Hanging next to my bed are the words of a poem written by Annie Johnson Flint in 1919. This wall hanging came from my grandparents and it was hung in their parsonages as early as the 1920's. I am challenged daily by the words of this poem. Annie Johnson Flint knew the toil and difficult burdens of this life. Both her parents and her adoptive parents died when she was young. Shortly before her adoptive parents' deaths, Annie started having trouble with arthritis and became unable to play the piano. So she was left with one mode of expression, writing poetry, as a replacement for her musical ambitions. In addition, Annie's sister was not well and could not help take care of her. At the age of 23, Annie was unable to continue working as a teacher. In less than five years she could not even walk. Left without financial support and personal care, she would push a pen through her bent fingers or use her knuckles to strike typewriter keys, though often in great pain, to produce poems for use on greeting cards, on wall hangings, and in magazines. One of her best-known poems was set to music and is this week's featured hymn. The experience that caused her to write it was the visit of a little, tired, discouraged deaconess. She told her troubles to Annie, and when she left and went back to the west, she wrote saying how blue and how down hearted she felt. She didn't see why God allowed such hard things to come into her life. Annie put her answer in this poem. Probably nothing sweeter ever came from her pen. No one but God and she knew what suffering she endured as the disease became worse with the passing of the years. New complications developed. But through it all her faith in the goodness and mercy of God never wavered. The words of this hymn need no explanation. They have challenged people for decades. Maybe they will be an encouragement during your times of challenge this week.
(1) God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.
(2) God hath not promised we shall not know
Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear
Many a burden, many a care.
But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.
(3) God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain rocky and steep,
Never a river turbid and deep.
But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.
You can listen to it being sung here. LISTEN
You can read more about the author's life here. FLINT
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