August 21

Our stops ordered by God

“Stand thou still a while, that I may show thee the word of God” (1 Sam. 9:27).
“They . . . were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia” (Acts 16:6).
“They assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not” (Acts 16:7).

The stops of a good man, as well as his steps, are ordered by the Lord.
—George Müller.

Next to knowing when to seize an opportunity the most important thing in life is to know when to forego an advantage.
—Disraeli.

It may be that the sphere of some of you is that of endurance rather than of enterprise. You are not called to aggress, but to resist. The power to work has reached its limit for a while—the power to wait must be exerted. There are periods in our history when Providence shuts us up to the exercise of faith, when patience and fortitude are more valuable than valor and courage, and when any “further struggle would but defeat our prospects and embarrass our aims.”
Murmur not, then, if in the inscrutable allotments of Providence you are called to suffer rather than to do. There is a time to labor, and there is a time to refrain. The completeness of the Christian character consists in energetic working when working is practicable, and in submissive waiting when waiting is necessary.
—W. Morley Punshon.

The humble offering
Of quiet, folded hands,
Costly with suffering,
He only understands;
To God more dear may be
Than eager energy.

And He is here, my song,
That I may learn of Him.
What though the days are long!
What though the way is dim!
’Tis He Who says: “Lie still!”
And I adore His will.
—Anna Boobbyer.

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