Do the Math

"To any whom the Hand Divine is beckoning: count the cost, for He tells us to, but take your slate to the foot of the Cross and add up the figures there." -- Amy Carmichael

The Exchange

"Christ takes His children from that which holds their attention, that they may behold His glory" - Our High Calling, pg. 315. What a glorious exchange!

"Oh, Lord Jesus, show me more that I may give up, that I may have more of Thee!" - Springs in the Valley, pg. 303.

Sing!

     "There is a beautiful story which tells of song birds being brought over the sea. There were 36,000, mostly canaries. The sea was very calm when the ship first sailed, and the little birds were silent. They kept their little heads under their wings and not a note was heard. But the third day out at sea, the ship struck a furious gale. The passengers were terrified. Children wept. Then a strange thing happened. As the tempest reached its height, the birds began to sing, first one, then another, until the 36,000 were singing as if their little throats would burst.

     "When the storm rises in its fury, do we then begin to sing? Should not our song break forth in tenfold joy when the tempest begins?

'I can hear the songbirds singing their refrain

It is morning in my heart;

And I know that life for me begins again,

It is morning in my heart.

It is morning, it is morning in my heart,

Jesus made the gloomy shadows all depart;

Songs of gladness now I sing,

For since Jesus is my King,

It is morning, it is morning in my heart.'

     "'Break forth into singing' Isaiah 49:13."

(Taken from Springs in the Valley, pg. 302-303)

Never underestimate the power of song!

A Day of Miracles

Today is Sabbath, the most precious day of the week. And today has been a precious day, indeed! A day of miracles. Let me fill you in...

During the praise and prayer time at church, I watched from my vantage point at the piano as Gideon* raised his hand timidly. Gideon is one of the academy boys I have a special burden for. I'm not sure what has happened, but for some reason he's extremely quiet, shy, and depressed. Today was a milestone for him. When his hand was acknowledged, he proceeded to tell us how the Lord had blessed the evangelistic series that had just finished at his parents' church. I was thrilled! Then for Sabbath School, Gideon had the opening prayer, as well as sang a duet with his roommate for special music!

Then we divided for classes. I made my way to one of the academy classes. Normally the academy seniors teach Sabbath School. This weekend, however, the seniors are on "Senior Survival" and no one was prepared to teach the lesson. (I hadn't even looked at it yet!) Someone asked me if I was prepared to teach the lesson and I said no, but we could all wing it together. 

Opening the lesson study, I found that this week's lesson had been on the purification sacrifice and the memory verse was 1 Pet. 1:18, 19. "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, ... but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." I hesitated for a moment and sensed that lovely little Voice whisper, "Bekah, I'm with you. I'll give you words to speak. Just speak them boldly!" I trembled inside, knowing that I was dealing with a precious subject, a holy topic, and that some of the most flippant students in the school were sitting in my class. Paul* and George* were watching me intently. Very reserved with most of the staff here, Paul is another student that I am intentionally trying to reach. George is often irreverent and rebellious, and had almost never had anything nice to say to me, even when I paid him a complement. With a prayer in my heart, I started in.

We talked of redemption, of what it meant in general, and of what it meant specifically. Paul and George listened closely, hanging on everything I said, even making occasional remarks or questions. At one point, I felt a nudge to do something I had never done with these students. Going back to 1 Pet. 1:18, 19, I began to paraphrase the verses. "Paul was not redeemed with anything this world can offer, but instead with the priceless life of the Son of God! George was not redeemed with... Gideon was not redeemed with... Rebekah was not redeemed with..." Silence filled the room. Paul looked at his feet with a solemn expression. George shifted uncomfortably, then glanced up at me before staring at his hands. Did I glimpse tears in George's eyes? Suddenly it felt like my heart was about to burst with love for these youth. I spoke with a passion and an intensity that surprised me. And God touched hearts. No amazing commitments. No sudden confessions or consecrations. Just a solemn realization of the price paid for each one of them. A personal epiphany of their value to God - and how much we should value Him. 

But the miracles weren't over yet. Class finished and most of the students filed outside. A few boys stayed to fold the chairs and put them away. I was putting my Bible and quarterly away when a voice interrupted me. "Um, Miss Rebekah?" I looked up to see George standing over me, his hand reaching out to shake mine. "You did a really good job, especially since you had to wing it. Thanks. I - I really appreciated what you said." A mixture of shock, incredulity, and joy filled me as I shook hands with this boy and thanked him for his input and help with the discussion. With a smile, he left. 

