From “Morning Thoughts” by Winslow

“Leaning upon her Beloved.” Solomon’s Song, 8:5

WHAT more appropriate, what more soothing truth could we bring before you, suffering Christian, than this? You are sick-lean upon Jesus. His sick ones are peculiarly dear to His heart. You are dear to Him. In all your pains and languishings, faintings and lassitude, Jesus is with you; for He created that frame, He remembers that it is but dust, and He bids you lean upon Him, and leave your sickness and its issue entirely in His hands. You are oppressed-lean upon Jesus. He will undertake your cause, and committing it thus into His hands, He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday. You are lonely-lean upon Jesus. Sweet will be the communion and close the fellowship which you may thus hold with Him, your heart burning within you while He talks with you by the way. Is the ascent steep and difficult? lean upon your Beloved. Is the path strait and narrow? lean upon your Beloved. Do intricacies and perplexities and trials weave their network around your feet? lean upon your Beloved. Has death smitten down the strong arm and chilled the tender heart upon which you were used to recline? lean upon your Beloved. Oh! lean upon Jesus in every strait, in every want, in every sorrow, in every temptation. Nothing is too insignificant, nothing too mean, to take to Christ. It is enough that you want Christ, to warrant you in coming to Christ. No excuse need you make for repairing to Him; no apology will He require for the frequency of your approach; He loves to have you quite near to Him, to hear your voice, and to feel the confidence of your faith and the pressure of your love. Ever remember that there is a place in the heart of Christ sacred to you, and which no one can fill but yourself, and from which none may dare exclude you. And when you are dying, oh! lay your languishing head upon the bosom of your Beloved, and fear not the foe, and dread not the passage; for His rod and His staff, they will comfort you. On that bosom the beloved disciple leaned at supper; on that bosom the martyr Stephen laid his bleeding brow in death; and on that bosom you, too, beloved, may repose, living or dying, soothed, supported, and sheltered by your Savior and your Lord.

 

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From “The Word For You Today” by Bruce Christian

DEVELOPING PATIENCE

How do you develop patience?  Through tribulation!  When your honesty seem to go unnoticed, when your hard work seems to go unrewarded, when your kindness is rendered without thanks, when your helping hand if offered and ignored, when even love is refused-that’s when patience shines in all it’s beauty.  Paul writes, “Tribulation worketh patience.”  You’ve seen this principal at work in the development of children.  One child, overly shielded and protected, grows up into a weakling without ambition and courage, destined to failure.  Another, left to fight their own battles, to struggle, to learn through trial and error, grows into near-perfect maturity.  The same principle applies to the Christian life when you realize that each storm brings it blessings and each trial produces it’s rewards.  Lets look at three practical benefits of patience: First, patience brings hope.  “Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us.  And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled” (Ro 15:4 NLT).  Second, patience produces fruit.  “And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted  people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest” (Lk 8:15 NLT).  Third, through patience you receive what God has promised.  “Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent.  Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance” (Heb 6:12 NLT).