Category: Hope

My Faithful Shepherd

The shepherds of the Alps have a beautiful custom of ending the day by singing an evening farewell to one another. The air is so pure that the songs can be heard for very long distances. As the sun begins to set, they gather their flocks and begin to lead them down the mountain paths while they sing, “‘Thus far has the LORD helped us.’ Let us praise His name!”

Finally, as is their beautiful custom, they sing to one another the courteous and friendly farewell “Goodnight! Goodnight!” The words then begin to echo from mountainside to mountainside, reverberating sweetly and softly until the music fades into the distance.

~ from Streams in the Desert, December 31st

God has brought me through this past year, and I must believe that He is able to and will be faithful to lead me through 2015. I have a mixture of feelings about the year ahead: fear, excitement, uncertainty, hope, worry, resolve. But the important thing is that God is in control, that He has guided me to this point, and that He will not abandon me now. He is my faithful Shepherd, and I rest in His love for me and His promise to guide me along the right path.

“Thus far has the LORD helped [me].” – 1 Samuel 7:12

“The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.” – Psalm 37:23

❤       ❤       ❤

Photo Credit: WallpapersCraft

Sing Sweetest in the Dark

Sing a little song of trust,

Oh my heart!

Sing it just because you must,

As leaves start;

As flowers push their way through dust;

Sing, my heart, because you must.

Wait not for an eager throng —

Bird on bird;

It’s the solitary song

That is heard.

Every voice at dawn will start,

Be a nightingale, my heart!

Sing across the winter snow,

Pierce the cloud;

Sing when mists are drooping low —

Clear and loud;

But sing sweetest in the dark;

He who slumbers not will hark.

And when He hears you sing, He will bend down with a smile on His kind face. As He cheerfully listens, He will say, “Sing on, dear child. I hear you and I am coming to deliver you. I will carry that load for you. So just lean hard on Me, and the road will get smoother by and by.”

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! – Philippians 4:4

~ Taken from Streams in the Desert, December 28th

Photo Credit: Singing Nightingale, an acrylic painting by Laura Milnor Iverson

The Light Will Prevail

Grateful…

So grateful.

Although darkness pervades,

It will not prevail.

Light exists as well,

And it causes the darkness to scatter–

To scamper away like a mouse before a cat.

God is good.

He will provide. He will sustain. He will uplift.

He WILL keep His promises.

Although darkness floods my soul,

It will not overcome.

For the light is greater than the darkness,

And God is greater than all.

HE will prevail.

Photo Credit: Sebastian Boguszewicz