With Love, from the Editresses
Dear Sisters,
The cool stillness that is in the early morning hours wafted over me as I sat weeding in the garden. The humming buzzing sound of a mother humming bird was the only sound that reached my ears—it was too early for songbirds to begin their singing. The weeds were fairly easy to pull from our soft fluffy dirt letting my mind wander away from the work I was doing….
“To glorify Thee, this is my plea;
Work out Thy purpose, Thy plan for me;
A yielded vessel, Thine own to be,
Thy praise and glory, to live for Thee.”
The words of the songwriter stuck in my head, bringing back the verses that had so inspired me as I had sung them earlier that morning. “To glorify Thee, this is my plea.” My plea? Do I really plead with the Lord to show me ways to glorify Him? The thought struck me as a little strange and perhaps somewhat fanatical for it to be my plea. For often I find myself pleading for healing for my allergies, rather than for grace to bear it, if through the irksomeness of allergies God would be glorified. Thinking along the line of servants, at least good servants, anyway, isn’t their whole purpose in life “to glorify” their masters? If they have put beautiful walks and landscaped a flower garden and basically put out a bunch of hard work, do they get the credit? When their master is entertaining guests in his garden, does he point out that he merely designed it, and really they should be praising his servant? We should think it very ill-mannered indeed if when the master was showing his guest a masterpiece of art, his servant stuck his head in the door and said, “Hey, I dusted and shined that yesterday; that is why it looks so nice.” How unglorifying that would be. Yet don’t we do that? I mean, aren’t there times when you, too, feel inwardly proud about something, and even if you don’t say it out loud, subtly you think, “My, that really touched her. Maybe she’ll get saved; and it will be because I spoke when the Lord told me to.” Maybe not that boldly does the devil bring it to you, but perhaps softly, less horridly, and more desirable. Yet we are servants of the Lord, we have given our hearts and lives to Him; what right have we to take any glory upon ourselves? He is our master and we should do all to glorify Him. What an unworthy servant I am, struggling to accept things that He brings to me, when I should be happy and thankful to do whatever would glorify Him. Thinking again of the songwriter’s words, “A yielded vessel.” I am sure this is a different relationship than that of a master who has captured you and held you in bondage. This is one that gives you utter happiness and joy, if you are willing to be a yielded vessel, quiet, lying still and dead, resting in the Master’s hand. For we must die, before we can live to glorify Him.
Some of this is quite new to me, but I truly want glorifying my Master to be my utmost plea, and I’m confident that I’m on the road that leads in that direction.
In closing I’d like to share the rest of the song that has been on my heart and mind and has inspired me to live so it can be my prayer.
In His love,
Abigail
To Glorify Thee
Oh, may my life be to Thy praise, O Father,
In all I do may Thou be magnified;
Thou chosest me before the world’s foundation,
Thine own to be, that Thou be glorified.
Oh, may my life be to Thy praise, O Spirit,
This temple fit, empow’red, and yielded be,
That in Thy strength my life may glorify Thee
In life or death, whate’er Thou hast for me.
Refrain:
To glorify Thee, this is my plea;
Work out Thy purpose, Thy plan for me;
A yielded vessel, Thine own to be,
Thy praise and glory, to live for Thee.
Dear Sisters,
“6:30 a.m. Ugh—I have overslept again…. No time to have with the Lord before my day begins….”
Does this ever happen to you, or am I the only one that struggles to get up every morning to have my quiet time? It is ever so tempting just to want to stay in my nice, cozy bed and doze a little more….
Yet all too often I see the results of sleeping in as nothing desirable.
What happens? Prayer and solitude to talk with God changes things. It can drastically change the entire mode and attitude of the day. Almost without fail, I have found that the days when I have overslept and thus not had the time to spend in His Word and in prayer, I struggle more those days.
Why is it that when we don’t start our day with God first, we invariably don’t have the special peace and grace that come with spending time with Him?
One dear friend was sharing how she had awakened later than usual and plans hadn’t gone as she expected one day. Instead she was flustered and not at peace in her heart. Once she was finished with her housework and what needed to be done, she quieted her heart before the Lord and He gave her peace.
Remember Mary and Martha? “And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)
Mary had quieted her heart before the Lord and Martha hadn’t. All too often I find myself bustling around and making sure the temporal, earthly needs are being met like Martha. Yet Jesus told Martha that the Mary had chosen the better part.
Working with Dear Princess has taught me another aspect of the great importance of prayer and waiting on God for His answers and timing.
When we were at the printer’s to set up the Summer ’98 issue, the thought occurred that we should buy another stapler so we could get more done in a shorter period. Later that day we picked one up and thought we had made a wise purchase, but, oh, how we were wrong! The wrong part wasn’t in the actual purchasing of the stapler itself; but in using the Lord’s money without seeking Him first in prayer. This may seem like a very small thing, but we have a very tight budget.
Time went by and after we had some time to think it all over, we regretted that we hadn’t prayed about the purchase first. And if we had prayed, would it have been any different?
Isaiah 55:8-9 comes back to mind: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
If we had sought the Lord in prayer and asked Him what His thoughts were, we most likely would’ve found that we weren’t to purchase the stapler.
Through the intervening months, we have had to use the stapler maybe once or twice. Starting with this next issue, we’ll have no need for one, as the Lord has provided another printer in Nebraska who will do all the printing, collating, stapling and mailing.
We were thankful when it worked out to take the stapler back, and I was encouraged that “all things work together for good to them that love God.” (Romans 8:28)
Such little opportunities can create the groundwork and foundation for the times in life when we really need to pray and wait upon God.
One morning in devotions we read from John 11 about Lazarus:
“Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.” (John 11:5-6)
Martha and Mary sent word unto Jesus, imploring Him to come and heal their brother, but it says Jesus abode.
Not always, when we’re praying, will the Lord come right away and answer our prayers. He abides until the time when He sees that we’ve gotten the best out of the situation and “that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.” (John 11:4)
As humans, were impatient and want everything to be done quickly and correctly when we think it needs to be done. God’s ways are higher.
I remember a specific time when I was praying and imploring the Lord for something, and He waited and waited and waited. While I felt God was silent, the fact of the matter was that He was waiting until He knew that I was ready. He saw that I needed to be down on my knees more, to throw out some bad attitudes first, and to be refined by His power though trials. I had more to learn and in order for me to get all the good He had intended, and for Him to be fully glorified, He had to wait.
May we each pray with Amy Carmichael!—“Oh to get into that stronger, calmer current, out of the feverishness of human haste. Do please, dear friends, ask that we may exchange the eagerness of the flesh for the earnestness of the Spirit and so move in the force of that Holy Wind that we shall be carried along by His great calm.” (Taken from A Chance to Die, by Elisabeth Elliot.)
Learning from the Savior,
Skye