Maybe it is my age, but it seems that everywhere I look good people are going through tough times ... illness, cancer, death, accidents, family problems, financial problems, employment problems, loneliness ... and the list could go on and on. For centuries people have asked why these problems and trials come to good people. Even David often raised this question in the Psalms. And while we may never know the answer here on earth, we do know that good people are not immune to trials. But what we do know is that God does give us the strength that we need to face them. He gives us rest, light and grace as we encounter them. And He provides us with His presence and His peace to face them. For many years a plaque with this hymn hung in my dad's study. The same plaque used to hang in his parent's parsonage back in the 1920's. So, apparently, even back then, good folks faced a multitude of trials and they, too, found their strength in the Lord and His perfect ways. So maybe the words of this hymn written by Annie Johnson Flint (1866-1932) will encourage you today as you face your trials. The author knew what trials were all about. She not only lost her parents as a child, but also her adopted parents. She developed severe arthritis and had to live out her years in a sanitarium. And in these times of great trial in her life she penned many inspiring poems including this hymn and also "He Giveth More Grace". And she found, just as we can, "strength for the day, rest for the labor, light for the way, grace for the trials, help from above, unfailing sympathy, undying love. " May that be your experience and testimony as well.
(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.
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