| The Joy of Service |
Chapter 23 |
Page 6 |
There can be no blessing in such foreboding anxiety. Nothing good can come of it. It will not prepare the heart for suffering, if it comes, to go forward now in fear and dread. No grace is promised either for imaginary or anticipated troubles. Our duty is to accept each day the actual experiences of the day, and for these we shall always receive strength. Then if tomorrow brings new needs, it will bring with them new grace.
“What if tomorrow’s cares were here,
Without its rest?
Rather would I unlock the day,
And, as the hours swing open, say,
‘Thy will is best.’”
Many persons distress themselves because they do not have the consciousness of victory over death long before they meet death. They say they could not die in peace as this or that saint died. This perplexes them. They think they ought to be able to say the dying believer’s words of confidence now, just as if they were entering the valley. But it is not in this way that God gives grace. He gives what we need for the present hour. While we are well and strong, we require, not dying grace, but grace to live well – thoughtful love to make us gentle and kindly in life’s relations, strength to be faithful in duty and struggle; and this grace we shall receive, if we seek it.
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