WEBVTT 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:04.059 I hold in my hand a letter that a mother wrote 00:00:04.059 --> 00:00:10.480 to me years ago. She would be amazed to know 00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:15.960 that I have kept her letter all this time. The 00:00:15.960 --> 00:00:18.339 little poem that she enclosed with her letter 00:00:18.339 --> 00:00:24.679 is still clipped to that letter. There is seldom 00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:30.660 a week that I have not thought. of the words 00:00:30.660 --> 00:00:33.640 that this little mother wrote to me. And it's 00:00:33.640 --> 00:00:38.079 been a long time ago now. Dear Catherine, here 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:42.659 is a little verse cut from a Scotland paper which 00:00:42.659 --> 00:00:49.380 sounds just like me. I'm so tired being tied 00:00:49.380 --> 00:00:56.619 down all these years with my young waterhead 00:00:56.619 --> 00:01:03.500 helpless. and three grandsons that is so lively 00:01:03.500 --> 00:01:09.739 and destructive. One thing is, you always say, 00:01:09.959 --> 00:01:17.260 God makes no mistake. I must believe this. But 00:01:17.260 --> 00:01:21.659 if only I could learn to stop telling God what 00:01:21.659 --> 00:01:31.750 to do. If only I could Trust him completely and 00:01:31.750 --> 00:01:37.129 say thy will be done. That's all that was written 00:01:37.129 --> 00:01:40.349 in the letter. The woman signed her full name. 00:01:40.989 --> 00:01:45.510 And then this was the little verse that she had 00:01:45.510 --> 00:01:48.450 enclosed having cut it from a Scotland paper. 00:01:49.469 --> 00:01:54.829 On bended knee with sweat and tears, I knelt 00:01:54.829 --> 00:02:00.760 alone to pray. i told god i could not endure 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:06.500 not for another day but though my tears ran fast 00:02:06.500 --> 00:02:15.500 and hot god answered not on bended knee contrite 00:02:15.500 --> 00:02:22.240 i prayed but no loud words had i i waited humbly 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:29.810 on the lord my prayer was but a sigh. And in 00:02:29.810 --> 00:02:36.590 the wondrous stillness, he gave his strength 00:02:36.590 --> 00:02:45.509 to me. You've heard me say many, many times as 00:02:45.509 --> 00:02:52.810 I've prayed, Father God, please hear that prayer 00:02:52.810 --> 00:03:00.819 in that sigh. I have never forgotten this woman's 00:03:00.819 --> 00:03:05.240 letter. Neither have I forgotten the little clipping 00:03:05.240 --> 00:03:10.960 she enclosed from the Scotland paper. The prayer 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:15.460 in the falling tear. The prayer in the sigh. 00:03:16.180 --> 00:03:20.740 Because the burden was too heavy. The woman with 00:03:20.740 --> 00:03:26.379 the helpless waterhead child. I'm so tired, Miss 00:03:26.379 --> 00:03:30.659 Cooman. I'm so weary of staying at home constantly. 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:36.960 I'm caught in this dungeon. I'm caught in circumstances. 00:03:37.939 --> 00:03:41.360 I've cried until I can cry no longer. Please 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:45.860 pray that God will give me grace in my dungeon. 00:03:46.860 --> 00:03:51.259 I was so deeply touched with this letter. I got 00:03:51.259 --> 00:03:56.080 in contact with her immediately. I said, I have 00:03:56.080 --> 00:03:58.979 a little work for you to do. You can do it right 00:03:58.979 --> 00:04:05.419 there in your own home. You know, I'd like some 00:04:05.419 --> 00:04:11.439 dresses made for some children that I know who 00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:14.280 are starting to school and their parents are 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:18.420 too poor to buy little dresses for them. I'll 00:04:18.420 --> 00:04:24.439 get the pattern. I'll buy the material. start 00:04:24.439 --> 00:04:29.600 sewing for me. And we worked together on a little 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:36.420 project. And it wasn't long before that woman's 00:04:36.420 --> 00:04:41.620 dungeon turned into one of the brightest spots 00:04:41.620 --> 00:04:45.839 in that whole neighborhood. The happiest mother 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:48.639 that you ever saw in your life. And today... 