Springs of Water

"And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail." Isaiah 58:11

A father and his son were camped in a wooded area a little ways from the nearest village. The father had a letter which needed mailing and asked his don to take it to the post office in the village. The father took his son to the edge of camp and showed him the trail which led to the village. "But Father," said the little boy, "I don't see how that path will ever reach town," The father took his hand in his and pointed explaining, "See down the trail to that big tree where the trail seems to come to an end?" "Oh, yes, sir, I see that the path goes that far; but the village is not there!" "Well, when you get to that big tree, you will see further on around the bend and down the trail. Just go to the tree and then follow the trail until you come to the next corner, then look ahead and follow it some more until you see some houses. When you come to the houses, you will see the post office. There you can mail my letter!"

I know not when or where I go from this familiar scene;
But He is here and He is there, and all the way between.
And when I pass from all I know, to that dim, vast unknown,
Though late I stay or soon I go, I shall not go alone. - selected.

The love of God quite as often withholds the view of the entire distance of the winding path through life. He reveals it to us step by step and from corner to corner. Hence it is necessary to trust Him to lead, for He can see around the bend in the road. He knows what lies ahead, an whether we can cope with the situation now or later. He consults our wants, not our wishes, like a wise and loving Father. He corners are not the end of the way. Corners discipline faith, teach us patience to walk step by step, and fit us for blessing. Because our vision is limited, it causes us to continually seek HIs guidance.

By Mrs. Charles Cowman, taken from "Springs in the Valley"

Bible Reading Guide:

Beginning to End: I Samuel 13-14
Old and New Testaments Together: Judges 9-10 & Luke 5:17-39
Historical: I Samuel 15-17
Chronological: Judges 1-2
Blended: Poverbs 19-21 & Hebrews 1

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

Be a Light

"Thou thyself art . . . a light of them which are in darkness." Romans 2:19

We were kindled that we might kindle others. I would like, if I might have my choice, to burn steadily down, with no guttering waste, and as I do so to communicate God's fire to as many unlit candles as possible, and to burn on steadily until the socket comes to view; then to light in the last flicker, twenty, thirty, or a hundred candles at once, so that as one expires they may begin burning and spreading light which shall shine until Jesus comes."

Let me burn out for Thee, dear Lord,
Burn and wear out for Thee;
Don't let me rust, or my life be
A failure, my God, to Thee.
Use me, and all I have, dear Lord,
And get me so close to Thee
That I feel the throb of the great
heart of God,
Until I burn out for Thee

- Bessie F. Hatcher

By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman taken from "Springs in the Valley"

God Can Restore

"I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten." Joel 2:25

How many years are we not told; only this: "I will restore the years."

Human lives are often laid bare - barren patches produced by your own failures; a wilderness stretching across our life. But what comfort in these words: I will RESTORE the years that the locus hath eaten."

Have you been brooding over some sorrow? Has it darkened your life as a swarm of locusts might darken the sun at midday? And have you cried out in your anguish, "The sun will never shine again?" But read the word He has promised:

"I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten."

Turn to Him, dear reader - turn to the One whom you may have been inclined to forget when you lived in the larger house. He is waiting; and if he does not see fit to give you back the earthly possession once so highly prized by you, remember this: in a higher and better way He will restore those years.

The years that the locust hath eaten sometimes take another form: years spent away from God in pursuit of worldly pleasure and self-gratification! How many have tried this! No wonder the fields are bare! Can God restore those years? Did He not restore the years for Naomi?

GOD CAN!

The blue water-lily abounds in several of the canals in Alexandria, Egypt, which at certain seasons become dry; and the beds of these canals, which quickly become burnt as hard as bricks by the action of the sun, are then used as carriage roads. When, however, the water is admitted again, the lily resumes its growth with redoubled vigour and splendour.

