GOD HATH NOT PROMISED (TH/PEACE #8)

        So often when life seems to be filled with disappointments and despair we wonder why God would allow us to face such obstacles on our pathway through this world.  Why does this happen to me?  The question "Why?" is probably the question that most believers use the most often.  And often the answer comes years later or maybe not even until we reach heaven.

          But we can be assured of several things.  God understands and cares.  He allows us to face difficult things for our growth.  He never gives us more than we can handle.  He never leaves us alone.  He will walk with  us through the darkest valley.  He loves His children. 

          After the death of my father, I claimed several of his pictures. One was a picture of Jesus knocking at the door. That one had hung in our living room most of my life. Another was a picture of Jesus with little children. I gave that one to him after he had served for many years as Sunday School superintendent. 

         A third consisted of the words to this week's hymn choice. A note on the back of the picture explains that it had hung on the wall of the parsonage in Spring City about 1920, shortly after the poem was put to music in 1919.  That was just after the tragic death of my grandfather in the Spanish Flu in 1918.   I've hung this right next to my bed where I can see the words each morning and again at night. It is a great reminder that God has not promised us an easy path. We will be subject to the storms of life, whether it be with our health, our job, our finances, our family members, or even our ministry. But God has promised us strength for the day and grace for the trials of life. 

          This was the experience of the hymn writer, Annie Flint. She was adopted as a young girl and attended school in Trenton, New Jersey. She became a teacher but had to quit after only a few years when severe arthritis made her unable to walk. She was moved to the Clifton Springs Sanitarium and began writing poetry. Many of her verses were published on cards and in magazines. 

         William M. Runyan put this poem to music. As you read the words and listen to the music you can't help but realize that the words were the personal experience of the writer. 

         Have you found the same to be true in your life? Are you troubled today with a path that is so hard? Remember that God will provide strength, wisdom and peace as you trust Him. 

(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.

Refrain

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.

Refrain

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 road and wide,

Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;

Never a mountain rocky and steep,

Never a river turbid and deep.

Refrain

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.

Listen to it being sung. LISTEN