Joy And Strength

[nChrist]

Author: Mary Wilder Tileston
Source: Joy and Strength
Scripture Reference Psalm 37:5

Invincible Patience

Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.
--Psalms 37:5

Plan not, nor scheme,--but calmly wait;
His choice is best.
While blind and erring is thy sight,
His wisdom sees and judges right,
So trust and rest.
--ADELAIDE A. PROCTER

"GREAT peace have they which love My law." They see that from Me, the sovereign Ruler of the world, who governth all things with infinite wisdom, order, and love, nothing but good can spring; and that I can take care of them and their affairs far better and more successfully than they could of themselves. Thus, considering that all that happens to them comes from Me, they are strong with an invincible patience, and bear all things, not only with resignation, but with cheerfulness and joy, tasting in all things that befall them externally or internally the sweetness of My ineffable love. And this is to believe, and meditate with a cheerful and grateful spirit, even in the midst of tribulations and difficulties, that it is I who sweetly dispose all things, and that whatever happens springs from the inexhaustible fountain of My goodness.
--ST. CATHARINE OF SIENA

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[nChrist]

Author: Mary Wilder Tileston
Source: Joy and Strength
Scripture Reference Romans 8:1

Past Faults

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
--ROMANS 8:1

IT may be that recollections of the past hinder you, but you must reject them; anxious thoughts may arise, put them away; your faults seem to raise up a barrier, but no past faults can separate a loving heart from God.
--H. L. SIDNEY LEAR

Do not scrutinize so closely whether you are doing much or little, ill or well, so long as what you do is not sinful, and that you are heartily seeking to do everything for God. Try as far as you can to do everything well, but when it is done do not think about it; try rather to think of what is to be done next. Go on simply in the Lord's way, and do not torment yourself. We ought to hate our faults, but with a quiet, calm hatred, not pettishly and anxiously. We must learn to look patiently at them, and win through them the grace of self-abnegation and humility. Be constant and courageous, and rejoice that He has given you the will to be wholly His.
--ST. FRANCIS DE SALES

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[nChrist]

Author: Mary Wilder Tileston
Source: Joy and Strength
Scripture Reference Psalm 68:17 Isaiah 46:4

Chariots to Carry

Even to your old age, I am He; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you; I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
  --ISAIAH 46:4

The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels; the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.
  --PSALMS 68:17

I HAVE not a shadow of doubt that if all our eyes could be opened today, we should see our homes, and our places of business, and the streets we traverse, filled with the "chariots of God." There is no need for any one of us to walk for lack of chariots. That cross inmate of your household, who has hitherto made life a burden to you, and who has been the Juggernaut car to crush your soul into the dust, may henceforth be a glorious chariot to carry you to the heights of heavenly patience and long-suffering. That misunderstanding, that mortification, that unkindness, that disappointment, that loss, that defeat,--all these are chariots waiting to carry you to the very heights of victory you have so longed to reach. Mount into them, then, with thankful hearts, and lose sight of all second causes in the shining of His love who will carry you in His arms safely and triumphantly over it all.
  --HANNAH WHITALL SMITH

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[nChrist]

Author: Mary Wilder Tileston
Source: Joy and Strength
Scripture Reference Deuteronomy 3:22 2 Chronicles 13:12

Fighting Our Battles

Ye shall not fear them; for the Lord your God He shall fight for you.
  --DEUTERONOMY 3:22

And behold God Himself is with us for our captain.
  --2 CHRONICLES 13:12

OH, for trust that brings the triumph
When defeat seems strangely near!
Oh, for faith that changes fighting
Into victory's ringing cheer;
Faith triumphant, knowing not defeat or fear!
  --HERBERT BOOTH

HOPEFULNESS of final victory is ours, if we only remember that we are fighting God's battles. And can He know defeat? He who is the God of the great world around us is the God of the little world within. It is He who is contending in thee; thou art but His soldier, guided by His wisdom, strengthened by His might, shielded by His love. Keep thy will united to the Will of God, and final defeat is impossible; for He is invincible.
  --GEORGE BODY

Our only victory over temptations is through persisting courage, and an indomitable cheerfulness.
  --FREDERICK W. FABER

