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Spurgeon on Wisdom

"He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he."Proverbs 16:20

      Wisdom is man's true strength; and, under its guidance, he best accomplishes the ends of his being. Wisely handling the matter of life gives to man the richest enjoyment, and presents the noblest occupation for his powers; hence by it he finds good in the fullest sense. Without wisdom, man is as the wild ass's colt, running hither and thither, wasting strength which might be profitably employed. Wisdom is the compass by which man is to steer across the trackless waste of life; without it he is a derelict vessel, the sport of winds and waves. A man must be prudent in such a world as this, or he will find no good, but be betrayed into unnumbered ills. The pilgrim will sorely wound his feet among the briers of the wood of life if he do not pick his steps with the utmost caution. He who is in a wilderness infested with robber bands must handle matters wisely if he would journey safely. If, trained by the Great Teacher, we follow where he leads, we shall find good, even while in this dark abode; there are celestial fruits to be gathered this side of Eden's bowers, and songs of paradise to be sung amid the groves of earth. But where shall this wisdom be found? Many have dreamed of it, but have not possessed it. Where shall we learn it? Let us listen to the voice of the Lord, for he hath declared the secret; he hath revealed to the sons of men wherein true wisdom lieth, and we have it in the text, "Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he." The true way to handle a matter wisely is to trust in the Lord. This is the sure clue to the most intricate labyrinths of life; follow it and find eternal bliss. He who trusts in the Lord has a diploma for wisdom granted by inspiration: happy is he now, and happier shall he be above. Lord, in this sweet eventide walk with me in the garden, and teach me the wisdom of faith.

Giving God the Credit

     Although we are engaged in a minor battle right now, the Lord has caused it to be faith-building rather than torturous.  Here's what he has done, so far:

      At 2 p.m. on Tuesday (college decision deadline day), The King's College registrar requested a great deal of additional documentation regarding the transfer of John's credits from Patrick Henry College.  I had to keep praying and preaching to myself that the Lord had ordained these circumstances -- He could have made it go easily, and He said that this was a better way. I knew that we would just have to put our heads down and push to get all the documentation King's wanted as quickly as possible and pray that Patrick Henry  would be willing to hold John Jr.'s spot until we could make an educated decision. I've been reading a book to the Stone kids, "The Door in the Wall," and one of the themes is that when obstacles block you in like an immovable wall, press on until you come to the door -- there's always a door. We know God's character, and He didn't put the obstacles there to torture us but to benefit us.

      Here is what the Lord did as we pressed on: He gave us favor with the Patrick Henry admissions counselor, who said we could take a few extra days, and he added some encouraging words about our son. He showed us the grace of Christ when we most needed it.


       Then we had to make phone calls to his Patrick Henry professors. Again, the ones I talked to were so helpful, cooperative, godly and so clearly FOR the students they were teaching. I was so thankful to know there are professors out there who care deeply and have an urgency to help the next generation to think biblically and to see clearly through the modern and postmodern haze.  I also got to hear some more encouraging words about our boy.

     In reviewing John Jr.'s courses and thinking about the content, I also began to realize that the Lord has put together a unique and excellent educational program for him. Who gets to have so much of Patrick Henry and then possibly so much of King's on top of that?   Whether it is tabulated as "credit" or not, no one can take away the wisdom and knowledge that he has gained in these courses. And so what if he graduates with more than the required 120 credits?  How blessed to have had the opportunity to learn more, rather than just the normal amount! We have always said that we are first and foremost about ensuring that our kids get a good education, as we define that before God -- not with just jumping through hoops to earn a degree. Both of our kids earned way more high school credits than were required, and I never thought that was a waste. 

     At the end of the day Tuesday, John Jr. had tracked down a lot of the information that we needed and we had been able to contact most of the professors from whom we needed documentation -- only God could have gotten us to that point so quickly!  We still lacked a couple of items, but we were much farther along than ever seemed possible when we first looked at that form. 

   

     As we sat and talked as a family that night, it began to dawn on me:  We really do think that King's is the better fit for John Jr., even if he has to return to the same living situation he was in before. With Leah there, it just makes sense for him to go there. This trial clarified our minds about the choice. Another blessing.

