The Wonder of the Cross – Day 13 – At All Times
Mountaintop or dark valley, bright summer day or deepest night, there is no-one else to go to, no-one else to guide us, no-one else to feed us, no-one else to hold us.
Mountaintop or dark valley, bright summer day or deepest night, there is no-one else to go to, no-one else to guide us, no-one else to feed us, no-one else to hold us.
There is a sense in which every soul that follows hard after its God must find itself alone. ‘He who follows Him the nearest needs must walk alone.’ It is part of the discipline of life.
‘Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
More than all in Thee I find:’
We don’t deserve this love but we are loved anyway. The least we can do is respond with words of praise and aim to live lives of service.
I love these moments, these Trysting Places, with Our Beloved. With Vicky (and Whitney – see below) I must learn to go there not only when I am in a good place but also when all I want to do is hide in the bushes.
When I was small I used to think that, if I wanted very much to do a thing, that thing was probably wrong. And if I didn’t want to do it, it was probably right….
How much easier it would be if we knew when hearts that are holding out against the Lord would yield, or when some private trial of our own would pass.
I have learnt that if I don’t aim to listen, if I don’t decide to set aside other voices – especially my own – I stand no chance of hearing any of the gentle whispers of Jesus.
The Lord is for me (margin). What can man do unto me? Nothing. Nothing that really matters. Nothing that can do any harm. Nothing that will not be turned to golden good.
The answer, the only possible antidote to hate is not revenge but love. For only as we love those who hate us and God do we show that we have allowed the love of God to pierce our hearts and conquer our selfishness.