January 4
Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD — Psa. 27:14.
Time is an important element in all God's plans: we are not, therefore, to be disappointed when the test of endurance is applied while the blessings we crave tarry long. God took time to frame the world and to fit it for human habitation; time to give the world its necessary experience with evil; time to prepare for the advent of Christ as the world's Redeemer; time for the preparation of the Church and the rest of His Gospel-Age people to share in His glorious reign; and time must be allowed for the shaping and adjusting of the individual affairs of His people. God has not forgotten when the answers to our prayers seem to tarry long. He who heeds the sparrow's fall and numbers the very hairs of our heads is not indifferent to the faintest call or the smallest necessity of His humblest child—Z '95, 20 (R 1759). The providences of God on behalf of His people involve many delays to test their patience. Those who endure these tests with courageous hearts will thereby become strong in the Lord. Therefore they wait on the Lord amid all the varying circumstances of life, assured that He who is for them will manifest this in every time of need that comes into their lives—P '33, 191. Parallel passages: Jer. 14:22; Psa. 25:3, 5, 21; 39:7; 123:2; 62:1, 2, 5; 33:20; 37:7; Hos. 12:6; Gal. 5:5; Psa. 130:5, 6; 40:1; 25:21; 69:3; Mic. 7:7; Dan. 12:12; Isa. 40:31; 64:4. Hymns: 313, 7, 92, 102, 201, 214, 318. Poems of Dawn, 209: Wait, O Thou Weary One, a Little Longer. Tower Reading: Z '15, 190 (R 5711). Questions: Have I this week waited upon the Lord? How? Why? With what results? |
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WAIT, O THOU WEARY ONE, A LITTLE LONGER
WAIT, O thou weary one, a little longer,
A few more years—it may be only days;
Thy patient waiting makes thee all the stronger;
Eternity will balance all delays.
Wait, O thou suffering one, thy days of sorrow
Bring to thy weary soul its richest gain;
If thou a Christian art, a brighter morrow
Will give thee ten-fold joy for all thy pain.
Wait, O thou anxious one; the cloud that hovers
In gathering gloom above thine aching head
Is sent of God in mercy, and He covers
Thee with His heavenly mantle overspread.
Be patient and submissive; each disaster
Will bring thee nearer to thy loving Lord.
These trials make thee like thy blessed Master,
Who knows them all, and will His grace afford.
Be patient and submissive; strength is given
For every step along the weary way.
And for it all thou'lt render praise to Heaven,
When dreary night gives place to perfect day.
Yes, perfect day, the day of God eternal,
When not a shadow shall flit o'er the scene
In that fair land where all is bright and vernal,
And we will be with Christ, and naught between.
Wait, then, dear heart; control thy sad emotion;
God will subdue each angry wind and wave,
And when the voyage ends across life's ocean,
Within the haven of sweet rest will save.
WAIT, O thou weary one, a little longer,
A few more years—it may be only days;
Thy patient waiting makes thee all the stronger;
Eternity will balance all delays.
Wait, O thou suffering one, thy days of sorrow
Bring to thy weary soul its richest gain;
If thou a Christian art, a brighter morrow
Will give thee ten-fold joy for all thy pain.
Wait, O thou anxious one; the cloud that hovers
In gathering gloom above thine aching head
Is sent of God in mercy, and He covers
Thee with His heavenly mantle overspread.
Be patient and submissive; each disaster
Will bring thee nearer to thy loving Lord.
These trials make thee like thy blessed Master,
Who knows them all, and will His grace afford.
Be patient and submissive; strength is given
For every step along the weary way.
And for it all thou'lt render praise to Heaven,
When dreary night gives place to perfect day.
Yes, perfect day, the day of God eternal,
When not a shadow shall flit o'er the scene
In that fair land where all is bright and vernal,
And we will be with Christ, and naught between.
Wait, then, dear heart; control thy sad emotion;
God will subdue each angry wind and wave,
And when the voyage ends across life's ocean,
Within the haven of sweet rest will save.