...the thing that pleaseth thee...

Teach me to do the thing that pleaseth thee. Psalm 143:10

I do not think anything worth having in the spiritual world is easily attained. There is no short-cut to holiness. But there can be a true, humble, loving choice of the soul and that choice, become a habit, will lead into peace. (Amy Carmichael)

The thing that pleases the Lord.

Often, if we are honest, this is exactly the opposite of what we really want to do. Our tendency is to look at the circumstances of our life in an isolated way. Something happens and we feel the need to respond. We do not often have the sort of divine aerial perspective. We put the happenings and circumstances of our lives under the microscope…make them bigger than they really are…and feel compelled to take action. But the reality is that our life is not comprised of one isolated incident after another. Each moment of each day is ordered and purposed and designed and goes with the ones that have gone before. And everything that touches us must first pass through God’s hand.

Everything.

No matter how grim or dire things may seem to us in the moment, nothing falls outside of the jurisdiction of God. Nothing takes Him by surprise. Everything is planned and purposed and accounted for. No event will, even for a moment, derail His plan.

Nothing.

Then why should we not let our hearts rest in peace about everything that happens? For nothing can happen that can break a single one of [His] precious and exeeding great, supreme and wondrous promises...(Amy Carmichael). Promises to give us a hope and a future…to prosper us…to provide for us…to work all things together for the good…and to be our refuge and shield and comfort and guide and to fight for us all along the way. There is no promise of an easy passage, but there are countless promises for every day of the voyage, and for welcome when He brings us to our desired haven (Ps 107:30) (Amy Carmichael). Why then should we chose to worry when we have such great promises from such a faithful God?

Lord, let us do that which pleaseth Thee…and praise you for everything that comes to us by your hand…to “sing the mingled song of mourning and delight”, as Charles Spurgeon says…and to trust you with everything, for everything, through everything.