It is better to face the sunrise. Even in the darkness, we may face the east with the assurance that dawn will presently come. There shall be new friends for the old friends that are gone. There shall be new hopes for the perished hopes. There shall be new opportunities instead of the vanished ones. Let us resolutely look away from the sunset to where the dawn shall break again and the glorious light shine anew upon us.
Life has its adversities. It must need have them. Adversity, pain, sorrow, and disappointment are the lathe upon which God shapes us. They are the emery wheel that grinds and smooths us. They are the polishing wheel that makes us shine. If we can never be happy until we are so situated that nothing which exists may tend to render us unhappy, we shall have little happiness in life. Happiness does not come from a life of ease and indolence. It is not the result of the absence of obstacles and difficulties. Happiness comes from triumphing over them….
In adversity we sing a different song than we do when we are untroubled. We must join courage to trust. When we do this, we can sing songs of confidence born of our confidence in God’s help. We can sing songs of trust that allay our fears. We can sing songs of anticipation as we look forward to the victories that lie before us and at the crown at the end of the road. We can sing in joyful remembrance of God’s former mercies.
“The Secret of the Singing Heart” by C. W. Naylor
Download for free at: https://www.churchofgodeveninglight.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Secret-of-the-Singing-Heart.pdf
We should have faith in our Christian experience. I have seen many downcast, doubting people. When I asked them, “What is the matter,” some said, “I don’t feel right.” When I asked, “Why don’t you feel right?” some answered, “I don’t know, but I don’t feel right.”
Perhaps you don’t feel right. Well, what of it? Your emotions are not the test of your spiritual state. Some people feel bad physically when there is very little wrong with them, perhaps nothing of any consequence. Others may feel all right when they are in the grasp of a deadly disease. Just so spiritually. You cannot tell by your emotions what is your relationship with God. Your emotions were never intended to be evidences of your spiritual standing. We must stand by faith, learn to exercise faith, and learn to live by faith. Judge yourself righteously. Do not let your feelings master your faith. Make your faith master your feelings. As a general thing, when you believe right you will feel right; but very often faith is based on feelings instead of on realities. It does not matter so much how you feel. How are you? This is to be settled by your faith, quite apart from your feelings; when you settle it, leave your feelings out of the question as evidence.
We should make a practice of building into our lives every day the building blocks of faith; not building blocks of doubts and fears, anxieties, and worries. There are plenty of these building blocks of faith to be had. In learning to build with these building blocks of faith, we learn the Secret of the Singing Heart—of a joyful, happy Christian experience, of certainty for the future, and just as much certainty for the present.
“The Secret of the Singing Heart” by C. W. Naylor
Download for free at: https://www.churchofgodeveninglight.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Secret-of-the-Singing-Heart.pdf
Have you tried again and again to overcome something and still it troubles you? Well, Paul had such an experience. Of course you remember that oft-mentioned “thorn in the flesh.” Paul tried to get rid of that, but the Lord did not take it away. He said, “My grace is sufficient.”
Sometimes we are tempted to look upon ourselves as failures. I suppose all of us come short of our hopes and expectations many times. One thing, however, is certain. We shall never be real failures unless we surrender to circumstances and give up the fight. Sometimes, out of failure come the greatest victories. What seem to be the greatest failures sometimes prove to be the greatest successes.
If you cannot be what you desire to be, be what you can be, and do not be ashamed of it. Do not let mistakes or imperfections prevent you from doing what you should do. Be the man or the woman you can be and hold up your head and look the world and circumstances in the face and assert your manhood or your womanhood. Say, “I have failed, but I am not a failure. I have failed, but I will yet succeed.”
There are many things that people have to face—home troubles, business reverses, debts, physical disabilities and many like things. But look upon the great names of history and see how many of those who had such things to meet have risen above them and in spite of them have resolutely gone forward to victory.
Whatever there may be in your life that cannot be helped, do not sit down and fold your hands and spend your days mourning. Make the best of it. There is a way out and that way leads to victory and success.
“The Secret of the Singing Heart” by C. W. Naylor
Download for free at: https://www.churchofgodeveninglight.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Secret-of-the-Singing-Heart.pdf
The “Heroes of Faith” of the Old Testament went through great adversity and trouble. The apostles of the New Testament faced much opposition, and all experienced a martyr’s death except for the apostle John. The saints around the throne in Heaven had come “out of great tribulation” (Revelation 7:14). Suffering and tribulation are part of the Christian life!