I picked up the devotional Streams in the Desert, which seemed appropriate now that I live in the desert. It was first published in 1925 so that many of the daily readings have the old-fashioned words, phrases, and formats. It has taken me awhile to fully appreciate the beauty and flow of words so common in that day, especially since I have adopted the shorthand of the computer technology in most of my letters and notes. While it may be faster and more direct in our world of speed, I believe that something has been lost in the transition. The following poem spoke to me today; maybe it is just what you need, too. All God asks of us is to be willing, He will take care of the rest.
Hold Still!
Pain’s furnace heat within me quivers,
God’s breath upon the flame doth blow;
And all my heart in anguish shivers
And trembles at the fiery glow;
And yet I whisper, “As God will!”
And in the hottest fire hold still.
He comes and lays my heart, all heated,
On the hard anvil, minded so
Into His own fair shape to beat it
With his great hammer, blow on blow;
And yet I whisper, “As God will!”
And at His heaviest blows hold still.
He takes my softened heart and beats it;
The sparks fly off at every blow;
He turns it o’er and o’er and heats it,
And lets it cool, and makes it glow;
And yet I whisper, “As God will!”
And in His mighty hand hold still.
Why should I murmur? for the sorrow
Thus only longer-lived would be;
The end may come, and will tomorrow,
When God has done His work in me;
So I say trusting, “As God will!”
And, trusting to the end, hold still.
— Julius Sturm