'Then this strange thing happened

Then this strange thing happened

There is a story of song birds being brought over the sea. There were thirty-six thousand of them, mostly canaries. At first, after the ship sailed, the sea was calm and the birds were silent. They kept their little heads under their wings and not a note was heard.

But the third day out the ship struck a furious gale. The passengers were terrified, and the children wailed. Then this strange thing happened . As the tempest reached its height, the birds all began to sing, first one, then another, until the whole thirty-six thousand were singing as if their little throats would burst!

That is what we Christians should do. When the trouble begins, when the clouds of sorrow gather and break, when the storm rises in its fury — do we then begin to sing?

If we fully understand and believed God's promises — would not our song break forth in tenfold joy when the tempest begins? But instead, we get frightened at the smallest troubles, we fret and grow discontented when any hope fails. We chafe at little sufferings, we complain and repine, and the sunshine dies out of our face and the gladness out of our voice.

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