Daily Devotional
September 16
Streams in the Desert
"Hide thyself by the brook Cherith."(1 Kings 17:3.) OD'S servants must be taught the value of the hidden life. The man who is to take a high place before his fellows must take a low place before his God. We must not be surprised if sometimes our Father says:"There, child, thou hast had enough of this hurry, and pub¬ licity, and excitement; get thee hence, and hide thy¬ self by the brook—hide thyself in the Cherith of the sick chamber, or in the Cherith of bereavement, or in some solitude from which the crowds have ebbed away."
Happy is he who can reply,"This Thy will is also mine; I flee unto Thee to hide me. Hide me in the secret of Thy taber¬ nacle, and beneath the covert of Thy wings l"
Every saintly soul that would wield great power with men must win it in some hidden Cherith. The acquisition of spiritual power is impossible, unless we can hide ourselves from men and from ourselves in some deep gorge where we may absorb the power of the eternal God; as vegetation through long ages absorbed these qualities of sunshine, which it now gives back through burning coal.
Bishop Andrews had his Cherith, in which he spent five hours every day in prayer and devotion. John Welsh had it— who thought the day ill spent which did not witness eight or ten hours of closet communion. David Brainerd had it in the woods of North America. Christmas Evans had it in his long and lonely journeys amid the hills of Wales.
Or, passing back to the blessed age from which we date the centuries: Patmos, the seclusion of the Roman prisons, the Arabian desert, the hills and vales of Palestine, are forever memorable as the Cheriths of those who have made our modern world.
Our Lord found His Cherith at Nazareth, and in the wilder¬ ness of Judea; amid the olives of Bethany, and the solitude of Gadara. None of us, therefore, can dispense with some Cherith where the sounds of human voices are exchanged for the waters of quietness which are fed from the throne; and where we may taste the sweets and imbibe the power of a life hidden with Christ.— Elijah, by Meyer.
"It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good.** (1 Sam. 3:18.) EE God in everything, and God will calm and color all that thou dost see!"It may be that the circumstances of our sorrows will not be removed, their condition will remain unchanged; but if Christ, as Lord and Master of our life, is brought into our grief and gloom,"HE will compass us about with songs of deliverance."To see HIM, and to be sure that His wisdom cannot err, His power cannot fail, His love can never change; to know that even His direst dealings with us are for our deepest spiritual gain, is to be able to say, in the midst of bereavement, sorrow, pain, and loss,"The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."
Nothing else but seeing God in everything will make us lov¬ ing and patient with those who annoy and trouble us. They will be to us then only instruments for accomplishing His ten¬ der and wise purposes toward us, and we shall even find our- selves at last inwardly thanking them for the blessings they bring us. Nothing else will completely put an end to all mur¬ muring or rebelling thoughts. —H. W. Smith.
"Give me a new idea"I said. While musing on a sleepless bed;"A new idea that'll bring to earth A balm for souls of priceless worth; That'll give men thoughts of things above, And teach them how to serve and, love f That'll banish every selfish thought, And rid men of the sins they've fought."
The new thought came, just how. I'll tell:'Twas when on bended knee I fell, And sought from HIM who knows full well The way our sorrow to expel. SEE GOD IN ALL THINGS, great and small.
And give HIM praise whate'er befall, In life or death, in pain or woe, See God, and overcome thy foe. I saw HIM in the morning light, HE made the day shine clear and bright;
I saw HIM in the noontide hour. And gained from HIM refreshing shower • At eventide, when worn and sad, HE gave me help, and made me glad. At midnight, when on tossing bed My weary soul to sleep HE led.
I saw HIM when great losses came. And found HE loved me just the same. When heavy loads I had to bear, I found HE lightened every care. By sickness, sorrow, sore distress, HE calmed my mind and gave me rest.
HE'S filled my heart with gladsome praise Since 1 gave HIM the upward gaze. *Twas new to me, yet old to some, This thought that to me has become A revelation of the way We all should live throughout the day;
For as each day unfolds its light. We'll walk by faith and not by sight. Life will, indeed, a blessing bring, If we SEE GOD IN EVERYTHING."A. E. Finn. 273