He Maketh No Mistake

My Father's way may twist and turn,
My heart may throb and ache.
But in my soul, I'm glad I know,
He maketh no mistake.

My cherished plans may go astray,
My hopes may fade away,
But still I'll trust my Lord to lead,
For He doth know the way.

Tho' night be dark and it may seem
That day will never break,
I'll pin my faith, my all, in Him,
He maketh no mistake.

There's so much now I cannot see,
My eyesight's far too dim,
But come what may, I'll simply trust
And leave it all to Him.

For by and by the mist will lift,
And plain it all He'll make.
Through all the way, tho' dark to me,
He made not one mistake.

-A.M. Overton

One Day At A Time

One day at a time, with its failures and fears,
With its hurts and mistakes, with its weakness and tears,
With its portion of pain and its burden of care;
One day at a time we must meet and must bear.

One day at a time to be patient and strong,
To be calm under trial and sweet under wrong;
Then its toiling shall pass and its sorrow shall cease;
It shall darken and die, and the night shall bring peace.

One day at a time - but the day is so long,
And the heart is not brave, and the soul is not strong,
O Thou pitiful Christ, be Thou near all the way;
Give courage and patience and strength for the day.

Swift cometh His answer, so clear and so sweet;
"Yea, I will be with thee, thy troubles to meet;
I will not forget thee, nor fail thee, nor grieve;
I will not forsake thee; I never will leave."

Not yesterday's load we are called on to bear,
Nor the morrow's uncertain and shadowy care;
Why should we look forward or back with dismay?
Our needs, as our mercies, are but for the day.

One day at a time, and the day is His day;
He hath numbered its hours, though they haste or delay.
His grace is sufficient; we walk not alone;
As the day, so the strength that He giveth His own.

--Annie Johnson Flint

The Hidden Boundary

There is a time, we know not when,
A point we know not where,
That marks the destiny of men
To glory or despair.

There is a line by us unseen,
That crosses every path;
The hidden boundary between
God's patience and his wrath.

To pass that limit is to die--
To die as if by stealth;
It does not quench the beaming eye
Or pale the glow of health.

The conscience may be still at ease,
The spirit blithe and gay;
That which pleases still may please,
And care be thrust away.

But on that forehead God has set,
Indelibly a mark,
Unseen by men, for men as yet
Are blind and in the dark.

Oh, where is this mysterious bourne
By which each path is crossed?
Beyond which God himself hath sworn
That he who goes is lost?

How far may we go on in sin?
How long will God forbear?
Where does hope end, and where begin
The confines of despair?

The answer from the skies is sent,
'Ye that from God depart,
While it is called today, repent,
And harden not your heart!'"

--Dr. Joseph Addison Alexander

Trust Till I Can Understand

I do not ask that He must prove
His Word is true to me,
And that before I can believe
He first must let me see.

It is enough for me to know
'Tis true because He says 'tis so;
On His unchanging Word I'll stand
And trust till I can understand.
--E. M. Winter

If We Could See

If we could see beyond today
As God can see;
If all the clouds should roll away,
The shadows flee;
O'er present griefs we would not fret.
Each sorrow we would soon forget,
For many joys are waiting yet
For you and me.

If we could know beyond today
As God doth know,
Why dearest treasures pass away
And tears must flow;
And why the darkness leads to light,
Why dreary paths will soon grow bright;
Some day life's wrongs will be made right,
Faith tells us so.

"If we could see! If we could know,”
We often say,
But God, in love, a veil doth throw
Across our way;
We cannot see what lies before,
And so we cling to Him the more,
He leads us till this life is o'er;
Trust and obey.

--Norman J. Clayton

Heaven's High Ministries

Joy is the lesson set for some;
For others, pain best teacher is,
We know not which for us shall come,
But both are Heaven's high ministries.
--Susan Coolidge

Ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done, saith the Lord God. --Exodus 14:23

It Matters Not

It matters not if cherished friends
On whom I leaned in vain
Have wounded me by word and deed
And left me with great pain.
What matters is, can I forgive
Again and yet again?
It's not, have they been true, but,
Lord, Have I been true to them?

'Twill matter not when evening comes
How rough the road I've trod;
If only I have walked with Him
And led some soul to God.
For when I wake to be like Him
Who saved me by His grace,
Earth's pain will vanish when I catch
One glimpse of His dear face.
--Author Unknown

I Know Not Why

I know not why His hand is laid
In chastening on my life,
Nor why it is my little world
Is filled so full of strife.

I know not why, when faith looks up
And seeks for rest from pain,
That o'er my sky fresh clouds arise
And drench my path with rain.

I know not why my prayer so long
By Him has been denied,
Nor why, while others' ships sail on,
Mine should in port abide.

But I do know that God is love,
That He my burden shares;
And though I may not understand,
I know for me He cares.

I know the heights for which I long
Are often reached through pain;
I know the sheaves must needs be threshed
To yield the golden grain.

I know that, though He may remove
The friends on whom I lean,
'Tis that I thus may learn to love
And trust the One unseen.

And when at last I see His face
And know as I am known,
I will not care how rough the road
That led me to my home.
--Grace E. Troy

Take It On Trust

Be quiet! why this anxious heed
About thy tangled ways?
God knows them all. He giveth speed
And He allows delays.
'Tis good for thee to walk by faith
And not by sight.
Take it on trust a little while.
Soon shalt thou read the mystery aright
In the full sunshine of His smile.

In times of uncertainty, wait.
Always if you have any doubt, wait.
Do not force yourself to any action.
If you have a restraint in your spirit, wait until all is clear, and do not go against it.
--Streams in the Desert

If We Knew

Could we but draw back the curtains
That surround each other's lives;
See the naked heart and spirit,
Know what spur the action gives.
Often we should find it better -
Purer than we judge we should -
We would love each other better
If we only understood.

Could we judge all deeds by motives,
See the good and bad within;
Often we should love the sinner
All the while we loathe the sin.
Could we know the powers working
To overthrow integrity,
We would judge each other's errors
With more patient charity.

If we knew the cares and trials;
Know the efforts all in vain,
And the bitter disappointments;
Understood the loss and gain --
Would the grim eternal roughness
Seem, I wonder, just the same?
Would we help where we now hinder?
Would we pity where we blame?

Ah! We judge each other harshly,
Knowing not life's hidden force;
Knowing not the fount of action
Is less turbid at its source.
Seeing not amid the evils
All the golden grains of good,
Oh! we'd love each other better
If we only understood.
--Author Unknown