I walked into the gorgeous fall sunshine, but hardly felt it. I barely noticed the swirling leaves, the caressing wind, the sweet bird songs. My heart was soaring! I was reminded of what my friend Beth used to tell me so often: "Our Jesus has never lost a battle yet!" 

*Not their real names.

The House or the Field?

I came across this song several years ago and found it again last night. Ouch. "Who will go and work for [Him] today?" May we all say, "Here am I, Lord; send me!"

My House Is Full, But My Field Is Empty
By Lanny Wolfe

There is peace and contentment in the Father's house today
Lots of food on His table and no one is turned away
There is singing and laughter as the hours pass by
But a hush calms the singing as the Father sadly cries:

"My house is full, but My field is empty, who will go and work for Me today?
It seems My children all want to stay around My table
But no one wants to work in My field, no one wants to work in My field."

Push away from the table, then look out through the window pane
Just beyond the house of plenty lies a field of golden grain
And it's ripe unto harvest, oh, but the reapers where are they?
There in the house, oh, can't the children hear the Father sadly say:

"My house is full, but My field is empty, who will go and work for Me today?
It seems My children all want to stay around My table
But no one wants to work in My field, no one wants to work in My field."

When God Is Silent

Today I was feeling a bit discouraged and overwhelmed. I had prayed, but it seemed God was silent, and I was wondering why I had to wait for His answer. As I often do in such moods, I reached for a treasured book, Springs in the Valley, by L. B. Cowman. The entries in this devotional book often seem to be written just for me. This time was no different. The words jumped off the page and struck my heart:

     "'When He had heard therefore that [Lazarus] was sick, He abode two days still in the same place where He was.' (Jn 11:6) And so the silence of God was itself an answer. It is not merely said that there was no audible response to the cry from Bethany; it is distinctly stated that the absence of an audible response was itself the answer to the cry -- it was when the Lord heard that Lazarus was sick that therefore He abode two days still in the same place where He was. I have often heard the outward silence. A hundred times have I sent up aspirations whose only answer has seemed to be the echo of my own voice, and I have cried out in the night of my despair, 'Why art Thou so far from helping me?' But I never thought that the seeming farness was itself the nearness of God -- that the very silence was an answer.
     It was a very grand answer to the household of Bethany. They had not asked too much, but too little. They had asked only the life of Lazarus. They were to get the life of Lazarus and a revelation of eternal life as well."

Maybe I haven't asked enough of God yet...

     "There are some prayers that are followed by a Divine silence because we are not yet ripe for all we have asked; there are others which are so followed because we are ripe for more. We do not always know the full strength of our own capacity; we have to be prepared for receiving greater blessings than we have ever dreamed. We come to the door of the sepulcher and beg with tears the dead body of Jesus; we are answered by silence because we are to get something better -- a living Lord."

Now it made sense. I am not yet ready for God's answer because I have not yet fully died to wanting my own way in the matter. When I die to self, I will be stretched to receive the full measure of the answer God wants to give me. I want that. I want a living Lord!

     "My soul, be not afraid of God's silence; it is another form of His voice. God's silence is more than man's speech. ... Have thy prayers been followed by a calm stillness? Well! Is not that God's voice -- a voice that will suffice thee in the meantime till the full disclosure comes? ... Wait for Him in silence, and ere long it shall become vocal. ... Think not that God's silence is coldness or indifference. When birds are on the nest preparing to bring forth life, they never sing. God's stillness is full of brooding. Be not impatient of God! When the Lord is to lead a soul to great faith, He for a time leaves his prayer unanswered" (pg. 284-285).

Humbled, I put the book away. God's silence is no longer something to be feared, but rather something to be cherished until He chooses to speak. I am satisfied. I want great faith, and if it means long silence from God, then so be it. 

The Reason

Why does the battle thicken so –

The darts rain fast upon my breast,

While missiles hurled with cruel force

Ring loud against my burnished crest?

Above the din I seem to hear

My Captain's voice in accents clear,

“Because your shield is down!”

Why does the enemy advance

And hem us round on every hand

While we, the army of the Lord,

Can scarce his arrogance withstand?

Above the shouts I seem to hear

My Captain's voice in accents clear,

“Because your shields are down!”

Ah! Now it's brighter – now I see

The enemy is taking flight,

And lo, the banner of the Cross

Streams red against the morning light;

But as they flee I seem to hear

My Captain call in accents clear,

“Let not your shields go down!”

-Thomas Kimber