I first heard this song at Truth & Life last week. The words made me stop and really consider the truth of what was being sung. I was so encouraged and challenged to keep this perspective in the midst of trials and heartache, great or small. I pray you are just as encouraged and that this too would be your thinking in the midst of loss and disappointment.
Our God is so good! May we never forget this.
In the Valley
Sovereign Grace Ministries
When You lead me to the valley of vision
I can see You in the heights
And though my humbling wouldn’t be my decision
It’s here Your glory shines so bright
So let me learn that the cross precedes the crown
To be low is to be high
That the valley’s where You make me more like Christ
Let me find Your grace in the valley
Let me find Your life in my death
Let me find Your joy in my sorrow
Your wealth in my need
That You’re near with every breath
In the valley
In the daytime there are stars in the heavens
But they only shine at night
And the deeper that I go into darkness
The more I see their radiant light
So let me learn that my losses are my gain
To be broken is to heal
That the valley’s where Your power is revealed
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
Elijah & the Widow of Zarephath
I have been reading through 1 Kings recently and came across the portion of Scripture that speaks of Elijah and the destitute widow of Zarephath.
In a time of great famine and drought, Elijah came to the widow asking her to make him a cake, using the last of the flour and oil she had. She knew that this little amount of flour and oil stood between her son's and her own starvation; however, because this request came from the Lord, she obeyed and offered all she had, not questioning the Lord's goodness to her but trusting in His character, His infinite mercy and His overwhelming desire for her ultimate good--in the midst of suffering and even potential death for her self and her son. (...and, not to mention, without understanding why God would ask her to make Elijah a cake when her and son had nothing more to eat and really nothing to give another?!) Oh, to have a trust like hers, to obey without reservation. I pray that this characterizes me one day!
The widow at Zarephath never imagined the far-reaching effects of her obedience. "There was food for him and for her and her family for a long time. The jar of flour did not give out nor did the flask of oil fail" (1 Kings 17:15-16). God is so good--and does far more than we can ever imagine with our suffering, our loss, our heartache, our weaknesses, our poverty, our misery!
Amy Carmichael wrote a poem that provides an incredible analogy between suffering and the poverty of the widow of Zarephath.
Nothing in the House
Thy servant, Lord, hath nothing in the house,
Not even one small pot of common oil;
For he who never cometh to spoil
Hath raided my poor house again, again,
That ruthless strong man armed, whom men call Pain.
I thought that I had courage in the house,
And patience to be quiet and endure,
And sometimes happy songs; now I am sure
Thy servant truly hath not anything,
And see, my song-bird hath a broken wing.
***
My servant, I have come into the house--
I who know Pain's extremity so well
That there can never be the need to tell
His power to make the flesh and spirit quail:
Have I not felt the scourage, the thorn, the nail?
And I, his Conqueror, am in the house,
Let not your heart be troubled: do not fear:
Why shouldst thou, child of Mine, if I am here?
My touch will heal thy song-bird's broken wing,
And he shall have a braver song to sing.
The Lord redeems our pain, our misery, our hurt. He heals our broken wings and gives us a braver song to sing--if only we will trust, if only we will risk. The Lord can bring such beauty from even the worst pain and hurt. Will we trust Him to do that? Will we offer him that which exposes us and leaves us so vulnerable before Him and even others? I pray that I too can offer what I believe is my last bit of flour and oil with a heart believing that Christ, in the midst of the heartache and the pain, is doing far more than I ever can imagine with my finite, little mind.
In a time of great famine and drought, Elijah came to the widow asking her to make him a cake, using the last of the flour and oil she had. She knew that this little amount of flour and oil stood between her son's and her own starvation; however, because this request came from the Lord, she obeyed and offered all she had, not questioning the Lord's goodness to her but trusting in His character, His infinite mercy and His overwhelming desire for her ultimate good--in the midst of suffering and even potential death for her self and her son. (...and, not to mention, without understanding why God would ask her to make Elijah a cake when her and son had nothing more to eat and really nothing to give another?!) Oh, to have a trust like hers, to obey without reservation. I pray that this characterizes me one day!
The widow at Zarephath never imagined the far-reaching effects of her obedience. "There was food for him and for her and her family for a long time. The jar of flour did not give out nor did the flask of oil fail" (1 Kings 17:15-16). God is so good--and does far more than we can ever imagine with our suffering, our loss, our heartache, our weaknesses, our poverty, our misery!
Amy Carmichael wrote a poem that provides an incredible analogy between suffering and the poverty of the widow of Zarephath.
Nothing in the House
Thy servant, Lord, hath nothing in the house,
Not even one small pot of common oil;
For he who never cometh to spoil
Hath raided my poor house again, again,
That ruthless strong man armed, whom men call Pain.
I thought that I had courage in the house,
And patience to be quiet and endure,
And sometimes happy songs; now I am sure
Thy servant truly hath not anything,
And see, my song-bird hath a broken wing.
***
My servant, I have come into the house--
I who know Pain's extremity so well
That there can never be the need to tell
His power to make the flesh and spirit quail:
Have I not felt the scourage, the thorn, the nail?
And I, his Conqueror, am in the house,
Let not your heart be troubled: do not fear:
Why shouldst thou, child of Mine, if I am here?
My touch will heal thy song-bird's broken wing,
And he shall have a braver song to sing.
The Lord redeems our pain, our misery, our hurt. He heals our broken wings and gives us a braver song to sing--if only we will trust, if only we will risk. The Lord can bring such beauty from even the worst pain and hurt. Will we trust Him to do that? Will we offer him that which exposes us and leaves us so vulnerable before Him and even others? I pray that I too can offer what I believe is my last bit of flour and oil with a heart believing that Christ, in the midst of the heartache and the pain, is doing far more than I ever can imagine with my finite, little mind.
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