Streams in the Desert Quotes

“Beloved, God’s promises can never fail to be accomplished, and those who patiently wait can never be disappointed, for a believing faith leads to realization.”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“Combat comes before victory. If God has chosen special trials for you to endure, be assured He has kept a very special place in His heart just for you. A badly bruised soul is one who is chosen.”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“There is a peace that springs soon after sorrow, Of hope surrendered, not of hope fulfilled; A peace that does not look upon tomorrow, But calmly on the storm that it has stilled. A peace that lives not now in joy’s excesses, Nor in the happy life of love secure; But in the unerring strength the heart possesses, Of conflicts won while learning to endure.”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“Christ sometimes delays His help so He may test our faith and energize our prayers. Our boat may be tossed by the waves while he continues to sleep, but He will awake before it sinks.”
― Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, Streams in the Desert, KJV

“When I cannot understand my Father’s leading. And it seems to be but hard and cruel fate, Still I hear that gentle whisper ever pleading, God is working, God is faithful, ONLY WAIT.”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert

“Deep within the center of the soul is a chamber of peace where God lives and where, if we will enter it and quiet all the other sounds, we can hear His “gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:12).”
― L. B. E. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“Every difficult task that comes across your path—every one that you would rather not do, that will take the most effort, cause the most pain, and be the greatest struggle—brings a blessing with it.”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“The answer to our prayer may be coming, although we may not discern its approach. A seed that is underground during winter, although hidden and seemingly dead and lost, is nevertheless taking root for a later spring and harvest.”
― Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, Streams in the Desert, KJV

“We must understand that for God to give “songs in the night,” He must first make it night.”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“The sweetest things in this world today have come to us through tears and pain.”
― Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, Streams in the Desert, KJV

“As a child of God, how much more do we need times of complete solitude—times to deal with the spiritual realities of life and to be alone with God the Father. If there was ever anyone who could dispense with special times of solitude and fellowship, it was our Lord. Yet even He could not maintain His full strength and power for His work and His fellowship with the Father without His quiet time. God desires that every servant of His would understand and perform this blessed practice, that His church would know how to train its children to recognize this high and holy privilege, and that every believer would realize the importance of making time for God alone.”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“Be still, and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“Yet the Lord knows what is best for me, and my surroundings are determined by Him. Wherever He places me, He does so to strengthen my faith and power and to draw me into closer communion with Himself. And even if confined to a dungeon, my soul will prosper.”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“When God sends no answer and “the cloud remain[s],” we must wait. Yet we can do so with the full assurance of God’s provision of manna, water from the rock, shelter, and protection from our enemies. He never keeps us at our post without assuring us of His presence or sending us daily supplies.”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“Not until each loom is silent, And the shuttles cease to fly, Will God unroll the pattern And explain the reason why The dark threads are as needful In the Weaver’s skillful hand, As the threads of gold and silver For the pattern which He planned.”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert

“Although I have afflicted you, . . . I will afflict you no more. (Nahum 1:12) There is a limit to our affliction. God sends it and then removes it. Do you complain, saying, “When will this end?” May we quietly wait and patiently endure the will of the Lord till He comes. Our Father takes away the rod when His purpose in using it is fully accomplished. If the affliction is sent to test us so that our words would glorify God, it will only end once He has caused us to testify to His praise and honor. In fact, we would not want the difficulty to depart until God has removed from us all the honor we can yield to Him. Today things may become “completely calm” (Matt. 8:26). Who knows how soon these raging waves will give way to a sea of glass with seagulls sitting on the gentle swells? After a long ordeal, the threshing tool is on its hook, and the wheat has been gathered into the barn. Before much time has passed, we may be just as happy as we are sorrowful now. It is not difficult for the Lord to turn night into day. He who sends the clouds can just as easily clear the skies. Let us be encouraged—things are better down the road. Let us sing God’s praises in anticipation of things to come. Charles H. Spurgeon “The Lord of the harvest” (Luke 10:2) is not always threshing us. His trials are only for a season, and the showers soon pass. “Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Ps. 30:5). “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Cor. 4:17). Trials do serve their purpose. Even the fact that we face a trial proves there is something very precious to our Lord in us, or else He would not spend so much time and energy on us. Christ would not test us if He did not see the precious metal of faith mingled with the rocky core of our nature, and it is to refine us into purity and beauty that He forces us through the fiery ordeal. Be patient, O sufferer! The result of the Refiner’s fire will more than compensate for our trials, once we see the “eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” Just to hear His commendation, “Well done” (Matt. 25:21); to be honored before the holy angels; to be glorified in Christ, so that I may reflect His glory back to Him—ah! that will be more than enough reward for all my trials. from Tried by Fire Just as the weights of a grandfather clock, or the stabilizers in a ship, are necessary for them to work properly, so are troubles to the soul. The sweetest perfumes are obtained only through tremendous pressure, the fairest flowers grow on the most isolated and snowy peaks, the most beautiful gems are those that have suffered the longest at the jeweler’s wheel, and the most magnificent statues have endured the most blows from the chisel. All of these, however, are subject to God’s law. Nothing happens that has not been appointed with consummate care and foresight. from Daily Devotional Commentary”
― Jim Reimann, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“For I will yet praise him” (Ps. 43:5). More prayer, more exercising of our faith, and more patient waiting leads to blessings—abundant blessings. I have found it to be true many hundreds of times, and therefore I continually say to myself, “Put your hope in God.” George Mueller”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety. George Mueller”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“The cross that my Lord calls me to carry may assume many different shapes. I may have to be content with mundane tasks in a limited area of service, when I may balieve my abilities are suited for much greater work. I may be required to continually cultivate the same field year after year, even though it yields no harvest whatsoever. I may be asked of God to nurture kind and loving thoughts about the very person who has wronged me and to speak gently to him, take his side when others oppose him, and bestow sympathy and comfort to him. I may have to openly testify of my Master before those who do not want to be reminded of Him or His claims. And I may be called to walk through this world with a bright, smiling face while my heart is breaking... "I grow under the load." -Alexander Smellie”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert®

