THE truisms and dogmas of Christianity will not support us in times of trouble; nothing will do then but reality—the having to do with God for oneself.
“It is good for me that I have been afflicted," the psalmist says; when God's hand is upon us we must be real; but let us always remember that whatever may be the motions of His hand, His heart is always towards us; there can be no change there. It is easy to thank God for His favors, for the mercy He bestows; but trial, when we know His heart, is what we gain most from. The days of sorrow are the days in which we learn most. Our path may become more lonely and more isolated as we go on, but there should ever be the oil of gladness upon us, joy which should be seen in our very faces, as we learn ever more and more of what is in God's heart for us. Looking at trial alone will only sadden and discourage us. He who looks at what is dark, becomes dark; but if he gaze at light, he becomes like the light at which he gazes. B—K.