Our "Nearer, my God, to thee," must be conditioned by,
and often can come only through,
"E'en though it be a cross,
That raiseth me."
Not only are the spiritual things the best things, but many times the
spiritual things can be grasped only by letting go and losing out of
our hands the earthly things we would love to keep. God loves us too
much to grant our prayers for comfort and relief, even when we make
them, if he can do it only at spiritual loss to us. He would rather
let it be hard for us to live if there is blessing in the hardness,
than make it easy for us at the cost of the blessing.
There are certain singing-birds that never learn to sing until their
cages are darkened. Would it be true kindness to keep these birds
always in the sunshine? There are human hearts that never learn to
sing the song of faith and peace and love, until they enter the
darkness of trial. Would it be true love for these if God would hear
their prayers for the removal of their pain? We dare not plead,
therefore, save with utmost diffidence and submission, that God would
remove the cross of suffering.
"Thou canst not tell
How rich a dowry sorrow gives the soul,
How firm a faith and eagle-sight of God."
Does God answer prayers? "I have been praying for one thing for
years," says one, "and it has not come yet." God has many ways of
answering.
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