00:04:49.019 --> 00:04:52.319 She is one of the most victorious mothers that 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:57.939 I know anything about. Though sure you too may 00:04:57.939 --> 00:05:01.360 be saying, I'm caught in a web of circumstances 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:07.220 that bind me hand and foot. How can I have abundant 00:05:07.220 --> 00:05:13.060 living under these circumstances? I'm caught 00:05:13.060 --> 00:05:19.639 in my dungeon. Beloved, If you find grace at 00:05:19.639 --> 00:05:26.000 all, you must find it in the dungeon. You're 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:28.959 caught. You're not able to get out of the dungeon. 00:05:29.100 --> 00:05:34.379 Then the only thing to do is to get the dungeon 00:05:34.379 --> 00:05:41.300 out of you. Find grace in that very dungeon. 00:05:42.839 --> 00:05:48.120 Find grace in my... circumstances. And the first 00:05:48.120 --> 00:05:51.600 thing that you do, get your eyes off of your 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:57.199 circumstances. Look up. As long as you look down, 00:05:57.360 --> 00:06:00.639 as long as you keep your eyes on your circumstances, 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:08.300 you'll never get victory. Never. And above all, 00:06:08.439 --> 00:06:13.370 do not permit yourself to accept pity. either 00:06:13.370 --> 00:06:18.250 from yourself or from anyone else. Accept no 00:06:18.250 --> 00:06:26.189 man's pity. I repeat, do not permit yourself 00:06:26.189 --> 00:06:30.589 to accept pity. Pity is the most dangerous form 00:06:30.589 --> 00:06:35.310 of emotional charity. I don't know anything besides 00:06:35.310 --> 00:06:39.689 fear that you can take in your own life. that 00:06:39.689 --> 00:06:44.670 is more destructive to you than pity, self -pity. 00:06:46.149 --> 00:06:50.990 It may seem to comfort you at first, but be aware 00:06:50.990 --> 00:06:55.370 of such comfort, for it will turn you into a 00:06:55.370 --> 00:07:01.149 spiritual bomb. It will turn you into a whining 00:07:01.149 --> 00:07:11.660 weakling. Is there anything? That is worse to 00:07:11.660 --> 00:07:19.639 have around than a whining weakling. An individual 00:07:19.639 --> 00:07:23.579 who has given himself over completely to self 00:07:23.579 --> 00:07:28.339 -pity. It's destructive. And sooner or later, 00:07:28.420 --> 00:07:35.579 it will destroy you. It'll kill you. It'll defeat 00:07:35.579 --> 00:07:41.230 you. It matters not what has happened to you. 00:07:41.550 --> 00:07:46.629 It matters not what life has done to you. You 00:07:46.629 --> 00:07:49.529 may be crippled in body. You may be broken financially. 00:07:51.250 --> 00:07:55.689 Cheated. Robbed by death of the thing that was 00:07:55.689 --> 00:08:00.509 dearest to you. No matter what has happened to 00:08:00.509 --> 00:08:05.350 you, no matter what your disappointments, still 00:08:05.350 --> 00:08:11.269 within you there will remain something that is 00:08:11.269 --> 00:08:15.470 unbeaten, something that may inspire respect 00:08:15.470 --> 00:08:21.089 and command service. You can still come back 00:08:21.089 --> 00:08:28.050 if you don't accept pity. But the very minute 00:08:28.050 --> 00:08:31.610 that you give yourself over to self -pity, you've 00:08:31.610 --> 00:08:35.750 destroyed your influence, you've destroyed yourself. 