Sane, Simple, Sacred: A "Pilgrim of the Day"

A "Pilgrim of the Day"

Lettie Cowman (Mrs. Charles)

In the year that I graduated from high school (1966) Streams in the Desert, Volume Two was published. Earlier, Mrs. Charles Cowman had compiled and published the first volume. During the years of her final illness, she entrusted her personal papers, writings, and books to an associate who arranged and edited the material to produce this second volume of inspiration. This morning, the words in the next couple of paragraphs jumped off the pages at me!

But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets. (Dan. 2:28)

Whenever your adversary pours in upon you like a flood, suggesting all kinds of impossibilities and improbabilities, what are you to do and how are you to go forward? Take down the old Book; sit far into the night; read the promises and the prophecies. Read again the heart-warming words of Daniel: "There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets." Your night will unveil new stars never seen by day. On the black thunder-cloud a rainbow will appear--God's everlasting covenant--and you will find a sunrise at midnight...

What shall you do? Act as people who have no faith, no light, no discernment? You cannot be like the unbelievers caught in the whirlpool and sink beneath the swirling waters of doubt and despair. You are a pilgrim of the day; a pilgrim of the luminous. Thank God for the assurance of Divine guidance, and pray that you will stand in the right relationship to all the impossibilities and improbabilities.

"Trust in the dark brings Triumph at dawn." --Mrs. Charles E. Cowman

This message was reinforced by the second devotional my husband and I read together each morning (From Faith to Faith: A Daily Guide to Victory). God's timing is SO amazing!

"Many Christians are walking around without hope--just like the rest of the world. Why? Because the only hope that any man has is faith in Jesus Christ. And the majority of Christians don't know how to live by faith. Instead of being filled with the Word and with faith, they've been stuffed full of religious traditions and superstition...The Bible says, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge... (Hosea 4:6)"

I am a pilgrim of the day. I am a pilgrim of the day. I am a pilgrim of the day. I am a pilgrim of the day.
I am a pilgrim of the day......

9 comments:

DeeJanuary 12, 2011 at 9:44 AM
Powerful Rebecca...I think so many of us need to soak this in. I love reading "Streams In the Dessert" I found a littl book titled "God's Minute" that was written in 1916 and the last copyright is 1923. It is a book with 365 daily prayers written by pastors.I have enjoyed reading one prayer daily after reading scripture and saing my prayer. The Word is our medication for the blahs or other ailments that pull us down...an yes You are a Pilgrim. Me too. :)
ReplyDelete
Replies
GlendaJanuary 12, 2011 at 3:30 PM
Pilgrims with a purpose we are! I love Streams in the Desert, too. Words have jumped off the pages again and again to me - giving hope and reminding me of The Truth. I remember when I bought the book. I stood in the aisle at the book store and prayed that God would direct me to a book that would bring healing and strength to my wounded heart - a book to read alongside His Word. And you know the rest of the story . . . I've read and reread and been uplifted many times in the past nine years! I'm glad God has chosen to use inspired words of His servants to bring healing!
ReplyDelete
Replies
MoJanuary 12, 2011 at 4:00 PM
I LOVE Mrs. Cowman's devotional books. I buy every one I see so I can give them to others.
ReplyDelete
Replies
AndreaJanuary 12, 2011 at 6:05 PM
AMEN...AMEN! I used my streams in the desert for several years and the back is coming off of it. One of my favorites, for sure! I am getting a little better each day. It is slow going, but at least I see progress. Thank you so much for your sweet comments on arise 2 write. You are a very special friend and prayer warrior!
Big Hugs,
andrea
ReplyDelete
Replies
SueJanuary 12, 2011 at 6:23 PM
Awesome word for today Rebecca!! I see this hopelessness as you do among believers. Thank you for sharing these thoughts, now I will go and savor them.
Hugs,
Sue
ReplyDelete
Replies
elaine @ peace for the journeyJanuary 12, 2011 at 8:53 PM
So beautiful and in keeping with Jeremiah 6:16; whenever my heart waivers, I stand and the crossroads and look; I ask for the ancient paths, so that I might find rest for my soul.

