AFTER

This morning I picked up a copy of Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret from my library shelf. Leafing through the pages I came across two lines by Frances Ridley Havergal (pictured), the renowned poet and hymnwriter.

Here are those two lines:

"Sheaves after sowing, sun after rain,
Sight after mystery, peace after pain."

Hoping there was more to this poem/hymn than just the two lines, I entered "sight after mystery" and did a GOOGLE search. Sure enough, I found a three stanza hymn with words by Havergal and the tune by Ira Sankey.

Here's "the rest of the song":

Light after darkness, gain after loss,
Strength after weakness, crown after cross;
Sweet after bitter, hope after fears,
Home after wandering, praise after tears.

Sheaves after sowing, sun after rain,
Sight after mystery, peace after pain;
Joy after sorrow, calm after blast,
Rest after weariness, sweet rest at last.

Near after distant, gleam after gloom,
Love after loneliness, life after tomb;
After long agony, rapture of bliss,
Right was the pathway, leading to this.

Dear friend, perhaps you haven't reached the "AFTER" yet. You may be in the midst of a savage storm, a lonesome loss, a desolate depression, a tearful trial. Take heart! The "AFTER" is coming. A sovereign God will not leave you abandoned in this seemingly hopeless place. There will be an "AFTER" and when it comes, you (and I) will be able to say with the hymnwriter, "Right was the pathway, leading to this."

I'm praying for you, my readers, today! Thanks for your partnership in prayer as well.

"And AFTER you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." - 1 Peter 5:10 (ESV)

Lessons Learned in a Crisis of Life

Greetings, friends! A man I really respect is Dr. Al Mohler, a strong defender of the faith. He recently had a medical setback as is just now getting back his strength. He writes about what he learned during this very difficult peiiod in his life on his blog. Please check it out. See the link below. I'd reproduce his post in its entirety but I don't want to break any copyright laws. PLEASE CHECK OUT THE LINK. It will encourage you!

Note: Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., serves as president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminar, the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the largest seminaries in the world. He is a theologian and ordained minister, as well as an author, speaker and host of his own radio program The Albert Mohler Program.

Check out this link:

http://www.albertmohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2007-01-22

I trust that you have a rewarding week!

Desert Reflections

Greetings, dear friends, as you begin a new week. I trust you had a great weekend! Here's a post from the Pilgrim Scribblings archives that, hopefully, will be an encouragement to you.

Sitting By the Lake

What a beautiful Lord's day! A clear blue sky, a warm breeze and a place to sit by the lake at Elim Lodge, a place of refreshment! As I sat by Pigeon Lake watching Matthew and Nathan swim and play on the beach, I was reading Nancie Carmichael's excellent book, Praying for Rain. This is my second reading as I went through it a year or two ago. As I read her chapter on depression there were a couple of quotes I couldn't wait to share so I called in this "audio post" using my cell phone. I added the text you're reading now later after I arrived home.

As we encounter our desert experiences on life's pilgrimage we are not alone! The One who Himself was tempted in the desert (yet sinned not), walks with us through our droughts and desperations. We can choose to make these desert places a meeting place where we encounter the living Christ and then, as we emerge from our trials, we can "comfort others with the comfort wherewith we ourselves have been comforted".

"Blessed are those whose strength is in You, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion." - Psalm 84:5-7 (NIV)

Forget Your IQ...What's Your KCP?

Last weekend I heard someone with the Windsor Police Services speak about my friend, Chuck Congram's work as police chaplain. They spoke of his "presence on the perimeter"...being there but not getting in the way. Three (3) key words were mentioned as being essential for a chaplain...he/she must have a knowledgeable, compassionate presence. So true!

We can have all the knowledge in the world yet lack compassion or the reverse...being very compassionate but have no idea what to do. Have you ever had a doctor or a nurse who was very informed but had a terrible bedside manner? Of course you have. It's not nice! At times just being there is the best gift for the one we're ministering to.

Jesus is the Perfect Example. He was and is omniscient, all knowing, knowledgeable. Without question He was a compassionate Savior! And He was ever-present or omnipresent.

What is your KCP quotient? Let's work on all three so we can be effective agents of encouragement and hope to those who desperately need us. Let's point them to the One who "looked with compassion on them as sheep having no shepherd".

"God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble." Psalm46:1 (NLT)

Try to just "be there" for someone today!

HIMSELF

Greetings, dear friends! First of all, thank you so much for your many encouraging comments which are so uplifting. Your kind thoughts are such an encouragement to this fellow pilgrim! What a blessing!

Perhaps I've not articulated this fact in simple words so let me do it here and now:

My posts on "the Barnabas Blog" are birthed in my own life experience. I pray that you can sense that. Usually I seek to encourage others out of my own hurts, my disappointments, my frustrations. My prayer is that "the Barnabas Blog" will NOT be a symposium of pat answers, pet peeves, "pit" experiences, pot shots and put downs but a true source of encouragement, born out in everyday living and grounded in the eternally relevant and wonderfully inerrant word of God.

Which reminds me of a scripture passage that comes back to me time and time again. Many years ago I was ministering to a ballplayer from a visiting team in Montreal and the Lord directed me to this powerful verse. The apostle Peter penned these glorious words, "And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power for ever and ever, AMEN." - 1 Peter 5:10,11 (NIV)

Who restores and make us strong? God HIMSELF. Yes, He can and does use His people to come alongside suffering saints but He HIMSELF is the One who does the inner work of restoration and healing.

Rejoice in this truth today! If you are battling through a difficult circumstance, allow the God of all grace to extend that grace to you today in all its fullness. Know someone who is struggling? You can be an agent of reconciliation today. You can be God's hand extended to a hurting fellow pilgrim. God HIMSELF invites you to participate but He will effect the change. Hallelujah!

