|
|
by L B Cowman
Grow in the Gloom
February 24
"I have all, and abound" (Phil. 4:18).
In one of my garden books there is a chapter with a very interesting heading, "Flowers that Grow in the Gloom." It deals with those patches in a garden which never catch the sunlight. And my guide tells me the sort of flowers which are not afraid of these dingy corners--may rather like them and flourish in them.
And there are similar things in the world of the spirit. They come out when material circumstances become stern and severe. They grow in the gloom. How can we otherwise explain some of the experiences of the Apostle Paul ?
Here he is in captivity at Rome. The supreme mission of his life appears to be broken. But it is just in this besetting dinginess that flowers begin to show their faces in bright and fascinating glory. He may have seen them before, growing in the open road, but never as they now appeared in incomparable strength and beauty. Words of promise opened out their treasures as he had never seen them before.
Among those treasures were such wonderful things as the grace of Christ, the
love of Christ, the joy and peace of Christ; and it seemed as though they needed
an "encircling gloom" to draw out their secret and their inner glory. At any
rate the realm of gloom became the home of revelation, and Paul began to realize
as never before the range and wealth of his spiritual inheritance. Who has not
known men and women who, when they arrive at seasons of gloom and solitude, put
on strength and hopefulness like a robe? You may imprison such folk where you
please; but you shut up their treasure with them. You cannot shut it out. You
may make their material lot a desert, but "the wilderness and the solitary place
shall be glad, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose."
--Dr. Jowett
***
"Every flower, even the fairest, has its shadow beneath it as it swings in the sunlight."
Where there is much light there is much shade.
Yesterday | Archives | Tomorrow
See Also:
Wisdom from Desert Devotionals Archives
Daily Morning and Evening Devotionals by Spurgeon
Daily Devotional: Today With Jesus
Scripture | Daily Devotionals | Weekly Devotionals | Lectionary | Prayers | Church Fathers | Faith | History | Inspirational | Sermons | Qurbana Videos | Devotional Songs | Poems | Humor | Health | General Interest | Library - Home
-------
Malankara World
A service of St. Basil's Syriac Orthodox
Church, Ohio
Copyright © 2009-2020 - ICBS Group. All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer
Website designed, built, and hosted by
International Cyber Business Services, Inc., Hudson, Ohio