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:44.539 Self -pity is destructive. Out of the night that 00:08:44.539 --> 00:08:51.340 covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole, 00:08:51.639 --> 00:09:01.279 I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable 00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:10.159 soul. It matters not how straight the gate, how 00:09:10.159 --> 00:09:16.620 charged with punishments the scroll. I am the 00:09:16.620 --> 00:09:23.639 master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul. 00:09:25.899 --> 00:09:31.919 Those are noble words. Make them your words. 00:09:32.820 --> 00:09:38.379 Stand up straight in your rags. Stand unquivering 00:09:38.379 --> 00:09:45.740 in your wounds. God alone knows the victory that 00:09:45.740 --> 00:09:52.299 will be yours if you refuse to go down in defeat. 00:09:53.700 --> 00:09:57.940 This moment is yours. This hour is yours. Your 00:09:57.940 --> 00:10:04.980 life is yours. Your soul is yours. Hold fast 00:10:04.980 --> 00:10:11.559 to that proud treasure. Do not trade it for any 00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:21.299 man's pity. Among the most beautiful of Paul's 00:10:21.299 --> 00:10:29.259 writings are these words. This salutation is 00:10:29.259 --> 00:10:39.299 in my own hand. From Paul. Remember, I am in 00:10:39.299 --> 00:10:49.120 prison. Grace be with you. You would have expected 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:57.039 Paul to say, I am in prison. I am in a dungeon. 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:05.110 My circumstances are insurmountable. God give 00:11:05.110 --> 00:11:11.230 me grace. But no, he puts it just the other way. 00:11:12.370 --> 00:11:21.409 I am in prison. Grace be with you. I have found 00:11:21.409 --> 00:11:29.309 grace in the dungeon. Enough and despair. I pass 00:11:29.309 --> 00:11:39.799 it on to you. And it works. I tell you the truth. 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:47.179 It works. Many a time have I gone into an auditorium. 00:11:47.460 --> 00:11:52.039 Many a time have I walked out on a stage, on 00:11:52.039 --> 00:11:57.980 a platform. Many a time have I faced a congregation. 00:12:01.620 --> 00:12:10.100 When I got the... in my own life, my own soul, 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:20.700 by giving to others. Oh, gracious God and Heavenly 00:12:20.700 --> 00:12:25.720 Father, if my circumstances become a dungeon, 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:31.500 then help me to find grace enough for myself. 00:12:33.259 --> 00:12:38.539 and to spare for others. Help me not to whine 00:12:38.539 --> 00:12:43.759 or complain, but to find resources enough in 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:50.580 you to pass on to others. For I know that thy 00:12:50.580 --> 00:12:54.039 grace is sufficient for me, and not merely when 00:12:54.039 --> 00:12:58.879 life is free and open, but when life turns into 00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:05.779 a dungeon. I shall find grace enough for myself 00:13:05.779 --> 00:13:21.100 and to spare. For God hath made me fruitful in 00:13:21.100 --> 00:13:27.879 the land of my affliction. The summer showers 00:13:27.879 --> 00:13:32.230 are falling. And the poet stands by the window 00:13:32.230 --> 00:13:36.909 watching them. They're beating. They're buffeting 00:13:36.909 --> 00:13:42.029 the earth with their fierce downpour. But the 00:13:42.029 --> 00:13:45.809 poet sees more than the showers that are falling 00:13:45.809 --> 00:13:52.090 upon his eyes. And before him, he sees the lovely 00:13:52.090 --> 00:13:56.970 flowers which shall be soon breaking forth from 00:13:56.970 --> 00:14:00.090 the watered earth, filling it. with matchless 00:14:00.090 --> 00:14:05.850 beauty and fragrance. And so he sings. It isn't 00:14:05.850 --> 00:14:10.789 raining rain for me. It's raining daffodils. 