Many of you do not realize how many hours I spend
sitting in an aeroplane in the air. Sometimes
when I think of it, it's almost frightening.
100 ,000 miles, 200 ,000 miles in the air. I
would like to know how many hours I have spent
in the air looking... Down through the clouds.
Sitting there in my seat in the airplane. And
the plane is flying through the clouds. I sit
there and I think and I think. Oh, I shall always
remember the day when I was sitting in the plane
and opening my Bible. And it wasn't just a happenstance.
But I saw that glorious verse found in the 37th
chapter of Job, the 16th verse of that 37th chapter.
Dost thou know the balancing of the clouds? The
wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge.
All the balancing of the clouds. And sometimes
those clouds are full of rain. What a comfort
it is to know that no strange hand hath veiled
our sky. It's the most wonderful thing in the
world. It's the greatest security that a human
being can know. That while we're sailing through
the clouds, Whether our day is dark, whether
the rain is falling, whether the sun is shining,
regardless of circumstances, of conditions that
we may be faced with, no strange hand hath veiled
our sky. Sure, the shadows have gathered, but
they've gathered at the will of him that we trust.
And I want you to know something. If you are
God's child, if you are living in the very center
of His will, if you have committed unto Him body,
soul, and spirit, if you have gotten to the place
in your consecration where you literally have
no will of your own, you have completely turned
your life, your will, over to Him. and you're
guided by him, then not one sorrow have fallen
us, or can befall, save by his appointing, and
for the fulfillment of his merciful purpose.
Sometimes we're too blind, we're too feeble to
understand the balancing of the clouds. The wondrous
works of him which is perfect in knowledge. But
we know that his name is love, and behind all
the mystery is the light that changeth not. The
balancing of the clouds. And remember, when we
face the balancing of the clouds, It's the wondrous
work of him which is perfect knowledge. He has
perfect knowledge. Perfect wisdom. We cannot
always understand. But one thing I found out
a long time ago. Sword trial makes common Christians
into uncommon saints. and fitsome for being used
in uncommon service. I don't care who you may
be. You may be the most common person in the
whole world, the most ordinary person in the
world. But God can take that life of yours and
change you from the most common Christian. into
one of the most beautiful, into an uncommon saint.
And when he has made you into an uncommon saint,
he'll use you into an uncommon service. You've
heard me say it over and over again. It isn't
silver vessels. It isn't... golden vessels that
he asks for, but he wants yielded vessels. And
sometimes when those clouds are thick and dark
and the storm comes, it isn't the easiest thing
to continue to yield to the one who has perfect
knowledge. But we have to trust him with a perfect
trust and a perfect confidence. Oh, the day had
closed with heavy showers. And I have a few plants
outside of my patio. And one especially was a
beautiful thing. I had watched it as the bud
had opened and now was in full bloom. When the
rain came and the storm came, I saw that one
beautiful flower that I admired for its beauty
and had watched it so long. And now suddenly,
to the pitiless storm, it seemed as though the
flower fell, shut up its petals, dropped its
head, and I thought, All of its glory, all of
its beauty is gone. And now I just have to wait
until next year to see it bloom again. But the
night passed. The morning came. The sun shone
again. The morning brought strength to the flower.
The light looked at it. And the flower looked
at the light. And when I saw it again, there
it was. It had made contact. It had made communion.
And power had passed into the flower. It held
up its head. It opened its petals. It regained
its glory and seemed more beautiful than ever
before. I wonder how it took place, this feeble
thing coming into contact with the storm thing.
And then, when it looked as though it was a defeated
thing, it again came into contact with a strong
thing and gained its strength and its beauty.
I cannot tell you how it is that I should be
able to receive... into my being a power to do
and to bear my communion with God. But I know
it's a fact. I know that I need not be defeated
on a single score. I can sit here and tell you
of a truth, a fact. I'll stake my life on it.
You do not have to be defeated on a single score
if you make contact with the Holy Spirit. I don't
care how great your storm. I don't care what
the clouds are that you're having to pass through.
Know that. That's exactly what Paul was talking
about. Oh, sure, beloved. We know about the great
compassion of the Lord Jesus Christ, the mercy
of the Lord. We speak much of the love of God.