By Mrs. Charles E Cowman taken from "Springs in the Valley"

He is Faithful

"He is faithful that promised." Hebrews 10:23

God's power will keep God's promises! Promises for the soul, promises for the body, promises for others, promises for our work, promises for our business, promises for time and for eternity: these are all ours! It is not your weakiness that can defeat God's promise, nor your strength that can fulfill the promise: He that spoke the Word will Himself make it good. It is neither your business nor mine to keep God's promises: that is His grace.

The signed check is given us. How foolish if we fear to present it! Never yet has one single check been dishonoured! "He is faithful that promised."

I take; He undertakes!

We may pray much over a promise, and yet never obtain it. Askikng is not taking. Beseeching is not claiming.

I clasp the hand of Love divine,
I claim the gracious promise mine,
And add to His my countersign.
I take, He undertakes.

I simply take Him at His Word;
I praise Him that my prayer is heard
And claim my answer from the Lord.
I take, He undertakes.

- Dr. A. B. Simpson

Remember what you take is all you will ever get.

By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman taken from "Springs in the Valley"

To be Satisfied

"They shall be abundantly satisfied." Psalm 36:8

Ask the eagle that splashes in the glory of the sun if it ever longs for its cage away down among the dim, distant earth scenes. If it ever stops to look at the old cage of former days, it is to sing its doxology of deliverance and soar away to its home near the sun.

The life of the Spirit-filled heart is the winged life. The unsurrendered life is the life of the cage. The best that the cage can give is a momentary thrill that soon gives place to a pitiful beating against the bars.

Our precious Saviour, by His death on the cross, proclaims "liberty to the captive," and you may be set free; free not to take refuge on the branches of a nearby tree, but to "rise and walk in heaven's own light, above the world and sin, with heart made pure, and garments white, and Christ enthroned within!"

"They shall be abundantly satisified." The song in your heart will daily be:

"Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
More than all in Thee I find."

Forget the past, throw off your last fear, and leap boldly forward to complete emancipation!

"Oh Christ, in Thee my soul hath found,
And found in Thee alone,
The peace, the joy I sought so lon;
The bliss till now unknown.

"I sighed for rest and happiness,
I yearned for them, not Thee;
But while I passed my Saviour by,
His love laid hold on me.

"I tried the broken cristerns, Lord,
But ah! the waters failed.
E'en as I stooped to drink they'd fled,
And mocked me as I wailed.

"Now none but Christ can satisfy,
None other name for me;
There's love, and life, and lasting joy,
Lord Jesus, found in Thee!"

By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman taken from "Springs in the Valley"

He has come for you

"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10

What a breath-taking truth! "I am come," Just another way of saying "Before Abraham was, I AM." All others began to be; our Lord is pre-temporal, definitely coming out of the eternities for a definite purpose: "That they might have life." This quality of life which the Biologist from Eternity gives, increases in quantity forever - Abundantly!"

The abundant life which Christ offers is the possession alone of those whom He designates "My Sheep." It is not an entering into material blessedness. It is a spiritual fulness conditional altogether upon likeness to the Lord, and walking in that obedience toward God wherein He walked. Its first condition is the acceptance of the Cross whereby the world is crucified unto the believer and the believer unto the world. But, as this separation is recognized and accepted, and the life is wholly yielded and kept subject to the will fo the Father, the Master's incoming and indwelling meets every longing and every need. Then alone will be understood the meaning of the promise of our text: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

Have we come to the fountain of life? Are we drinking of its fulness? Are we living in His love? This is the life of our spirit; the health of our body; the secret of our joy!

May we seek this overflowing life, and become "channels only," with "all His wondrous power flowing through us" so that He can use us every day and every hour!

Come to the everlasting spring and drink freely. It never runs dry!

"Though millions their thirst are now slaking,
It never runs dry,
And millions may still come partaking,
It never runs dry!"

By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman taken from "Springs in the Valley"

Behold God

"Behold your God!" Isaiah 40:9

He became the Son of Man that we might become the sons of God. Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, child of a peasant woman. He had neither wealth nor influence, neither training nor education; yet in infancy he startled a king; in boyhood He puzzled the doctors. In manhood He walked upon the billows and hushed the sea to sleep. He healed the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for His services. He never wrote a book, yet all the libraries of the world could not hold the books that could be written about Him. He never wrote a song, yet He has furnished the theme of more songs then all song-writers combined. He never founded a college, yet all the colleges together cannot boast of as many students as He.

