Streams in the Desert

Devotional For

August 25

      Patience in the Routine
      
      "Be thou there till I bring thee word" (Matt. 2:13).
      
      "I'll stay where You've put me;
      I will, dear Lord, Though I wanted so badly to go;
      I was eager to march with the 'rank and file,'
      Yes, I wanted to lead them, You know.
      I planned to keep step to the music loud,
      To cheer when the banner unfurled,
      To stand in the midst of the fight straight and proud,
      But I'll stay where You've put me.
      
      "I'll stay where You've put me; I'll work, dear Lord,
      Though the field be narrow and small,
      And the ground be fallow, and the stones lie thick,
      And there seems to be no life at all.
      The field is Thine own, only give me the seed,
      I'll sow it with never a fear;
      I'll till the dry soil while I wait for the rain,
      And rejoice when the green blades appear;
      I'll work where You've put me.
      
      "I'll stay where You've put me; I will, dear Lord;
      I'll bear the day's burden and heat,
      Always trusting Thee fully; when even has come
      I'll lay heavy sheaves at Thy feet.
      And then, when my earth work is ended and done,
      In the light of eternity's glow,
      Life's record all closed, I surely shall find
      It was better to stay than to go;
      I'll stay where You've put me."
      
      "Oh restless heart, that beat against your prison bars of circumstances, yearning for a wider sphere of usefulness, leave God to order all your days. Patience and trust, in the dullness of the routine of life, will be the best preparation for a courageous bearing of the tug and strain of the larger opportunity which God may some time send you."