"To Whom Much Is Given Shall Much Be Required."
Luke 12: 48
WAITING
From then on life appeared to tick along as it always had done before but inwardly I was never quite the same again. Almost every day I had a great burden on my heart that only the Lord Himself was able to comfort. It seemed that for a long while I couldn't share it with anyone because I thought that I would be misunderstood. I felt that the words of this lovely hymn had been written especially for me:
The sorrows of the daily life, the shadows o'er my path which fall,
Too oft obscure the glory's light, until I rise above them all.
Until upon the mountain height I stand, my God, with Thee alone,
Bathed in the fullest, clearest light, the glory that surrounds the throne.
Calm in Thy secret presence, Lord, I rest this weary soul of mine;
Feed on the fullness of Thy Word, and die to all the things of time.
Alone with Thee, O Master, where the light of earthly glory dies,
Misunderstood by all, I dare to do what Thine own heart will prize.
Such be my path through life down here; one long, close, lonely walk with Thee,
Until, past every doubt and fear, Thy face in light above I'll see.
Author Unknown
There was one annual event I could look forward to and that was our Carol service. From the year of the wedding until now I have had the great privilege of contributing to our annual Carol service usually with a song I have purposely written for the event. I could put to use some of those ‘talents' I had been given!
The weeks slipped into months and then into years. I was often before the Lord in prayer (with my little book open) asking Him for His guidance, for His special help and for His perfect peace. On and on the verses of Scripture kept on being revealed and one by one I added them to my collection until I began to see a pattern of thought running through. Yes, there is something God wanted me to do with all that I had learned during the times of trial, and yes, He had given the talents with which to communicate these things, and yes it may be all on a scale much larger than I had ever thought – but not now!
I was comforted to remember Men and Women of God in the Bible had long periods of waiting before God was ready for them as well. Joseph had a long period in exile, first as a servant in a strange land and then in prison for something he wasn't guilty of before he was raised to a position in which he could sustain his father and wayward brothers from famine. There was Moses who had to live in the backside of the desert for 40 years before God used him to lead His people out of bondage. Mary of Bethany waited long for her opportunity to give her extravagant love gift to her beloved Lord Jesus.