"He was right, yet for your sakes He became poor."

How poor? Ask Mary! Ask the Wise Men! He slept in another's manger. He cruised the lake in another's boat. He rode on another man's donkey. He was buried in another man's tomb.

While still a young man the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away from Him. One of them denied Him; another betrayed Him and turned Him over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon the Cross between two thieves. His executioners gambled for His coat.

Yet, all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were built, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man as powerfully as has this one solitary life!

Great men have come and gone, yet He lives on! Death could not destroy Him! The grave could not hold Him!

"Behold, the world is gone after Him!" John 12:19

"Let us also go." John 11:16

"If thou seek Him, He will be found of thee." I Chronicles 28:9

FIND HIM!

By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman taken from "Springs in the Valley"

Resting

"Come apart with me, and rest awhile." Mark 6:31

There is one pause in music of which the untrained singer does not know the value - the pause: it is not the cessation of the music; it is a part of it.

Before the tide ebbs or flows there is always a time of poise when it is neither ebbing nor flowing.

In a Christian life that is to be effective, there will always be the pause and the poise.

The desert has been God's training-school for many of His prophets - Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Paul. But not all who come from Arabia are prophets; and God has other schools. Before the years of witness, there were the years of stillness. Every witness with a great message has these years. Let not the saints shrink from the discipline and training! The sightless days will mean a grander vision; the silent years, the sweeter song. If the Lord puts you in the dark, it is but to strengthen your eyes to bear the glory that He is preparing for you; if he bids you be silent, it is but to turn your tongue to His praise. Remember that the pause is part of the music.

The great Composer writes the thee
And gives us each a part to play;
To some a sweet and flowing air,
Smooth and unbroken all the way;

They pour their full heart's gladness out
in notes of joy and service blent;
But some He gives long bares of "rests."
With idle voice and instrument.

He who directs the singing spheres,
The music of the morning stars,
Needs, for His full creation's hymn,
The quiet of the soundless bars.

Be silent unto God, my soul,
If this the score He writes for thee,
And "hold the rest," play no false note
To mar His perfect harmony.

Yet be thou watchful for thy turn,
Strike on the instant, true and clear,
Lest from the grand, melodious whole
Thy note be missing to His ear.

Annie Johnson Flint

By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman taken from "Springs in the Valley"

A Hope and A Future

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

The love of God a perfect plan
Is planning now for thee,
It holds "a future and a hope,"
Which yet thou canst not see.

Though for a season, in the dark,
He asks thy perfect trust,k
E'en that thou in surrender "lay
Thy treasure in the dust."

Yet He is planning all the while,
Unerringly He guides
The life of him, who holds His will
More dear than all besides.

Trust were not trust if thou couldest see
The ending of the way,
nor couldst thou learn His songs by night,
Were life one radiant day.

Amid the shadows here He works
The plan designed above,
"A future and a hope" for thee
In His exceeding love.

"A future" - of abiding fruit,
With loving kindness crowned;
"A hope" - which shall thine own transcend,
A Heaven the earth around.

Though veiled as yet, one day thine eyes
Shall see His plan unfold,
And clouds that darkened once the path
Shall shine with Heaven's gold.

Enriched to all eternity
The steadfast should shall stand,
That "unoffended," trusted Him
Who all life's pathway planned.

Freda Hambury Allen

By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman taken from "Springs in the Valley"

The Rope

"O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man . . . to direct his steps." Jeremiah 10:23

We were at the foot of Mount Blanc in the village of Chamouni. A sad thing had happened the day before. A young physician had determined to reach the heights of Mt. Blanc. He accomplished the feat and the little village was illuminated in his honor; on the mountain-side a flag was floating that told of his victory.

