BRIERS AND MYRTLES
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"Instead of the thorn-bush — a cypress will come up; and
instead of the brier — a myrtle will come up; it will make a name for the Lord as an everlasting sign that will not be destroyed." Isaiah 55:13
My Blessed Lord, how tender and pitiful are You to me! What a delight it is to tell of Your mercy and grace to one so unworthy! Yet it is no singular story, for this is Your sweet and usual way, dear Lord, towards all who put their trust in You. When depression and sadness come to me, by reason of the sin within, or the discouragements without; when thethorns and briers of daily cares and vexations prick and tear the weary pilgrim's feet and hands — then You turn my footsteps to where the cypresses and myrtles of Your loving mercies grow, and in their shelter and fragrance — my troubled spirit finds rest.
Nay, more than this, dear Lord, Your power is so great that You sometimes transform the very things which hurt and grieve me — into means of grace and blessing to my heart and life!
Disappointments in my work,
obstacles to its performance,
the estrangement of friends,
conscious incompetence and weakness, and
often an overpowering sense of deepening responsibility
— these experiences are all like thorns and briers, which irritate and worry by their persistent and close contact! Yet all these vanish when You, my gracious God, give the word — and I wonder as I find myself walking peacefully among the cypress trees, where the leaves lie thick upon the ground, spreading the softest of carpets under my tired feet; and where the myrtle's snowy blossoms and glossy leaves promise perfume and sweetness even to those who bruise them.
Your ways, O Lord, are past finding out — but they are very gracious and tender; and this turning of seeming evil — into good; of making Your children's trials — grow into triumphs; and their pains — into pleasures, is a wonderful proof both of Your pity and Your power!
"It will make a name for the Lord." My Father, can this be really so? Does Your great Name receive added glory when You thus manifest Your sovereignty on my behalf? When I come to the next sharp thorn-hedge in my path — will it honor You if, instead of trying to force my way through it, and getting wounded for my pains — or attempting to avoid it by some roundabout course, and plunging deeper into the thicket — that I would just calmly sit down before it, and pray, and wait for You to wither it up, or turn it into a myrtle grove? Yes, I believe it will, and I seek faith and grace from You to do constantly this otherwise impossible thing. Past mercies and deliverances should strengthen me to expect yet greater manifestations of Your marvelous love.
Dear Lord, when troubles come, I would like to learn to look upon them as ways and means of glorifying You, to accept them as tests and trials of my faith, and to meet them with a brave heart, expecting Your sure deliverance! If my pathway were always smooth and pleasant, with never a thorn or brier to vex and trouble me — there would be no opportunity for the glorious exercise of Your love and mercy in deliverance from them. Courage, my soul! Your God will give you grace to say, as did His servant Paul, "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities — that the power of Christ may rest upon me!"
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