We know exactly what Paul was talking about when
he talked about the love of God. But he could
not have lived without the fellowship and the
communion with the Holy Spirit. There is your
secret of strength, of victory. That's the reason
Paul could not have lived. He could not have
gone through those storms. He could not have
gone through those testing times. He could not
have gone through those clouds of his life triumphantly
had it not been for the power of the Holy Spirit.
Sure. Does thou know the balancing of the clouds?
Balancing of the clouds. Over and over again,
you've heard me say, life is a balance. It's
never unlimited joy. There's some people, you
know, think that life should always be unlimited
joy. Every day, just a glorious picnic. Time
of great joy. There can be sorrow. And if you
are a part of humanity, there will be sorrow.
There'll be disappointment. There'll be tragedy.
But there will also be the balancing of the clouds.
As surely as there's a cloud, There'll also be
the sun. Always know that. And he is the one
who will balance the clouds, the wondrous works
of him, which is perfect in knowledge. You don't
have to worry about the balancing of the clouds.
The important thing is how you face it and what
you do with it. It was in my power to balance
the clouds. I would have every day a beautiful
sunny day. I would have the temperature just
right. Never too cold. Never too hot. Just the
right temperature, you know. I do not... control
the weather, neither can you, no man can. I cannot
balance the clouds, neither can you, no man can.
Dost thou know the balancing of the clouds, the
wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge?
He knows exactly how to balance those clouds.
And the only thing that you and I have to worry
about is what we do with that tragedy, what we
do with that suffering, that sorrow, that disappointment
that is a part of the balancing of these clouds.
I found out something. Life demands courage.
And it's just like that. Do you recall how that
after the death of Moses, the Lord commissioned
Joshua to lead the children of Israel into the
promised land? And Joshua, being human, with
human weaknesses, great hero though he was, must
have had his fears. For the Lord spoke to him
in these words, Be strong. and have a good courage.
Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for
the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou
goest. Surely these are among the most reassuring,
the most meaningful words ever spoken. It's when
you've heard God's teaching and have realized
that you're a child of God and have put your
trust in Him, and have accepted the necessity
of having faith in him that you've laid hold
of the courage the person needs for facing life.
You've got to have courage to face life today.
Therefore, when we face the future, we must face
it with courage in the one who is perfect wisdom
and perfect knowledge. And the courage to live
well needs a clean foundation. I think we should
also bear in mind that you cannot be a person
of courage and at the same time live a soft life.
I don't know whether I can make myself clear
or not. You know, like so many other things,
courage has to be exercised. or some fine day,
you'll find that you no longer have it. And there's
nothing in the scriptures or in human experience
to indicate that we can safely permit ourselves
to get soft. Sometimes I think that's what's
wrong with the generation in which we're living.
Our generation has gone soft. If you know what
I'm trying to say, the generations of today are
not... what you would call the sturdiest that
ever lived. We must be very careful of the tendency
to assume that it is necessarily a good thing
to have it easy. Everybody today is looking for
the easy way out, an easy life. You know, I'll
never forget. That father who came to me recently
and said, my son and my daughter will never have
to go through what I went through when I was
their age. No, he said. I was born poor. We didn't
have two nickels to rub together. He said I had
to get up at four o 'clock in the morning. And
it was planned. Stay cold. During the wintertime,
I had to go out and chop the wood. I had to walk
five miles through the snow to go to school in
the winter. I had to work after school. I had
to work on Saturdays all through my boyhood.
But my son is not going to have to go through
any of that. I'll tell you, Miss Coleman, I'll
never have a child of mine go through what I
went through. Now that father, with his philosophy
of trying to spare his son, his children, all
the hard things that he himself went through,
is likely to do his son, his children, a big
disservice. Hardship and difficulty make men
and women the tough... things that you have to
face in life are really all too one's good. Of
course, you don't think about these things when
you go through them. Indeed, a person ought to
thank the Lord for the tough things that come
his way. I can look back and thank God for every
stone that ever bruised my feet. I mean that.
When you can sincerely do that, you're making
real progress in wisdom the people who distinguish
themselves in human life who rise to big achievements
and experience the greatest joys are those who
take difficulty as a challenge and do not let
it frighten don't let difficulty frighten you
whatever you do don't let those clouds frighten
you Dost thou know the balancing of the clouds?
The balancing of the clouds. The wondrous works
of him which is perfect in knowledge. Let him
balance the clouds.