After he had ascended, and descended as far as the hut, he wanted to be released form his guide; he wanted to be free form the rope, and insisted on going on alone.

The guide remonstrated with him, telling him it was not safe; but he was tired of the rope, and declared that he would be free. The guide was compelled to yield. The young man had gone only a short distance when his foot slipped on the ice and he could not stop himself from sliding down the icy steeps. The rope was gone, so the guide could not hold him nor pull him back. Out on the shelving ice lay the body of the young physician.

The bells had been run, the village had been illuminated in honor of his success; but alas, in a fatal moment he refused to be guided; he was tired of the rope.

Do you get tired of the rope? God's providences hold us, restrain us, and we get tired sometimes. We need a guide, and shall until the dangerous paths are over. Never get disengaged from your Guide. Let your prayer be, "Lead Thou me on," and sometime the bells of heaven will ring that you are safe at home! - C. H. Spurgeon

By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman taken from "Springs in the Valley"

God's Love

"The love of Christ which passeth knowledge." Ephesians 3:19

We do not really see the ocean. To do that is beyond our power. Through that vista we glimpse a bit of blue water as though God has painted a picture and framed it with hills and trees. But southward and northward on distance-hidden shores stretch waters we have never seen. Bays lie placid by sunlit rocks, and long surges roll in soothing rhythm on smoothly sloping sands. Inlets ripple under tropic moons, and warming currents bear springtime's promise to frozen arctic reefs. Beyond that curved blue line that limits our sight, there rolls an open plain of waters to realms where we have never been, leaving the strands of palmy islands of which we do not know. And this is but the surface! Beneath are miles of depth, fathomless and mysteries beyond the thoughts of men.

God's measureless love is like the ocean. Through the windows of earthly life we catch a gleam. From the valleys of trouble we glimpse, wave on wave. From the headlands of faith we view a broader tide to the line that blends eternity with time. Our happiest days are islands set in its boundless breadth. Yet, as with the ocean, we have never seen it all! Even Eternity cannot reveal its greatness to the wondering hosts of heaven, nor all the universe exhaust the fountains whence it flows.

"We can only see a little of the ocean,
Just a few miles distant from the rocky shore,
But out there-far beyond our eyes' horizon,
There's more-immeasurably more.

"We can only see a little of God's loving -
A few rich treasures from His mighty store;
But out there-far beyond our eye's horizon,
There's more-immeasurably more."

By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman taken from "Springs in the Valley"

Falling

"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." Jude 24

Take that word keep and hold it close to your heart tonight and tomorrow. It is one of the great and magnificent messages of the Gospel - "He is able to keep you from falling." Put into the word you all the weakness, all the unworthiness, all the sinfulness which belongs to man since the fall; yet, He is able to keep you. He does not underrate the disadvantage of its being you when He bids His messengers say He is "able to keep you from falling." It would be impossible, utterly impossible were it not undertaken by Infinite love. Look out, and up, then. Look up "from the depth" - the vast depth of your weakness, perhaps of your mysteriously inherited weakness. Look out of your failure under some temptation, inward or outward, inherited so to speak from yourself, from your own unfaithfulness in the past. Look up, out of your ruined purposes - unto Himself.

Being what He is, Keeper of Israel, God of the promises, Lord of the Sacrifice, Prince of life, present Saviour, indwelling Power, He is able to keep you, that your feet shall not totter. They shall stand "in a large room;" they shall hold on straight, until at last they enter, step by step - for it is one step at a time even then - "through the gates into the city."

"He shall never give thy feet to tottering." - Rev. H.C.G. Moule, D.D.

We may step firmly down up on the temptation which other has crushed for us, and we are conquerors in Him.

"Behind the dim unknown
Standeth God within the shadows
Keeping watch above His own."