God's Providential Care

Rebecca at Rebecca Writes (see link at the side), always posts a majestic and meaningful old hymn on Sundays. Today's choice is one of my favorites. As I went over the lyrics I realized that there's a word in there that is unknown to me. I could hazard a guess as to its meaning but I really don't know what "thralldom" means. What do you think? I'll post my suggested meaning and then look it up later. Now that can be dangerous! I think "thralldom" means the act of being enthralled with things that, looked at from an eternal perspective, are quite meaningless. Now I'll go and check it out. I'll keep you guessing though. Do you have a dictionary nearby?

Here's that wonderful hymn:

GUIDE ME O THOU GREAT JEHOVAH

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but Thou art mighty;
Hold me with Thy powerful hand.
Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven,
Feed me till I want no more;
Feed me till I want no more.

Open now the crystal fountain,
Whence the healing stream doth flow;
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield;
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield.

Lord, I trust Thy mighty power,
Wondrous are Thy works of old;
Thou deliver’st Thine from thralldom,
Who for naught themselves had sold:
Thou didst conquer, Thou didst conquer,
Sin, and Satan and the grave,
Sin, and Satan and the grave.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of deaths, and hell’s destruction,
Land me safe on Canaan’s side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to Thee;
I will ever give to Thee.

Musing on my habitation,
Musing on my heav’nly home,
Fills my soul with holy longings:
Come, my Jesus, quickly come;
Vanity is all I see;
Lord, I long to be with Thee!
Lord, I long to be with Thee!

- William Williams, known as the Isaac Watts* of Wales. This hymn was first written in Welsh

"For this God is our God for ever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end." - Psalm 48:14 (NIV)

Springs In The Valley

The psalmist wrote, “Blessed in the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the valley of Baca, they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.” – Psalm 84:5-7 (NKJV)

The phrase “whose heart is set on pilgrimage” refers to those who made their way to the temple, not out of obligation but from a heartfelt desire to worship their God. Today, those of us who are Christ followers are on a journey, a pilgrimage. There will be trials along the way. That’s guaranteed!

The valley of Baca doesn’t refer to a specific place but speaks of the various struggles and difficulties we will encounter on the way “home”. We can either choose to whine and complain or to grow and mature through our trials and tribulations. The blessing of an eternal, sovereign God rests upon the latter, those whose heart is “set” or determined to make the best of the journey.

What’s your state of mind, your attitude, today, as you make your way “home”? Experience God’s divine strength as you walk hand in hand with Him. He will keep you from stumbling!

The Misty Flats

Perhaps the book that most shaped my life as a young man was "By Searching" by Isobel Kuhn. She sensed the call of God to take the gospel to the Lisu people in China. The first chapter is entitled "On To The Misty Flats" and begins with a poem by John Oxenham. I've recalled this poem many times over the years and thought of it again this morning.

Here it is for your perusal:

The Misty Flats

To every many there openeth
A way, and ways, and a way.
And the high soul climbs the high way,
And the low soul gropes the low,
And in between on the misty flats
The rest drift to and fro.
But to every man there openeth
A high way and a low -
And every man decideth the way his soul shall go.

- John Oxenham

High road, low road or the misty flats? Which road will you choose to travel today? May your pilgrimage be filled with divine surprises as the God of Heaven reveals Himself to you today! Don't settle for mediocrity. The high road is the only "way" that brings fulfillment.

"The sovereign God is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights." - Habakkuk 3:19 (NIV)

Powerful Words

Yesterday I visited a friend who is battling for his life. He is resting at home and he wanted me to come and pray with him. What a privilege to share God's Word with this beloved brother who knows Jesus and is going to see Him soon. After taking his hand and praying, I read this favorite verse of mine from Isaiah. What words of comfort! What encouragement! I pray that you will find strength in God's inspired, inerrant word today!

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." - Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)

Your Safe Place

Where is your safe place? A spot where you can find rest and peace in the midst of life’s storms? Perhaps you have a place that you retreat to where you can unwind and relax and clear your mind. Maybe it’s just a place you wish you had, a place that dreams are made of, a mountain cabin, a warm beach in the Caribbean or, if those are impossible, just an empty booth at the back of a smoky restaurant.

I’m so glad we can look to our loving Father when the storms of life surround us and troubles rush in like a flood. God is a REFUGE we can run to when life’s circumstances seem overwhelming. I know, I’ve been there many times. During these discouraging moments, GOD certainly is our:

R – Rock of Strength
E – Energizing God
F – Faithful Friend
U – Unchanging One
G – Gracious Father
E – Eternal King

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” - Psalm 46:1

R – Recognize the problem and admit it
E – Escape (or pull back) from the situation to get a better perspective on it
F – Find someone to confide in who can help us in the situation
U – Unburden our hearts to that person
G – Grow through the circumstance
E – Equip ourselves to help others when they face the same struggles

“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” – Deuteronomy 33:27

My prayer is that you would look to God in “every” circumstance of life and find that He is everything you ever needed and more. He loves you and cares for you! He will be your safe place!

Strength For The Journey

A writer and speaker who always encourages and challenges me is Dr. Joseph Stowell. Dr. Stowell was formerly the President of the Moody Bible Institute but is now teaching pastor at James MacDonald's church, Harvest Bible Chapel, near Chicago, IL.

We have added a link (see right side of the blog) for Dr. Stowell's STRENGTH FOR THE JOURNEY daily devotional. I know you'll be blessed as you check in regularly for your daily dose of encouragement.

Have a good and godly Lord's day, dear friends!

David