I have always been so sorry that the two disciples walking with Jesus on the road to Emmaus did not say to Him, “We still hope” instead of “We had hoped.” The situation is very sad, because in their minds it is over.

Oh, if only they had said, “Everything has come against our hope, and it looks as if our trust were in vain. Yet we will not give up, because we believe we will see Him again.” Instead, they walked by His side, declaring their shattered faith. Jesus had to say to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe!” (Luke 24:25).

Are we not in danger of having these same words said to us? We can afford to lose every possession we have, except our faith in the God of truth and love. May we never express our faith, as these disciples did, in the past tense—“We had hoped.” Yet may we always say, “I have hope.” C RUMBS

The soft, sweet summer was warm and glowing, Bright were the blossoms on every bough: I trusted Him when the roses were blooming; I trust Him now . . . .

Small was my faith should it weakly falter Now that the roses have ceased to blow; Frail was the trust that now should alter, Doubting His love when storm clouds grow.

THE SONG OF A BIRD IN A WINTER STORM

God will make our obstacles serve His purposes. We all have mountains in our lives, and often they are people and things that threaten to block the progress of our spiritual life. The obstacles may be untruths told about us; a difficult occupation; “a thorn in [the] flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7); or our daily cross. And often we pray for their removal, for we tend to think that if only these were removed, we would live a more tender, pure, and holy life.

“How foolish you are, and how slow to believe . . . !” (Luke 24:25). These are the very conditions we need for achievement, and they have been put in our lives as the means of producing the gifts and qualities for which we have been praying so long. We pray for patience for many years, and when something begins to test us beyond our endurance, we run from it. We try to avoid it, we see it as some insurmountable obstacle to our desired goal, and we believe that if it was removed, we would experience immediate deliverance and victory.

This is not true! We would simply see the temptations to be impatient end. This would not be patience. The only way genuine patience can be acquired is by enduring the very trials that seem so unbearable today.

Turn from your running and submit. Claim by faith to be a partaker in the patience of Jesus and face your trials in Him. There is nothing in your life that distresses or concerns you that cannot become submissive to the highest purpose. Remember, they are God’s mountains. He puts them there for a reason, and we know He will never fail to keep His promise.

“God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells, for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens” (Job 28:23–24). So when we come to the foot of the mountains, we will find our way. F. B. MEYER

The purpose of our trials is not only to test our worthiness but also to increase it, just as the mighty oak is tested by the storms as well as strengthened by them.