     And, finally, my husband and my son have both  praised me several times for handling this.  John Jr. has thanked me many times over.  And I have to admit: their praise and thanks blesses me so much -- I want to serve my family well and have them feel taken care of.  But I want to be very careful not to start thinking it rests on me.  I know how powerless I am in this situation.  All I can do is press on, pray and trust that God has a plan that will be for the good of my family and my son.

       "To you the helpless commits himself." (Psalm 10:14)  

On Being Happy Without Music

Behold, how independent of outward circumstances the Holy Ghost can make the Christian! What a bright light may shine within us when it is all dark without! How firm, how happy, how calm, how peaceful we may be, when the world shakes to and fro, and the pillars of the earth are removed! Even death itself, with all its terrible influences, has no power to suspend the music of a Christian's heart, but rather makes that music become more sweet, more clear, more heavenly, till the last kind act which death can do is to let the earthly strain melt into the heavenly chorus, the temporal joy into the eternal bliss! Let us have confidence, then, in the blessed Spirit's power to comfort us. Dear reader, are you looking forward to poverty? Fear not; the divine Spirit can give you, in your want, a greater plenty than the rich have in their abundance. You know not what joys may be stored up for you in the cottage around which grace will plant the roses of content. Are you conscious of a growing failure of your bodily powers? Do you expect to suffer long nights of languishing and days of pain? O be not sad! That bed may become a throne to you. You little know how every pang that shoots through your body may be a refining fire to consume your dross--a beam of glory to light up the secret parts of your soul. Are the eyes growing dim? Jesus will be your light. Do the ears fail you? Jesus' name will be your soul's best music, and his person your dear delight. Socrates used to say, "Philosophers can be happy without music;" and Christians can be happier than philosophers when all outward causes of rejoicing are withdrawn. In thee, my God, my heart shall triumph, come what may of ills without! By thy power, O blessed Spirit, my heart shall be exceeding glad, though all things should fail me here below. -- Charles Spurgeon

The Author and Perfecter of My Faith

    My most recent, ardent and repeated prayer has been that the Lord would give me more faith.  He has answered by underlining His provisions markedly.  By taking them away.  And then restoring them. 
    1) A blessing of insurance that reduced a $1052 dental bill to $200.  (Praise God!) Followed by a letter saying the insurance would not cover the bill. (Despair.) Followed by several phone calls that revealed the dentist had submitted the wrong insurance number for our family! (Double praises and realization of how tied to circumstances my weak faith is.)
    2) A blessing of substantial college scholarships for Leah.  (Praise you, Lord!) Followed by an Award Letter that has the scholarships greatly reduced.  (Despair.)  Followed by a phone call and an almost immediate correction to the original amount promised. (Oh, Lord, thank you for this generous provision. I wasn't nearly grateful enough the first time, took it as Leah's just desserts for working so hard.  Thank you for giving, thank you for taking away and thank you for giving again to make my heart so much more grateful.)
   3) A blessing of substantial college scholarships for John.  (Praises to Our Provider!!)  Followed by an Award Letter that the scholarships would be about half what we had been told.  (Doubt, mixed with hope -- but also acceptance: If this is your will for John, Lord, we accept it as best.)  Followed by a short period of waiting, and then ... a corrected Awards Letter.  (Oh, Lord, I think I'm getting it.  I think my faith is growing.  I've been missing your provisions, taking them too much in stride or as something that somehow we earned.  And I've been too easily daunted by circumstances.)
   We are in a period where we have had and will continue to have some large, necessary expenses, most of them dental.  I raise my Ebeneezer;  Thus far, the Lord has provided.  How He will do it in the future, I really don't see.  But, thus far, the Lord has provided.  All we have needed, Thy hand has provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.
     There are so many more dental expenses.  But He has already provided money to cover at least some of these through a surprise refund from a reinvestment.  We can trust Him to give us this day our daily bread -- not tomorrow's daily bread -- just today's.  I thank you, Lord, for building my faith and meeting our needs in a way that makes it clear that the provision comes directly from your hand at just the right moment.