Daniel S

In the last few days, everything I’ve read seems to be saying, “Trust the Lord”: like the book I’m reading about a missionary imprisoned during World War II who depended on Him in the most appalling circumstances; or Psalm 130, with the psalmist’s opening cry, “Out of the depths,” and its final affirmation, “With the LORD there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption, and He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities” (NKJV); finally, there are the hymns the Lord has brought to mind at times when I needed encouragement. I doubt not that this happens to you too.

One of those timely hymns this week was “Jesus Never Fails,” words and music by Arthur A. Luther, 1891-1960. I love this simple expression of faith in the Lord. The hymn is included in Kenneth W. Osbeck’s book Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions, published by Kregel Publishers and newly released as an eBook for PDA’s and cell phones by Olive Tree Bible Software. Osbeck quotes Mr. Luther’s story of his burning childhood desire to be a missionary, how that desire was not to be realized, but how the Lord instead, in a time of particular trial, gave him a song that has gone all over the world and has been translated into numerous languages, trumpeting its three-word message to the earth: “heaven and earth may pass away, but Jesus never fails.”

(Read more about Kenneth Osbeck’s book Amazing Grace in Olive Tree’s article series Explore the Bible on your PDA.)

Winter in Spokane, Washington: a time to stay indoors, or if one must go out, to bundle up against the near zero cold. Olive Tree’s busy staff keeps warm with hot tea in cozy offices. The pines and spruces, with snow-laden branches, endure the gelid air, erect and still, their roots secretly reaching beneath the frozen crust. What is it about this season that mirrors the soul’s experience in times of trial? Looking up through the clear, cold night air, one sees the angular shape of Orion, emblem of winter in the northern hemisphere. God spoke to Job ages ago about this winter constellation and his springtime sister: “Canst thou bind the sweet influences of the Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?” Job 38:31.
 

C. H. Spurgeon, in a daily devotional, uses this verse to shed light on the sovereignty of God over the winters and springs of our lives. What a comfort to know that God is in charge, ordering our seasons in His wisdom. Just as we cannot change the cycle of the stars, neither can we alter what the Lord has ordered for our souls to pass through. But how wonderful to realize that it is God, and to shift our focus from ourselves to trusting in Him alone!
 

“If the Lord in sovereignty, or in justice, bind up a man so that he is in soul bondage, who can give him liberty? He alone can remove the winter of spiritual death from an individual or a people. He looses the bands of Orion, and none but He. What a blessing it is that He can do it. O that He would perform the wonder tonight. Lord, end my winter, and let my spring begin. I cannot with all my longings raise by soul out of her death and dullness, but all things are possible with Thee. I need celestial influences, the clear shinings of Thy love, the beams of Thy grace, the light of Thy countenance, these are the Pleiades to me. I suffer much from sin and temptation; these are my wintry signs, my terrible Orion. Lord, work wonders in me, and for me. Amen” (quoted from Morning and Evening, March 21 PM, by C. H. Spurgeon).