By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman taken from "Springs in the Valley"

Singing

"Break forth into singing." Isaiah 49:13

There is a beautiful story which tells of song birds being brought over the sea. There were thirty-six thousand, mostly canaries. The sea was very calm when the ship first sailed, and the little birds were silent. They kept their little heads under their wings and not a note was heard. But the third day out at sea, the ship struck a furious gale. The passengers were terrified. Children wept. Then a strange thing happened. As the tempest reached it's height, the birds began to sing, first one, then another, until the thirty-six thousand were singing as if their little throats would burst.

When the storm rises in its fury, do we then begin to sing? Should not our song break forth in tenfold joy when the tempest begins?

"I can hear the songbirds singing their refrain
It is morning in my heart;
And I know that life for me begins again,
It is morning in my heart.

"It is morning, it is morning in my heart,
Jesus made the gloomy shadows all depart;
Songs of gladness now I sing,
For since Jesus is my King,
It is morning, it is morning in my heart."

Oh God, wilt Thou teach us to begin the music of heaven! Grant us grace to have many rehearsals of eternal Hallelujahs! "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy Name!"

Try singing! Singing in the storm!

By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman taken from "Springs in the Valley"

Promises

"Therefore it is of faith; . . . to the end the promise might be sure." Romans 4:16

The great devotional teacher of the past century, Dr. Andrew Murray, said, "When you get a promise from God it is worth just as much as fulfillment. A promise brings you into direct contact with God. Honor Him by trusting the promise and obeying Him." Worth just as much as fulfillment. Do we grasp that truth often? Are we not frequently in the state of trying to believe, instead of realizing that these promises bring us into contact with God? "God's promise is as good as His presence." To believe and accept the promise of God is not to engage in some mental gymnastics where we reach down into our imaginations and begin a process of auto-suggestion, or produce a notional faith in which we argue with ourselves in an endeavor to believe God. It is absolute confidence in and reliance upon God through His Word.

By a naked faith in a naked promise I do not mean a bare assent that God is faithful, and that such a promise in the Book of God is faithful, and that such as promise in the Book of God may be fulfilled in me, but a bold, hearty, steady venturing of my soul, body and spirit upon the truth of the promise with an appropriating act. - Fletcher

"The faith that will shut the mouths of lions must be more than a pious hope that they will note bite."

By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman taken from "Springs in the Valley"

Step out on the Waves

Step out on the waves
That would crush you!
Step out in the storm
That would hush you!
And you will find,
As you touch the crest
You feared so much,
And walk on its breast,
There was One walking there,
The whole night through,
Walking, watching,
Waiting – FOR YOU!

By Mrs. Charles E Cowman taken from "Springs in the Valley"

Love

"The greatest of these is love." I Corinthians 13:13

"I'll master it!" said the axe; and his blows fell heavily on the iron. And every blow made the edge more blunt till he ceased to strike.

"Leave it to me!" said the saw; and with his relentless teeth he worked backward and forward on its surface till his teeth were worn down and broken, and he fell aside.

"Ha, ha!" said the hammer. "I knew you wouldn't succeed! I'll show you the way!" But at the first fierce stroke off flew his head, and the iron remained as before.

"Shall I try?" asked the still, small flame.

They all despised the flame, but he curled gently around the iron and embraced it, and never left it till it melted under his irresistible influence.

Hard indeed is the heart that can resist love.

"And now abideth faith, hope, love...the greatest of these is love."

By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman taken from "Springs in the Valley"

The Wind

"For he spoke and stirred up a tempest and lifted high the waves." Psalm 107:25

Stormy wind fulfilling His word. By the time the wind blows upon us it is His wind for us. We have nothing to do with what first of all stirred up that wind. It could not ruffle a leaf on the smallest tree in the forest had He not opened the way for it to blow through the fields of air. He commandeth even the winds, and they obey Him. The the winds as to His servants He saith to one, "Go," and it goeth; and to another, "Come," and it cometh; and to another, "Do this," and it doeth it. So, whatever wind blows on us it is His wind for us, His wind fulfilling His word.

God's winds do effectual work. They shake loose from us the things that can be shaken, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain, those eternal things which belong to the Kingdom which cannot be moved. They have their part to play in stripping us and strengthening us so that we may be the more ready for the uses of Eternal Love, Then can we refuse to welcome them?

