February 5

The father heart of God

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him” (2 Chron. 16:9).
Thou God seest me” (Gen. 16:13).

God is not blind, or deaf, or indifferent, or indigent. He is not “the silent God” that some people in their self-conceit and wayward unbelief suppose. He knows how to be silent, and how to hide Himself from the proud in heart. But He cannot hide Himself anywhere in His big universe from childlike faith and pure, obedient, longsuffering, patient love.
—Samuel Logan Brengle.

O Father-Eye, that hath so truly watched;
O Father-Hand that hath so gently led;
O Father-Heart, that by my prayer is touched—
That loved me first, when I was cold and dead.

Still do Thou lead me on, with faithful care,
The narrow path to Heaven, where I would go;
And train me for the life that waits me there,
Alike through love and loss, through weal and woe.
—From the German Hymn.

Mr. John Rollo tells a story of a customer who one day went into a draper’s shop and saw a small boy with outstretched arms standing while the proprietor of the shop placed package after package from the shelves into his waiting arms. As the pile grew higher and the weight heavier the customer turned to the boy saying: “My lad, you’ll never be able to carry all that.”
But the boy turned round and said with a smile: “My father knows how much I can carry.”
Have you been burdened? Have you known trouble, or sorrow, or even bereavement? Your Father knows how much you can carry, and will with the testing make a way of escape by your being able to bear it. Your merciful Father will always grant a sufficient grace and a proportionate strength.
—Arnold Pickering.

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