Courage, it shall be well: we follow a conquering general; yea, who hath conquered already; and He that hath conquered for us shall ever conquer in us.
  --ROBERT LEIGHTON

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[nChrist]

Author: Mary Wilder Tileston
Source: Joy and Strength
Scripture Reference Psalm 73:23

Staying Near the Power

Nevertheless, I am continually with Thee: Thou hast holden me by my right hand.
  --PSALMS 73:23

FAITH is a grasping of Almighty power;
The hand of man laid on the arm of God;
The grand and blessed hour
In which the things, impossible to me,
Become the possible, O Lord, through Thee.
  --ANNA E. HAMILTON

NOTHING is necessary for you in maintaining a triumphant Christian life, but just to stay by the helm, and put yourself in where the power is. Come unto God, unite yourself to God, and the doing power you have is infinite!--and is none the less yours because it is His. Trim your ship steadily to the course, and God's own gales will waft it.
  --HORACE BUSHNELL

Gaze intently with the eye of faith at the infinite wisdom and omnipotence of God, to whom nothing is impossible or difficult, and consider that His goodness is unbounded, and unspeakable His willingness to give, hour by hour, and moment by moment, all things needful for the spiritual life, and for complete victory over self, if we will throw ourselves with confidence into His arms.
  --LORENZO SCUPOLI

Whatever God tells us to do, He also helps us to do.
  --DORA GREENWELL

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[nChrist]

Author: Mary Wilder Tileston
Source: Joy and Strength
Scripture Reference 2 Chronicles 31:21

Love the Daily Tasks

And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
  --2 CHRONICLES 31:21

HELP me in Christ to learn to do Thy will,
That I may have from Him eternal life;
And here on earth Thy perfect love fulfil,
Then home return victorious from the strife.
  -JONES VERY

THERE is no other way in which one's life will be so surely, so quickly transfigured, as in the faithful, happy, cheerful doing of every-day tasks. We need to remember that this world is not so much a place for doing things as for making character. Right in the midst of what some people call drudgery is the very best place to get the transformed, transfigured life. The doing of common tasks patiently, promptly, faithfully, cheerfully, makes the character beautiful and bright. But we must take heed always that we do our tasks, whatever they are, with love in our heart. Doing any kind of work unwillingly, with complaint and murmuring, hurts the life.
  --J. R. MILLER

God weigheth more with how much love a man worketh, than how much he doeth. He doeth much that loveth much. He doeth much that doeth a thing well.
  --THOMAS À KEMPIS

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[nChrist]

Author: Mary Wilder Tileston
Source: Joy and Strength
Scripture Reference John 16:33

Loving God

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
--JOHN 16:33

THEE will I love, my Crown of gladness,
Thee will I love, my God and Lord,
Amid the darkest depths of sadness;
Not for the hope of high reward,---
For Thine own sake, O Light Divine,
So long as life is mine.
--JOHANN SCHEFFLER

WHAT is the secret of serenity? We all want to know it. Indeed, we do know it already. There is no secret about it. St. Paul speaks it out plainly enough. Everybody can see what it is. All things work together for good to them that love God. We must love God; that is the heart of it. Happiness, content, and right satisfaction, all doubts answered, all dark places lighted up, heaven begun here--this is the reward of loving God. In this world, tribulation; yes, but good cheer in spite of that, for the Son of God, whom we love, has overcome the world.
--GEORGE HODGES

Man's happiness consists in present peace, even in the midst of the greatest trials, and in more than hope of a glorious future.
--CHARLES G. GORDON

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[nChrist]

Author: Mary Wilder Tileston
Source: Joy and Strength
Scripture Reference Psalm 102:22

Praise in All Things

Bless the Lord, all His works in all places of His dominion--bless the Lord, O my soul.
  --PSALMS 102:22

O MOST high, almighty, good Lord God, to Thee belong praise, glory, honor, and all blessing.

Praised be my Lord God with all His creatures, and specially our brother the sun, who brings us the day; fair is he and shines with a very great splendor; O Lord, he signifies to us Thee. Praised be my Lord for our sister the moon, and for the stars, the which He has set clear and lovely in heaven.

