That We May. . .Comfort Them

(II Cor. 1:4)


I spoke to others of the love of Christ,

Comforted them in sorrow and distress;

Told them assuredly His will is best,

He brings not idle suffering to man

And in His wisdom there must be a plan;

Their part was just to trust–completely trust;

The rest was His. Deliver them He must–

Not necessarily in their own way,

A thousand years with Him are as a day.

He knows the end, He has an eternal plan,

His ways are high above the ways of man.

Who would not gladly trust his all to One

Who loved enough to send His only Son?


And then there came into my life such stress,

Such overwhelming grief and bitterness,

It seemed as if my Lord had ceased to care,

And heaven’s doors were shut against my prayer.

How easy it had been for me to say,

“Fret not thyself, God has a better way.”

Upon my knees I fell with earnest plea,

“What I have told to others, prove to me!”

He did not lift my darkness, but instead

He took my hand firmly in His and led

Through cleansing flood and purifying fire,

Purging away my dross, lifting me higher

Than all the trials His mercy had allowed,

Until I saw His face above the cloud.