Art thou indeed willing for any wind at any time? - Gold by Moonlight

Be like the pine on the hill-top,
Alone in the wind for God.

There is a curious comfort in remembering that the Father depends upon HIs child not to give way. It is inspiring to be trusted with a hard thing. You never asked for summer breezes to blow upon your tree. It is enough that you are not alone upon the hill.

"And let the storm that does Thy work
Deal with me as it may"

By Mrs. Charles E Cowman taken from "Springs in the Valley"

The Twenty-Third Psalm

"The Lord is my Shepherd." Psalm 23:1

The great Father above is a Shepherd Chief. I am his and with him. I want not. He throws out to me a rope, and the name of the rope is love, and he draws me to where the grass is green and the water is not dangerous.

Sometimes my heart is very weak, and falls down, but he lifts it up again and draws me into a good road.

Sometimes, it may be very soon, it may be longer, it may be a long, long time, he will draw me into a place between mountains. It is dark there, but I'll draw back not. I'll be afraid not, for it is in there between the mountains that the Shepherd Chief will meet me, and the hunger I have felt in my heart all through this life will be satisfied. Sometimes he makes the love rope into a whip, but afterwards he gives me a staff to lean on.

He spreads a table before me with all kinds of food. He puts his hands upon my head, and all the "tired" is gone.

My cup he fills, till it runs over.

What I tell you is true, I lie not. The roads that are "away ahead" will stay with me through this life, and afterward I will go to live in the "Big Tepee" and sit down with the Shepherd Chief forever. - An American Indian's Version of the Twenty-third Psalm.

Fear not, little flock, He goeth ahead,
Your Shepherd selecteth the path you must tread;
The waters of Marah He'll sweeten for thee,
He drank all the bitter in Gethsemane.
Fear not, little flock, whatever your lot,
He enters all rooms, "the doors being shut;"
He never forsakes; He never is gone,
So count on His presence in darkness and dawn.

Paul Rader

By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman taken from "Springs in the Valley"

Forgiveness Week

"Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." Colossians 3:13

A custom way out in the African bush which has no equivalent in this part of the world is "Forgiveness Week." Fixed in the dry season, when the weather itself is smiling, this is a week when every man and woman pledges himself or herself to forgive any neighbor any wrong real or fancied, that may be a cause for misunderstanding, coldness or quarrel between the parities.

It is, of course, a part of our religion that a man should forgive his brother. But among recent converts, and even older brethren, this great tenet is, perhaps naturally, apt to be forgotten or overlooked in the heat and burden of work. "Forgiveness Week' brings it forcibly to mind. The week itself terminates with a festival of happiness and rejoicing among the native Christians.

It is too much to suggest that in this supposedly more civilized portion of the world a similar week might be instituted?

"Nothing between, Lord - nothing between;
Shine with unclouded ray,
Chasing each mist away,
O'er my whole heart hold sway -
Nothing between."

Let grudges die "like cloudspots in the dawn!" When God forgives, He forgets!

By Mrs. Charles E Cowman taken from "Springs in the Valley"

What do you seek?

"I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." Philippians 3:8

The Swedish Nightingale, Jennie Lind, won great success as an operatic singer, and money poured into her purse. Yet she left the stage while she was singing her best, and never returned to it. She must have missed the money, the fame, and the applause of thousands, but she was content to live in privacy.

Once an English friend found her sitting on the steps of a bathing machine on the sea sands with a Bible on her knee, looking out into the glory of a sunset. They talked, and the conversation drew near to the inevitable question: "Oh, Madame Goldschmidt, how is it that you come to abandon the stage at the very height of your success?"

"When every day," was the quiet answer, "it made me think less of this (laying a finger on the Bible) and nothing at all of that (pointing to the sunset), what else could I do?"

May I not covet the wold's greatness! It will cost me the crown of life!

By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman taken from "Springs in the Valley"