He Restores My Soul (Part 2)

He Restores My Soul (Part 2)

He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His names' sake. Psalm 23:3

I shared with you yesterday that the Lord gave me some wonderful comfort and truth during my quiet time. Today's devotional from STREAMS IN THE DESERT (Zondervan) is one of the messages from the Lord that is helping to restore my soul:

An inner-city missionary, stumbling through the trash of a dark apartment doorway, heard someone say, "Who's there, Honey? Lighting a match, he caught sight of earthly needs and suffering, amid saintly trust and peace. Calm, appealing eyes, etched in ebony, were set within the wrinkles of a weathered black face.

On a bitterly cold night in February, she lay on a tattered bed, with no fire, no heat, no light. Having had no breakfast, lunch or dinner, she seemed to have nothing at all, except arthritis and faith in God. No one could have been further removed from comfortable circumstances, yet this favorite song of the dear lady played in the background:

Nobody knows the trouble I see,
Nobody knows but Jesus;
Nobody knows the trouble I see --
Sing Glory Hallelu!
Sometimes I'm up, sometimes I'm down,
Sometimes I'm on level groun',
Sometimes the glory shines aroun'; --
Sing Glory Hallelu!

And so it continued: "Nobody knows the work I do, Nobody know the griefs I have," the constant refrain being, "Glory Hallelu! until the last verse rose:

Nobody knows the joys I have,
Nobody knows but Jesus!

"We are pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but no abandoned; struck down but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). It takes these great Bible words to explain the joy of this elderly black woman.

Do you remember the words of Martin Luther as he lay on his deathbed? Between groans he preached, "These pains and troubles here are all like the type that printers set. When we look at them, we see them backwards, and they seem to make no sens and have no meaning. But up there, when the Lord God prints out our life to come, we will find they make splendid reading." Yet we do not have to wait until then. The apostle Paul, walking the deck of a ship on a raging sea, encouraged the frightened sailors, "Be of good cheer" (Acts 27:22).

Paul, Martin Luther, and the dear black woman were all human sunflowers, seeking and seeing the Light in a world of darkness.

Brothers, it could be that one of you needed this same message today. I trust it will bring peace and comfort to your hearts as it did mine. Allow Him to restore your soul. -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 3; Numbers 26-28; Mark 8

Dig This Quote: That which makes the men of God so great and impressive is not, first and foremost, what they have accomplished. It is rather how they are able, by God's help, to pass through the greatest difficulties and the darkest hours;when, like Abraham, they give God the dearest they have; when, like Daniel, they brave the greatest dangers; and when like Moses, they endure that which is well nigh impossible. Thus they glorify God. G. Steinberger

Determined Digging: Level 1 --Psalm 30:5; Level 2 -- Psalm 37:23-26