00:14:11.730 --> 00:14:16.490 In every dimpling drop I see wildflowers upon 00:14:16.490 --> 00:14:21.970 the hills. A cloud of grey engulfs the day and 00:14:21.970 --> 00:14:26.210 overwhelms the town. But it isn't raining rain 00:14:26.210 --> 00:14:34.730 for me. It's raining roses now. Perhaps in this 00:14:34.730 --> 00:14:38.809 very moment, even while I'm speaking, someone 00:14:38.809 --> 00:14:42.750 of God's precious children is even now saying, 00:14:43.090 --> 00:14:49.250 Oh, dear God, the rain is coming down in torrents. 00:14:49.250 --> 00:14:53.629 I'm almost defeated. It's raining so hard for 00:14:53.629 --> 00:14:57.730 me this hour. Maybe a midnight hour for somebody. 00:14:58.309 --> 00:15:01.929 And you're almost on the brink of defeat. It's 00:15:01.929 --> 00:15:06.070 so dark, it's so lonely. You feel so all alone. 00:15:07.970 --> 00:15:11.789 You've been caught in circumstances. And there 00:15:11.789 --> 00:15:15.850 doesn't seem to be a way forward or backward. 00:15:16.490 --> 00:15:21.970 There just doesn't seem to be a way out. There 00:15:21.970 --> 00:15:25.289 isn't a star in that... darkened sky for you 00:15:25.289 --> 00:15:34.409 tonight. The walls are blank. But remember, hope 00:15:34.409 --> 00:15:41.870 will put stars in darkened skies. Hope and trust 00:15:41.870 --> 00:15:49.970 and faith will put windows in walls where there 00:15:49.970 --> 00:15:55.799 are no windows. Testings are raining upon you 00:15:55.799 --> 00:15:59.179 which seem almost beyond your power to endure. 00:15:59.879 --> 00:16:03.220 Disappointments are raining fast to the utter 00:16:03.220 --> 00:16:06.799 defeat of all of your chosen plans. Bereavements 00:16:06.799 --> 00:16:10.720 are raining into your life which are making a 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:16.259 shrinking heart quiver in its intensity of suffering. 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:21.080 The rain of affliction is perhaps beating upon 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:25.769 your soul these days. You're caught in a web 00:16:25.769 --> 00:16:31.509 of circumstances and you can't move. All that 00:16:31.509 --> 00:16:36.169 you can think about is defeat. And self -pity 00:16:36.169 --> 00:16:42.850 is about to creep in. Oh, my friend, don't be 00:16:42.850 --> 00:16:48.889 overtaken. It isn't raining rain for you. Not 00:16:48.889 --> 00:16:56.139 really. It's raining... Blessings. If only you 00:16:56.139 --> 00:17:01.200 could see beyond those darkened skies. The sun 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:06.319 is shining on the other side of the cloud. Oh, 00:17:06.519 --> 00:17:11.500 those blank walls. On the other side of those 00:17:11.500 --> 00:17:15.380 blank walls, there's victory. It isn't really 00:17:15.380 --> 00:17:18.640 raining rain for you. It's raining blessing. 00:17:20.460 --> 00:17:25.039 If you will but believe your father's word, underneath 00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:28.480 that beating rain are springing up spiritual 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:32.079 flowers of such fragrance and beauty as never 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:36.299 before grew in that stormless, unchastened life 00:17:36.299 --> 00:17:39.220 of yours. If you could only know, if you could 00:17:39.220 --> 00:17:42.640 only see, if you could only believe, if you could 00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:48.339 only trust, open those blinded eyes just now. 00:17:51.559 --> 00:17:59.440 Just now. And let that one see, if only for a 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:07.380 brief moment. You indeed see the rain. But do 00:18:07.380 --> 00:18:12.539 you see also the flowers? You're pained by the 00:18:12.539 --> 00:18:17.119 testings. But God sees the sweet flower of faith, 00:18:17.319 --> 00:18:21.910 which is upspring in your life. Under those very 00:18:21.910 --> 00:18:27.269 trials, you shrink from the suffering, but God 00:18:27.269 --> 00:18:31.289 sees the tender compassion for other sufferers, 00:18:31.289 --> 00:18:39.950 which is finding birth in your own soul. I know. 00:18:41.170 --> 00:18:45.950 How could I feel another's disappointment had 00:18:45.950 --> 00:18:51.660 I not had disappointments? How could I feel the 00:18:51.660 --> 00:18:55.460 suffering of another if I had never suffered? 