I've been reading "A Chance To Die", the biography Elisabeth Elliot wrote on Amy Carmichael, missionary to India (and China and Japan, incidentally. I hadn't known that.)
It's good reading. One of those books, not unlike the bio of Jim Elliot, which shames me. Comparing yourself with others usually isn't wise and is even warned about in Scripture, but when you're comparing yourself with a spiritual person, painfully aware of the difference between your lives, striving to follow their example, I believe "comparison" is healthy. (1 Corinthians 11:1-"Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.")
Amy Carmichael wrote this poem, and it resonates deeply in my heart tonight. Thanks be to God for these words...For the rest we find in our Beloved's arms!
And shall I pray Thee change Thy will, my Father,
Until it be according unto mine?
But no, Lord, no that never shall be, rather
I pray Thee blend my human will with Thine.
I pray Thee hush the hurrying, eager longing,
I pray Thee soothe the pangs of keen desire--
See in my quiet places, wishes thronging--
Forbid them, Lord, purge, though it be with fire.
And work in me to will and do Thy pleasure
Let all within me, peaceful, reconciled,
Tarry content my Well-Beloved's leisure,
At last, at last, even as a weaned child.
dani! i long for the very same thing. and you are right about the comparison thing...the word says "those who compare themselves by themselves are foolish and without understanding."
ReplyDeletemay this poem find it's way into our daily lives by God's grace.
hugs dahlink!
chica
I need to pull that book out and read it again...her testimony is so powerful and inspiring. Probably due to her transparency in her longings and struggles. They resonate in my heart. Thank you for sharing that poem!
ReplyDeleteMiss you, luv! Hope things are going well...I think and pray for you often!