Praised be my Lord for our sister water, who is very serviceable unto us, and humble and precious and clean. Praised be Thou, my Lord, for our brother fire; he is bright and pleasant and very mighty and strong. Praised be my Lord for our Mother the earth, who doth sustain us and keep us, and bringeth forth divers fruits and flowers of many colors, and grass.

Praised be my Lord for all those who pardon one another for His love's sake, and who endure weakness and tribulation. Praised be Thou, my Lord, for our sister, the death of the body, from which no man escapeth.

Praise ye and bless ye the Lord, and give thanks unto Him and serve Him with great humility.
  --ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

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[nChrist]

Author: Mary Wilder Tileston
Source: Joy and Strength
Scripture Reference Psalm 92:1-2

Why Praise God?

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O most High: to show forth Thy lovingkindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness every night.
--PSALMS 92:1,2

PRAISE to the Holiest in the height,
And in the depth be praise;
In all His words most wonderful,
Most sure in all His ways.
  --JOHN HENRY NEWMAN

IF our hearts were tuned to praise, we should see causes unnumbered, which we had never seen before, for thanking God. Thanksgiving is spoken of as a "sacrifice well pleasing unto God." It is a far higher offering than prayer. When we pray we ask for things which we want; or we tell out our sorrows. We pray, in order to bring down blessings upon ourselves; we praise, because our hearts overflow with love to God, and we must speak it out to Him. It flows out of pure love, and then the love goes back to our hearts, and warms them anew, and revives and quickens them.
  --PRISCILLA MAURICE

Learn the lesson of thanksgiving. It is due to God, it is due to ourselves. Thanksgiving for the past makes us trustful in the present and hopeful for the future. What He has done is the pledge of what He will do.
  --A. C. A. HALL

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[nChrist]

Author: Mary Wilder Tileston
Source: Joy and Strength
Scripture Reference Psalm 37:7

The Patience of the Saints

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.
  --PSALMS 37:7

Is it the Lord that shuts me in?
Then I can bear to wait!
No place so dark, no place so poor,
So strong and fast no prisoning door,
Though walled by grievous fate,
But out of it goes fair and broad
An unseen pathway, straight to God,
By which I mount to Thee.
  --SUSAN COOLIDGE

WE cannot be useless while we are doing and suffering God's will, whatever it may be found to be. And we can always do that. If we are bringing forth the fruits of the Spirit, we are not useless. And we can always do that. If we are increasing in the knowledge of God's will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, we are not useless. And we can always do that. While we pray we cannot be useless. And we can always do that. God will always find us a work to do, a niche to fill, a place to serve, nay, even a soul to save, when it is His will, and not ours, that we desire to do; and if it should please Him that we should sit still for the rest of our lives, doing nothing else but waiting on Him, and waiting for Him, why should we complain? Here is the patience of the saints.
  --ANTHONY W. THOROLD

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[nChrist]

Author: Mary Wilder Tileston
Source: Joy and Strength
Scripture Reference 1 Samuel 30:24

Waiting or Doing

As his share is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his share be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall share alike.
  --1 SAMUEL 30:24 (R. V.)

WORSHIP or service,--which? Ah, that is best
To which He calls us, be it toil or rest,--
To labor for Him in life's busy stir,
Or seek His feet, a silent worshipper.
 --CAROLINE A. MASON

LET us no more yearn for present employment when God's providence bids us "be still," than we would think it good to yearn after cessation while God bids work. Shall we not miss a blessing if we call rest a weariness and a discontent, no less than if we called God's work a thankless labor? If we would be holy in body and spirit, shall we not keep smooth brow, light heart, whether He bids us serve His table, or wait our summons?
  --EDWARD WHITE BENSON

He who acts with a view to please God alone, wishes to have that only which it pleases God that he should have, and at the time and in the way which may be most agreeable to Him: and, whether he have it or not, he is equally tranquil and contented, because in either case he obtains his wish, and fulfils his intention, which was no other than purely to please God.
  --LORENZO SCUPOLI

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[nChrist]

Author: Mary Wilder Tileston
Source: Joy and Strength
Scripture Reference Revelation 2:10 Psalm 119:77