God's Word is just that powerful... a transforming work of grace every time it is read. We may not always know what it is doing for us, in us, to us, but we can be confident that we are better off for the digging deep. Soon, truth will be embedded and hope and faith will cultivate at the surface.

Keep to it, sister pilgrim. I'll meet you on the pages of Scripture.

peace~elaine
ReplyDelete
Replies
Heather's Blog-o-ramaJanuary 12, 2011 at 9:36 PM
When I was in high school, a dear lady gave me a copy of "Streams in the Desert" for my 18th birthday. I still have that devotional. There's lots of wonderful things out that there that make me feel special and glad to be female...BUT God's Word is the ultimate!!!! This is a wonderful devotional. Love and hugs from Oregon, Heather :)
ReplyDelete
Replies
Jacquelyn StagerJanuary 13, 2011 at 1:53 AM
I've always loved those words from Daniel.
Well you KNOW I needed to "hear" these words this week.
Beautifully written, timeless words. These in particular spoke to me: "You cannot be like the unbelievers caught in the whirlpool and sink beneath the swirling waters of doubt and despair."
No, I cannot and I will not. My Lord has sacrificed His all for me. I can do no less than trust Him in the dark, and believe in triumph at dawn! Thanks for sharing this!
ReplyDelete
Replies
Janettessage.blogspot.comJanuary 14, 2011 at 2:08 PM
Yes...so, so true, I am one who lacks faith at times and yet I know who wins and who has paid the cost...too easy to react like the world.
Good word, good devotional...I am still chewing on the Holy Curiosity.
Thanks
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

"We simplify, not just to be less busy, even though we may be right to pursue that. Rather, we simplify to remove distractions from our pursuit of Christ. We prune activities from our lives, not only to get organized, but also that our devotion to Christ and service for His kingdom will be more fruitful. We simplify, not merely to save time, but to eliminate hindrances to the time we devote to knowing Christ. All the reasons we simplify should eventually lead us to Jesus Christ!" (Donald S. Whitney)

Dedicated to my sister-in-law, Beth--a TRUE home manager....

"I work for a King. He has put me in charge of his home. When He comes to see how I have managed His possessions and His children, I do not want to be found wanting. I want to do my best. Everything I have is on loan from Him. I have room and board and a job to do, but it is all for Him. Therefore I want to dress my best and do my best in all my work. I also want to be creative, for this is a sincere attempt to glorify Him and His beautiful creation. How I manage my home is a form of worship to Him." --Lydia Sherman

"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry,
and see a fine picture every day of his life,
in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul."

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Contentment makes poor men rich.

-Benjamin Franklin

"What I am gradually discovering is that in the writing I come in touch with the Spirit of God." ~ Nouwen

~~"Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting."~~Edmund Burke

C.S. Lewis: "To trust Him means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in trusting a person if you wouldn't take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him."

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony." William Henry Channing

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Apostle Paul: "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

"It's a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet, and what is sand. It stops us from taking anything for granted. It has also taught me alot about living in the immediate moment. I am somehow managing to live one day, one hour at a time." Madeleine L'Engle

FIVE CERTAINTIES
WITH WHICH TO
START YOUR DAY

God holds you. Each day he carries us in his arms. Psalm 68:19 NLT
God sustains you. THE LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack. Psalm 23:1 AMP
God covers you. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust. Psalm 91:4 AMP
God pours His love upon you. Through each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me. Psalm 42:8 NLT
God will not fail you. The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! Lamentations 3:22 NLT

THE BLOGGER'S PRAYER Lord, help me to learn to spell without spellcheck, manage to visit all that visit me, and post regularly - all in 5 minutes a day, so that I can clean house and take care of my family. Help me to not look at every occurrence in my life as a blog post, and to quit taking pictures of weird things to share as well. Please Lord, help me to stop talking about my blog friends as though they are next door neighbors or someone I have known all of my life. And help me, dear Lord, to think of something witty and wise to post tomorrow.
Love, The Dust Bunny Hostage

Sane, Simple, Sacred

Mercy

A "Pilgrim of the Day"

9 comments:

Writing a Song a Week #3