Waiting

The Waiting Soul

Breathe from the gentle south, O Lord, And cheer me from the north; Blow on the treasures of thy word, And call the spices forth!

I wish, Thou knowest, to be resign’d, And wait with patient hope; But hope delay’d fatigues the mind, And drinks the spirits up.

Help me to reach the distant goal’ Confirm my feeble knee; Pity the sickness of a soul That faints for love of Thee!

Cold as I feel this heart of mine, Yet, since I feel it so, It yields some hope of life divine Within, however low.

I seem forsaken and alone, I hear the lion roar; And every door is shut but one, And that is Mercy’s door.

There, till the dear Deliverer come, I’ll wait with humble prayer; And when He calls His exile home, The Lord shall find him there.

Olney Hymns, William Cowper, from Cowper’s Poems, Sheldon & Company, New York

Resource

•      C. Swindoll, Growing Strong, Three Steps…, p. 75

Which Way Is Up?

Some years ago I read about a speedboat driver who had recently survived a racing accident. He said that he had been at near top speeds when his boat veered slightly and hit a wave at a dangerous angle. The combined force of his speed and the size and angle of the wave sent the boat spinning crazily into the air. He was thrown from his seat and propelled deeply into the water—so deep, in fact, that he had no idea which direction the surface was. He had to remain calm and wait for the buoyancy of his life vest to begin pulling him up. Once he discovered which way was up, he could swim for the surface.

Sometimes we find ourselves surrounded by confusing options, too deeply immersed in our problems to know “which way is up.” When this happens, we too can remain calm, waiting for God’s gentle tug to pull us in the proper direction. Our “life vest” may be other Christians, Scripture, or some other leading from the Holy Spirit, but the key is recognizing our dependency upon God and trusting him.

Mark Rader

Unnecessary Things

The average business executive spends about 60 hours a year on hold on the telephone, according to a survey. He/she also spends 32 minutes a day reading and writing unnecessary memos, or 128 hours a year; and an hour and 12 minutes a day at unnecessary meetings, or 288 hours a year.

Source unknown