The Endurance of God

Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer.
  --REVELATION 2:10

Let Thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for Thy law is my delight.
  --PSALMS 19:77

O BLESSED life! the heart at rest
When all without tumultuous seems;
That trusts a higher Will, and deems
That higher Will, not mine, the best.
  --WILLIAM TIDD MATSON

NOTHING is so trying to nature as suspense between a faint hope and a mighty fear; but we must have faith as to the extent of our trials, as in all else. Our sensitiveness makes us often disposed to fancy that we are tried beyond our strength; but we really know neither our strength to endure nor the nature of God's trials. Only He who knows both these, and every turn of the hearts which He has made, knows how to deal out a due proportion. Let us leave it all to Him, and be content to bear in silence.
  --FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON

It is not the sunny side of Christ that we must look to, and we must not forsake Him for want of that. Oh, how sweet a thing were it for us to learn to make our burdens light, by framing our hearts to the burden, and making our Lord's will a law!
  --SAMUEL RUTHERFORD

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Author: Mary Wilder Tileston
Source: Joy and Strength
Scripture Reference Luke 12:21

Trials not Evils

So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
  --LUKE 12:21

IT seems as if God gathered into His storehouse, from each of our lives, fruit in which He delights. And the daily cross-bearings and self-denials, the bright word spoken when head and heart are weary, the meek endurance of misunderstanding, the steady going on in one unbroken round, with a patient cheerfulness that knows nothing of "moods,"--all these are garnered there, and add to our riches towards Him.
  --H. BOWMAN

IT is a great matter to learn to look upon troubles and trials not as simply evils. How can that be evil which God sends? And those who can repress complaints, murmurs, and peevish bemoaning--better still, the vexed feelings which beset us when those around inflict petty annoyances and slights on us--will really find that their little daily worries are turning into blessings.
  --H. L. Sidney LEAR

Just to leave in His dear hand
Little things;
All we cannot understand,
All that stings.
Just to let Him take the care
Sorely pressing,
Finding all we let Him bear
Changed to blessing.
  --FRANCES R. HAVERGAL

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[nChrist]

Author: Mary Wilder Tileston
Source: Joy and Strength
Scripture Reference Psalm 33:21

Promise of Peace

Our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name.
  --PSALMS 33:21

TAKE anxious care for nought,
To God your wants make known;
And soar on wings of heavenly thought
Toward His eternal throne;
So, though our path is steep,
And many a tempest lowers,
Shall His own peace our spirits keep,
And Christ's dear love be ours.
  --JOHN MOULTRIE

CHERISH thankfulness with prayer. St. Paul gives us in two words this secret of peace. "In everything," (he excepts nothing, so do not you) "by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." He does not say it as a benediction only: he tells us, it "shall keep your hearts and minds." Do the one and God will do the other. Ask what you will, be thankful; and not peace only, but peace which passeth all which our poor minds can think, shall keep these poor breaking, restless hearts--these ever wearying, worrying minds of ours--in Christ Jesus.
  --E. B. PUSEY

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[nChrist]

Author: Mary Wilder Tileston
Source: Joy and Strength
Scripture Reference Romans 12:2 John 18:11

Dying to Self

The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink?
  --JOHN 18:11

Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.
  --ROMANS 12:2

WE are often greatly hindered in the fulfilment of our duties by an unconscious clinging to self, which holds us back from God, and which leads us to seek our rest in something other than the simple fulfilment of His most holy will. If we honestly sought nothing save His will, we should always be in a state of perfect peace, let what may happen. But, very often, even when we ask that God's will may be done, we still wish it to be done after our fashion.
  --PÉRE HYACINTHE BESSON

When we are fully delivered from the influence of selfish considerations, and have become conformed to the desires and purposes of the Infinite Mind, we shall drink the cup, and drink it cheerfully, whatever it may be. In a word, we shall necessarily be submissive and happy in all trials, and in every change and diversity of situation. Not because we are seeking happiness, or thinking of happiness, as a distinct object, but because the glorious will of Him whom our soul loves supremely, is accomplished in us.
  --THOMAS C. UPHAM

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