Often your tasks will be many,
and more than you think you can do.
Often the road will be rugged,
and the hills insurmountable, too.
But always remember, the hills ahead
are never as steep as they seem,
And with faith in your heart, start upward
and climb till you reach your dream.
For nothing in life that is worthy
is ever too hard to achieve
If you have the courage to try it and
you have the faith to believe.
For faith is a force that is greater
than knowledge or power or skill,
And many defeats turn to triumphs
if you trust in God’s wisdom and will.
For faith is a mover of mountains—
there’s nothing that God cannot do—
So start out today with faith in your heart
and climb till your dream comes true.
Sometimes when a light
Goes out of our lives
And we are left in darkness
And we do not know which way to go,
We must put our hand
Into the hand of God
And ask Him to lead us
And if we let our lives become a prayer
Until we are strong enough
To stand under the weight
Of our own thoughts again,
Somehow, even the most difficult
Hours are bearable.
God, give us wider vision to see and understand
That both the sunshine and the
showers are gifts from Thy great hand,
And when our lives are overcast
with trouble and with care,
Give us faith to see beyond
the dark clouds of despair,
And teach us that it takes the showers
to make the flowers grow,
And only in the storms of life when
the winds of trouble blow
Can man, too, reach maturity and
grow in faith and grace
And gain the strength and courage
to enable him to face
Sunny days as well as rain,
high peaks as well as low,
Knowing that the April showers
will make May flowers grow …
And then at last may we accept
the sunshine and the shower,
Confident it takes them both to make salvation ours.
Sometimes we come to life’s crossroads
and view what we think is the end,
But God has a much wider vision,
and He knows it’s only a bend.
The road will go on and get smoother,
and after we’ve stopped for a rest,
The path that lies hidden beyond
us is often the part that is best.
So rest and relax and grow stronger,
let go and let God share your load,
And have faith in a brighter tomorrow;
you’ve just come to a bend in the road.
Take heart and meet each minute
with faith in God’s great love,
Aware that every day of life is
controlled by God above …
And never dread tomorrow
or what the future brings—
Just pray for strength and courage
and trust God in all things.
I remember so well this prayer I said
Each night as my mother tucked me in bed,
And today this same prayer is still the best way
To sign off with God at the end of the day
And to ask Him your soul to safely keep
As you wearily close your tired eyes in sleep,
Feeling content that the Father above
Will hold you secure in His great arms of love …
And having His promise that if ere you wake
His angels reach down, your sweet soul to take
Is perfect assurance that, awake or asleep,
God is always right there to tenderly keep
All of His children ever safe in His care,
For God’s here and He’s there
and He’s everywhere …
So into His hands each night as I sleep
I commend my soul for the dear Lord to keep,
Knowing that if my soul should take flight
It will soar to the land where there is no night.
Sometimes when faith is running low
And I cannot fathom why things are so,
I walk among the flowers that grow
And learn the answers to all I would know …
For among my flowers I have come to see
Life’s miracle and its mystery,
And standing in silence and reverie,
My faith comes flooding back to me.
AND TOMORROW
Yesterday’s dead, tomorrow’s unborn,
So there’s nothing to fear and nothing to mourn,
For all that is past and all that has been
Can never return to be lived once again …
And what lies ahead or the things that will be
Are still in God’s hands, so it is not up to me
To live in the future that is God’s great unknown,
For the past and the present
God claims for His own …
So all I need do is to live for today
And trust God to show me the truth and the way,
For it’s only the memory of things that have been
And expecting tomorrow to bring trouble again
That fills my today, which God wants to bless,
With uncertain fears and borrowed distress …
For all I need live for is this one little minute,
For life’s here and now and eternity’s in it.
You ask me how I know it’s
true that there is a living God.
A God who rules the universe—
the sky, the sea, the sod—
A God who holds all creatures
in the hollow of His hand,
A God who put infinity in one tiny grain of sand,
A God who made the seasons—
winter, summer, fall, and spring—
And put His flawless rhythm
into each created thing,
A God who hangs the sun out
slowly with the break of day
And gently takes the stars in
and puts the night away,
A God whose mighty handiwork
defies the skill of man,
For no architect can alter
God’s perfect master plan.
What better answers are there
to prove His holy being
Than the wonders all around us
that are ours just for the seeing.
Somebody loves you more than you know,
Somebody goes with you wherever you go,
Somebody really and truly cares
And lovingly listens to all of your prayers …
Don’t doubt for a minute that this is not true,
For God loves His children and
takes care of them, too …
And all of His treasures are yours to share
If you love Him completely and
show that you care …
And if you walk in His footsteps
and have faith to believe,
There’s nothing you ask for that
you will not receive!
The waking earth in springtime
Reminds us it is true
That nothing ever really dies
That is not born anew …
So trust God’s all-wise wisdom
And doubt the Father never,
For in His heavenly kingdom
There is nothing lost forever.
It’s easy to say “In God we trust”
when life is radiant and fair,
But the test of faith is only found
when there are burdens to bear.
For our claim to faith in the
sunshine is really no faith at all,
For when roads are smooth and days
are bright our need for God is so small.
And no one discovers the fullness
or the greatness of God’s love
Unless they have walked in the
darkness with only a light from above.
For the faith to endure whatever comes
is born of sorrow and trials
And strengthened only by discipline
and nurtured by self-denials.
So be not disheartened by troubles,
for trials are the building blocks
On which to erect a fortress of faith,
secure on God’s ageless rocks.
In this sick world of hatred and violence and sin,
Where society renounces morals
and rejects discipline,
We stumble in darkness groping vainly for light
To distinguish the difference between
wrong and right.
But dawn cannot follow this night of despair
Unless faith lights a candle in
all hearts everywhere.
And warmed by the glow, our hate melts away
And love lights the path to a peaceful new day.
What must I do to ensure peace of mind?
Is the answer I’m seeking too hard to find?
How can I know what God wants me to be?
How can I tell what’s expected of me?
Where can I go for guidance and aid
To help me correct the errors I’ve made?
The answer is found in doing three things,
And great is the gladness that doing them brings.
“Do justice”—”Love kindness”—
“Walk humbly with God”—
For with these three things as
your rule and your rod,
All things worth having are yours to achieve,
If you follow God’s words and have
faith to believe.
Why things happen as they do
we do not always know,
And we cannot always fathom
why our spirits sink so low.
But all that is required of us
whenever things go wrong
Is to trust in God implicitly with
a faith that’s deep and strong.
And while He may not instantly
unravel all the strands
Of the tangled thoughts that trouble us,
He completely understands—
And in His time, if we have faith,
He will gradually restore
The brightness to our spirits
that we’ve been longing for.
So remember there’s no cloud too
dark for God’s light to penetrate
If we keep on believing and have
faith enough to wait.
OF MOUNTAINS
Faith is a force that is greater
than knowledge or power or skill,
And the darkest defeat turns to triumph
if you trust in God’s wisdom and will,
For faith is a mover of mountains—
there’s nothing man cannot achieve
If he has the courage to try it
and then has the faith to believe.