God’s Will

The Tapestry Poem

My life is but a weaving
Between my God and me.
I cannot choose the colors
He weaveth steadily.

Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow;
And I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper
And I the underside.

Not ’til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll the canvas
And reveal the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful
In the weaver’s skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned

He knows, He loves, He cares;
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives the very best to those
Who leave the choice to Him.

– Author Unknown –
often quoted by Corrie ten Boom

God’s Call is Not for a Large Church – Jim Cymbala

God nowhere asks anyone to have a large church. He only calls us to do his work, proclaiming his Word to people he loves under anointing power of the Holy Spirit to produce results that only he can bring about.

– Jim Cymbala –

To Be “In the Will of God” – Oswald Chambers

To be “in the will of God” is not a matter of intellectual discernment, but a state of heart. To a sanctified soul the will of God is its implicit life, as natural as breathing. It is the sick man who knows intellectually what the will of God is; but a sanctified heart is the expression of the will of God. Its motto is: “My Father can do what he likes with me, He may bless me to death, or give me a bitter cup; I delight to do His will.”

– Oswald Chambers –

What God Needs – EM Bounds

It is not great talents or great learning or great preachers that God needs, but men great in holiness.

– EM Bounds –

Created for Holiness – Oswald Chambers

God has one destined end for mankind – holiness! His one aim is the production of saints. God is not an eternal blessing-machine for men. He did not come to save men out of pity. He came to save men because He had created them to be holy.

– Oswald Chambers –

You Are God’s Chosen Vessel to Bear His Name – Robert Murray M’Cheyne

How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his sabre clean and sharp; every stain he rubs off with the greatest care. Remember you are God’s sword, His instrument … a chosen vessel unto Him to bear His name. In great measure, according to the purity and perfection of the instrument, will be the success.

– Robert Murray M’Cheyne –

No One Is Beyond the Reach of God’s Mercy – John Bunyan

They think themselves beyond the reach of his mercy. Wherefore in answer to this conceit it is, that the Lord asketh, saying, “Is my hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem?” (Isaiah 50:2) 

– John Bunyan – 
from All Loves Excelling, 1692

The Purity of Gold – Amy Carmichael

The goldsmith never leaves his crucible once it has entered the fire. He periodically lifts out the gold, lets it cool, rubs it between his fingers, and if not satisfied puts it back … This time he blows the fire hotter than it was before, and each time he puts the gold back into the crucible, the heat of the fire is increased, “It could not bear it so hot at first, but it can bear it now; what would have destroyed it then helps it now.” “How do you know when the gold is purified?” we asked, and he answered, “When I can see my face in it, then it is pure.”

– Amy Carmichael –
from Gold Cord