Saturday, December 19, 2009

Comforting Thoughts from Amy Carmichael

Lately I have been reading Gold Cord, a book by Amy Carmichael, meant to give the basic history of the Dohnavur Fellowship, but, more than that, sharing the amazing truths of God that she and her fellow-workers learned during those years. Miss Carmichael is such an amazing authoress; the way she shares her heart and God's heart with us truly hits home and helps me to see things in a whole new light. Here are some excerpts from Chapter 23: "And A Light Shined in the Cell".


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Home of our hearts, lest we forget
What our redemption meant to Thee,
Let our most reverent thoughts be set
Upon Thy Calvary.

We, when we suffer, turn and toss
And seek for ease, and seek again;
But Thou upon Thy bitter cross
Wast firmly fixed in pain.

And in our night star-clusters shine,
Flowers comfort us, and joy of song;
No star, no flower, no song was Thine,
But darkness three hours long.

We in our lesser mystery,
Of lingering ill, and winged death,
Would fain see clear; but could we see,
What need would be for faith?

O Lord beloved, Thy Calvary
Stills all our questions. Come, oh come,
Where children wandering wearily
Have not yet found their home.

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"Years later, in an hour of need, the Everlasting Comforter came through the Septuagint version of Psalm 105:18, 'His soul [Joseph's] entered into iron.' It was not that others put him in irons (though they did, they hurt his feet with fetters), it was that he himself acquiesced in, willing walked into the unexplained trial of his God's dealings with him. 'His soul entered,whole and entire in its resolve to obey God, into the cruel torture,' is Kay's note on that great matter; but what fathomless depths it must have held for our Lord Jesus when He set His face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem, Gethsemane, Calvary, and certain it is that whatever way of pain may open before any on of us, we find as we walk in it the marks of our dear Lord's footsteps leading on. He walked alone on that road so that we need never walk alone."

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"Light-- there is something in the word that is not of earth. On a day when it brought us the very tenderness of God, a cable came from Australia: And a light shined in the cell. The words turned to song, such simple song that it would not be written here if it were not hat so often very simple, almost infantile things carry little cups of comfort:

And a light shined in the cell,
And there was not any wall,
And there was no dark at all;
Only Thou, Immanuel.

Light of Love shined in the cell,
Turned to gold the iron bars,
Opened windows to the stars;
Peace stood there as sentinel.

Dearest Lord, how can it be
That Thou art so kind to me?
Love is shining in my cell,
Jesus, my Immanuel."

~Amy Carmichael, Gold Cord, chapter 23

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With these thoughts in mind, may I ask you all to remember the Ripleys, the Wagoners, the Floras, and the Hopewells in prayer this Christmas, as they go through the season without some of the dearest people in the world to them? The pain of losing a child or a wife is great, beyond what some of us can imagine, but Jesus had trodden that path before-- so please pray that He would make His presence very well known to them during this season and fill them with His peace and comfort. Thank you all!

1 comment:

Amanda said...

Amy Carmichael writes amazingly. Those are wonderful poems.