Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:6-7).

If we walk close to God, we shall find that in the midst of our trials, even when they are bitter, there is an undercurrent of sweet joyfulness way down in the depths of our souls. The consciousness that we are the Lord’s, that He loves us and that He is our Helper, will be sweet in the midst of all our woes. This may sometimes be obscured by doubts and fears for a time; but if we hide away under His wings and trust se­curely, the harp of joy will sound in our souls though in the tumult of emotions. We may sometimes have to listen carefully, however, to hear the soft, sweet strains of its melody.

Be patient in your trials; endure hardness as a good soldier; keep up the shield of faith: fight the good fight. In due season your soul will sing tri­umphant songs of victory, and the joy-bells, pealing out their merry music, will summon God’s people to rejoice with you in your Lord and Savior.

“Heart Talks” by C. W. Naylor

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Doubting God and His Word is a habit imposed by the devil, and the longer it is indulged in, the stronger becomes its binding power. Doubting causes a path, or furrow, on the brain like a path across an orchard or a field where many feet have trod; and nothing but a stern resistance and the power of God can ever erase these furrows and break the habit of doubting. I repeat that doubting is a habit, imposed by the devil….Read more

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.

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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

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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

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