My goal is God Himself—not joy, nor peace
Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God.
‘Tis His to lead me there, not mine, but His—
“At any cost, dear Lord, by any road!”
So faith bounds forward to its goal in God
And love can trust her Lord to lead her there;
Upheld by Him, my soul is following hard,
Till God hath full fulfilled my deepest prayer.
No matter if the way be sometimes dark,
No matter though the cost be oft-times great,
He knoweth how I best shall reach the mark—
The way that leads to Him must needs be strait.
One thing I know, I cannot say Him nay;
One thing I do, I press towards my Lord:
My God my glory here from day to day,
And in the glory there my Great Reward.
(Source unknown)
To reread a journal that one wrote decades ago is a surprisingly faith-strengthening experience. There, amid all the exigencies and vicissitudes of life, one can trace the unbroken thread of the utter faithfulness of God—the measure of grace to help in time of need, the unexpected kindness and help of many whom one hardly knew, the physical strength needed to do what needed to be done, the spiritual renewal that came with the Father’s continual pouring out of those mercies which He promised “endure forever,” great mercies, and also some so small, so heartbreakingly sweet—my brother Tom coming often to sit with Add or to talk with me; Betty Lee sending me a bottle of bubble bath (“You must be tired-have a long, leisurely soak”); my dear friend Van calling to say, “It’ll be all right, Bet. It’ll be O.K.” (a contemporary version of Julian of Norwich: All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well). C.S.Lewis speaks of being happy when his wife Joy was desperately ill and he himself screaming with the pain of osteoporosis—evidence that a brooding Providence is keeping all things under His control, as Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote in “The Golden Echo”: “far with a fonder care kept than we could have kept it.”
If some reader today looks into 1997 [or this next year] with deep forebodings, let him remember the God of Elisha. The king of Aram sent horses and chariots and a strong force to Dothan to capture him. Elisha’s servant saw the king’s chariots and horses surrounding the city and wailed, “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?”
“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then he prayed, asking God to open the eyes of the servant. “He looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:17).
Ours is the same God. There is in Him no variableness or even a shadow caused by turning. If it’s iron shoes we need, they will be provided. If it’s a touch, a word, a gift from a friend, it will be given. If God sees that the mountain should be filled with horses and chariots, He’ll fill it. Ask Him to open your eyes to His lovingkindness and tender mercies. Ask Him to help you to trust Him for tomorrow.
**Excerpt originally published in the Jan/Feb 1997 Elisabeth Elliot Newsletter.