July 15...a good Streams Devotion....and random musings on KP

This is from the devotional that I have been reading, Streams of the Desert. I hope that it brings you as much comfort as it did to me:

It is easy to love Him when the blue is in the sky,
When the summer winds are blowing, and we smell the roses nigh;
There is little effort needed to obey His precious will
When it leads through flower-decked valley, or over sun-kissed hill

It is when the rain is falling, or the mist hangs in the air,
When the road is dark and rugged, and the wind no longer fair,
When the rosy dawn has settled in a shadowland of gray,
That we find it hard to trust Him, and are slower to obey.

It is easy to trust Him when the singing birds have come,
And their canticles are echoed in our heart and in our home;
But 'tis when we miss the music, and the days are dull and drear,
That we need a faith triumphant over every doubt and fear.

And our blessed Lord will give it; what we lack He will supply;
Let us ask in faith believing--on His promises rely;
He will ever be our Leader, whether smooth or rough the way,
And will prove Himself sufficient for the needs of every day.

To trust in spite of the look of being forsaken; to keep crying out into the vast, whence comes no returning voice, and where seems no hearing; to see the machinery of the world pauselessly grinding on as if self-moved, caring for no life, nor shifting a hairbreadth for all entreaty, and yet believe that God is awake and utterly loving; to desire nothing but what comes meant for us from His hand; to wait patiently, ready to die of hunger, fearing only lest faith should fail--such is the victory that overcometh the world, such is faith indeed. George MacDonald

***
Okay, well I just read this again and was convicted again. Like I was this morning. Sometimes I equate conviction with encouragement. :) It is just another symptom of being an Overthinker.

I prayed that I would able to have this faith. Of being able to "desire nothing but what comes meant for us from His hand." I can't imagine doing this, and yet I feel honored that I got to watch KP do this very thing. Since I know I won't acheive it, I feel honored to be able to be so close to someone who can do it. She probably won't admit to it, and she will blab on about how God saw her through her 35+ treatments of radiation and she won't take credit. Which she shouldn't, because God truly did cover her in so much grace and continues to.

All I am saying is I never once saw her break down and say, "it is not fair" or "why me?" or "this sucks." She just endured her trial with patience and a perserverance that I don't think I will ever have. I guess it is really true that God only gives us thet trials that we can endure.

I am not sure how I got onto that topic...I was just going to post the excerpt and then hit the hay. Maybe it was just because KP gave me her speech the other day, summarizing her experience with cancer.

I praise God for His faithfulness, mercy, and lovingkindness to our entire family in protecting her and keeping her with us on earth.

In any case, do you love Him only when the sky is blue? Or do you also trust in Him alone when the day is drear? I will pray for you, that you will (and I will) trust in Him for all things.