Tribulation Worketh

“There is a marvelous variety among saints and no book but the Bible is large enough to fit every case. But with most sanctified believers, there is a passage in their lives, sometimes extending over years, which might be called the “Arizona” (a desert state in the United States) of religious life; and as in passing from the rich prairies of the Western states to the evergreen fields of Southern California, the traveler must cross a stretch of dry territory, so between the early and the latter rain there is a period of drought. But be it remembered that this drought is just as essential to the fullness of Christian life as the rain is, and this is what many do not understand. It is the dry spell that tests everything, and puts quality into the harvest which nothing else could. If the soul passes safely through the rainless period and meets the conditions, there will come in due time the latter rain.”

O break my heart; but break it as a field
Is by the plough up-broken for the corn;
O break it as the buds, by green leaf sealed,
Are, to unloose the golden blossom, torn;
Love would I offer unto Love’s great Master,
Set free the odor, break the alabaster.

O break my heart; break it victorious God,
That life’s eternal well may flash abroad;
O let it break as when the captive trees,
Breaking cold bonds, regain their liberties;
And as thought’s sacred grove to life is springing
Be joys, like birds, their hope, Thy victory singing.

Tribulation Worketh is published by Harvey Christian Publishers. Edwin and Lillian Harvey scoured the books of George Watson on the subject of suffering and compiled this little book, trusting it would prove a blessing to Christians undergoing trials of various kinds. The above quotations are taken from the introduction to this book