So every morning I get up and switch on the computer and go to two websites. This is for "devotions," as we used to quaintly call them. The first is here and is an online version of Streams in the Desert. It's a book my pious old grandmother used to have which she passed on to my dad. The online version is one of a number of editions of the book.
Anyhow, this material is, shall we say, old-fashioned in many respects, but the common theme is adversity. It was stuff the author/editor, Mrs. Cowman, pulled together, I think, for her husband Charles. He'd been a missionary to Japan but then, as the intro puts it, was "struck down." His doctor said he was "worn out." (Maybe he had a nervous breakdown, eh?)
The website intro has wording we would say is utterly cornball. A sample: "The result was that he was transferred from the din of the battle to the seclusion of the sick chamber; from the glow and glory of the work he loved so dearly, to the utter abandonment of it all. Would his faith fail now at this crucial point? If God were to give him songs in the night, He must first make the night. The billows which in their approach threatened to submerge him as they came in, lifted him to heaven for which he was bound."
The daily readings, by a range of Christians, aren't quite that corny, by the way, and the reality is, I find them nourishing. While occasionally I'm so cloyed by the language I can barely finish a reading, usually I am helped.
Here's the deal. Essentially, we all face each day the question, "Am I going to live by faith, or sight?" For those unfamiliar with the Bible, this basically means, "Am I going to be happy, kind, patient, loving, and faithful (as opposed to touchy, lazy, grouchy, etc.) based on what I know to be true--even though I really don't feel like it, or I feel whiny, or life seems to stink at the moment?"
The readings usually help me to pivot and focus more on "What is true no matter what?" I feel confused? Can't pray? Nothing new there. Bible says when that's the case, the Spirit helps us pray. I think about that. I tell God I can't pray. I start believing He's workin' on the problem--even when I don't even quite know what "the problem" is. I don't panic. I take it easy. I remember God is God and I'm puny, ineffectual. If I do my little bit, He'll take care of the rest. He did it before, He'll do it again.
And so forth.
Little by little, I think, these readings, and these sorts of meditations, have helped. I think. I think I'm not hammering the Panic Button every five seconds, as I once did.
Okay, the other "devotional" reading is here. It's short, it's punchy, it's Spurgeon. What more can I say? These little readings are called Faith's Checkbook, and I usually find them helpful too. I've not really cared for longer things written by Charles Spurgeon (the great 19th century English preacher) because, in the Victorian tradition he could tend to be, shall we say, something of a windbag. But these "Checkbook" readings I like. Because they're short and to the point, maybe he had to keep his verbosity under control (unlike, for example, today's blog posting).
Spurgeon was a dude who wasn't afraid to tell about his tendency to get depressed. He was honest. He didn't go on and on about it, but you knew the cat (I revert to my Beatnik vocabulary) suffered. He too helps direct my attention to the "unseen" instead of the "seen." Things like, "maybe you don't feel like 'keepin' on keepin' on' today, but the reality is, if you do, you'll grow, and one day you'll stand before Jesus (this is really going to happen) and will be extremely happy that you did (if you did). On the other hand, if you just 'give in,' well, you won't change, and the pain will get worse, and when you finally stand before Jesus, well, you'll be sorry you were such a wimp." (This is my 21st century summary of Spurgeon's thought.)
So the bottom line is, these sorts of things help me to "buck up." They help me to get into a better mood even when things stink because I think, "Hey, this isn't happening by chance. God is letting this happen. He wants me to grow up and knows I can handle this."
Anyhow, this material is, shall we say, old-fashioned in many respects, but the common theme is adversity. It was stuff the author/editor, Mrs. Cowman, pulled together, I think, for her husband Charles. He'd been a missionary to Japan but then, as the intro puts it, was "struck down." His doctor said he was "worn out." (Maybe he had a nervous breakdown, eh?)
The website intro has wording we would say is utterly cornball. A sample: "The result was that he was transferred from the din of the battle to the seclusion of the sick chamber; from the glow and glory of the work he loved so dearly, to the utter abandonment of it all. Would his faith fail now at this crucial point? If God were to give him songs in the night, He must first make the night. The billows which in their approach threatened to submerge him as they came in, lifted him to heaven for which he was bound."
The daily readings, by a range of Christians, aren't quite that corny, by the way, and the reality is, I find them nourishing. While occasionally I'm so cloyed by the language I can barely finish a reading, usually I am helped.
Here's the deal. Essentially, we all face each day the question, "Am I going to live by faith, or sight?" For those unfamiliar with the Bible, this basically means, "Am I going to be happy, kind, patient, loving, and faithful (as opposed to touchy, lazy, grouchy, etc.) based on what I know to be true--even though I really don't feel like it, or I feel whiny, or life seems to stink at the moment?"
The readings usually help me to pivot and focus more on "What is true no matter what?" I feel confused? Can't pray? Nothing new there. Bible says when that's the case, the Spirit helps us pray. I think about that. I tell God I can't pray. I start believing He's workin' on the problem--even when I don't even quite know what "the problem" is. I don't panic. I take it easy. I remember God is God and I'm puny, ineffectual. If I do my little bit, He'll take care of the rest. He did it before, He'll do it again.
And so forth.
Little by little, I think, these readings, and these sorts of meditations, have helped. I think. I think I'm not hammering the Panic Button every five seconds, as I once did.
Okay, the other "devotional" reading is here. It's short, it's punchy, it's Spurgeon. What more can I say? These little readings are called Faith's Checkbook, and I usually find them helpful too. I've not really cared for longer things written by Charles Spurgeon (the great 19th century English preacher) because, in the Victorian tradition he could tend to be, shall we say, something of a windbag. But these "Checkbook" readings I like. Because they're short and to the point, maybe he had to keep his verbosity under control (unlike, for example, today's blog posting).
Spurgeon was a dude who wasn't afraid to tell about his tendency to get depressed. He was honest. He didn't go on and on about it, but you knew the cat (I revert to my Beatnik vocabulary) suffered. He too helps direct my attention to the "unseen" instead of the "seen." Things like, "maybe you don't feel like 'keepin' on keepin' on' today, but the reality is, if you do, you'll grow, and one day you'll stand before Jesus (this is really going to happen) and will be extremely happy that you did (if you did). On the other hand, if you just 'give in,' well, you won't change, and the pain will get worse, and when you finally stand before Jesus, well, you'll be sorry you were such a wimp." (This is my 21st century summary of Spurgeon's thought.)
So the bottom line is, these sorts of things help me to "buck up." They help me to get into a better mood even when things stink because I think, "Hey, this isn't happening by chance. God is letting this happen. He wants me to grow up and knows I can handle this."
posted by Ted | 5:11 AM
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