance your vocabulary. For every word you correctly define, 20 grains of rice will be donated through the UN World Food program to help end hunger. Be careful--it's addictive!

Discerning Truth

There's been a great deal of buzz in the Christian media about New Age teacher Eckhart Tolle's book, A New Earth, and Oprah Winfrey's promotion of it. I've not read the book nor do I intend to, but I have heard and read some accounts of how the book is being promoted.

What is especially disturbing to me is Ms. Winfrey's claim that she is a "free-thinking Christian" who believes that there are multiple paths to God. She has a great deal of influence on today's culture, and it is obvious that Satan is using that influence to confuse people and lead them away from Christ.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss addressed this book, and particularly Ms. Winfrey's promotion of it, on a recent "Revive Our Hearts" broadcast. She and her guests did an excellent job of addressing many of the points in the book and providing discernment between the truth of the Gospel and the New Age message being spread. You can listen to the broadcast or read transcripts of it here.

My Cup Runneth Over

Some days, life is really hard. Some nights I crawl into bed frustrated and broken and focused on what's gone wrong or what I've lost or what I don't have that I want or what I do have that I don't want. In times like that, I have to remind myself that God has promised to supply all my needs, and that He always keeps all of His promises, so I really have no reason to worry or get worked up.

Truly, the gift of His salvation is enough--more than enough--for me. And yet He has blessed with so much more than I could possibly recount. Then there are those times when He gives me a glimpse into ways that He is working in my life and the lives of those around me, and I am almost speechless with His abundance.

This has been one of those weeks. A dear friend of mine and her husband have been waiting to adopt. A couple of months ago, they were chosen by the birth mother of a baby girl to be the adoptive parents, only to find out soon after that there were some legal complications and they would not be getting the baby after all. Last week, they got word that the situation had changed, and this week they are picking up their baby girl--the same one they thought they would not be able to adopt. They plan to be home in time to present her to our church body this Sunday--Mother's Day. I imagine there will be many joyful tear-filled eyes that day, mine included, as we welcome this precious child into our church.

As if that wasn't good news enough, I found out that I will be an aunt again this fall! And it's another girl, my third niece. Another precious baby to meet and love.

It's been a sweet week. My cup runneth over.

Active Waiting

One discipline of the spiritual life to which many of us find it most difficult to submit is that of waiting. No other discipline reveals more about the quality of our faith than that one. Sometimes we are subject to criticism from others because we seem to be doing nothing. When waiting is an act of obedience it is of course an invisible one. Only the One waited on sees it for what it is, but we must resist the temptation to defend and explain to our critics, and simply go on trusting.

True waiting on God is not "doing nothing". Psalm 37 lists the principal elements of this hidden activity, a perfect formula for peace of mind (parentheses not divinely inspired, merely mine):

Trust in the Lord and do good.
Dwell in the land (make your home, settle down, be at peace where God puts you).
Delight in the Lord (make the Lord your only joy) and He will give you what your heart desires.
Commit your life to the Lord.
Trust in Him and He will act.
Be quiet before the Lord.
Wait patiently for Him, not worrying about others.

-The Path of Loneliness by Elisabeth Elliott, pps. 161-162