00:18:57.359 --> 00:19:01.380 How could I talk about the stones that bruise 00:19:01.380 --> 00:19:08.380 one's feet on the highway of life if my own feet 00:19:08.380 --> 00:19:15.180 had not been bruised? And the blood marks of 00:19:15.180 --> 00:19:21.430 suffering on those stones. How could I feel the 00:19:21.430 --> 00:19:23.750 suffering of another if I had never suffered? 00:19:26.069 --> 00:19:32.109 How could I talk about a life on the brink of 00:19:32.109 --> 00:19:40.309 defeat if I had never stood on the same brink? 00:19:42.029 --> 00:19:46.210 How could I promise you victory, complete victory 00:19:46.210 --> 00:19:50.299 in the Lord Jesus Christ if... I had not experienced 00:19:50.299 --> 00:19:56.740 that wonderful victory through the power of God 00:19:56.740 --> 00:20:04.279 Almighty. Oh, sure your heart is broken under 00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:07.859 the sore bereavement of the passing of a loved 00:20:07.859 --> 00:20:11.900 one. I too have stood there at the open grave. 00:20:13.079 --> 00:20:18.640 I too have had the flowers. watered by my tears. 00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:26.279 But God sees the deepening, the enriching, which 00:20:26.279 --> 00:20:31.640 that sorrow has brought to you. No, beloved, 00:20:31.799 --> 00:20:38.839 it isn't raining afflictions for you. It's raining 00:20:38.839 --> 00:20:44.720 tenderness. It's raining love, compassion, patience, 00:20:46.200 --> 00:20:48.779 thousand other flowers and fruits of the blessed 00:20:48.779 --> 00:20:52.319 spirit, which are bringing into your life such 00:20:52.319 --> 00:20:56.180 a spiritual enrichment as all the fullness of 00:20:56.180 --> 00:21:01.779 worldly prosperity and ease was never able to 00:21:01.779 --> 00:21:12.980 give to you. In this moment, look up. You've 00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:18.299 had your head down for so long. Look up. See 00:21:18.299 --> 00:21:23.200 the sunshine. See the flowers. See his grace. 00:21:24.059 --> 00:21:33.079 Be enriched by his love. One day, I walked a 00:21:33.079 --> 00:21:37.079 mile with pleasure, and she chattered all the 00:21:37.079 --> 00:21:41.160 way and then left me, none the wiser for all 00:21:41.160 --> 00:21:50.890 that she had to say. But one day I walked a mile 00:21:50.890 --> 00:22:02.990 with sorrow, and not one word said she. But oh, 00:22:03.009 --> 00:22:12.210 the things I learned that day when sorrow walked. 00:22:14.349 --> 00:22:23.990 with me. I am the person that I am today. Not 00:22:23.990 --> 00:22:30.910 because of the sun that shone in my life or the 00:22:30.910 --> 00:22:40.789 flowers on my pathway. I am what I am today. 00:22:43.079 --> 00:22:49.119 The person that I am this hour. Because of the 00:22:49.119 --> 00:22:54.779 stones that bruised my feet. Because of a heart 00:22:54.779 --> 00:23:00.799 that was broken. Because of a will that was surrendered 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:10.779 to his will. And he turned the dungeon into a 00:23:10.779 --> 00:23:20.420 place. where I was able to find His grace. More 00:23:20.420 --> 00:23:28.980 than just enough for myself, but enough and to 00:23:28.980 --> 00:23:38.079 spare. And I pass that grace on to you. Not one 00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:42.180 of us need ever... be defeated not on a single 00:23:42.180 --> 00:23:51.640 score, not so long as God is still God Almighty. 00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:54.460 God bless you.