“He who puts the natural instinct in the heart of a bird to fly across a continent in search of a warmer climate is too good to deceive it. Just as we are confident He placed the instinct within the bird, we can be assured He has also provided balmy breezes and springlike sun to meet it when it arrives.”
― Lettie B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“It is said that springs of sweet, fresh water pool up amid the saltiness of the oceans, that the fairest Alpine flowers bloom in the wildest and most rugged mountain passes, and that the most magnificent psalms arose from the most profound agonies of the soul.”
― Lettie B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“Nearly all God's jewels are crystallized tears.”
― Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, Streams in the Desert, KJV

“When I cannot feel the faith of assurance, I live by the fact of God’s faithfulness. Matthew Henry”
― Lettie B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering or He will give you His unwavering strength that you may bear it. Be at peace, then, and set aside all anxious thoughts and worries. Francis de Sales”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“May we learn that in all the difficult places God takes us, He is giving us opportunities to exercise our faith in Him that will bring about blessed results and greatly glorify His name.”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“This is the blessed life—not anxious to see far down the road nor overly concerned about the next step, not eager to choose the path nor weighted down with the heavy responsibilities of the future, but quietly following the Shepherd, one step at a time.”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“The journey is too much for you. (1 Kings 19:7) What did God do with Elijah, His tired servant? He allowed him to sleep and then gave him something good to eat. Elijah had done tremendous work and in his excitement had run “ahead of Ahab[’s chariot] all the way to Jezreel” (1 Kings 18:46). But the run had been too much for him and had sapped his physical strength, ultimately causing him to become depressed. Just as others in this condition need sleep and want their ailments treated, Elijah’s physical requirements needed to be met. There are many wonderful people who end up where Elijah did—“under a juniper tree” (1 Kings 19:4 KJV)! When this happens, the words of the Master are very soothing: “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” In other words, “I am going to refresh you.” Therefore may we never confuse physical weariness with spiritual weakness. I’m too tired to trust and too tired to pray, Said I, as my overtaxed strength gave way. The one conscious thought that my mind possessed, Is, oh, could I just drop it all and rest. Will God forgive me, do you suppose, If I go right to sleep as a baby goes, Without questioning if I may, Without even trying to trust and pray? Will God forgive you? Think back, dear heart,”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“I cannot explain exactly how we are able to receive the power to serve and to endure through communion with God, but I know it is a fact. Are you in danger of being crushed by a heavy and difficult trial? Then seek communion with Christ and you will receive strength and the power to be victorious, for God has promised, “I will strengthen you” (Isa. 41:10).”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“It’s good indeed to give! Yet it is better still— O’er breadth, through length, down depth, up height, To trust HIS will!”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“the music is not in conditions, not in the things, not in externals, but the music of life is in your own soul. If peace be in the heart, The wildest winter storm is full of solemn beauty, The midnight flash but shows the path of duty, Each living creature tells some new and joyous story, The very trees and stones all catch a ray of glory, If peace be in the heart. CHARLES FRANCIS RICHARDSON”
― L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert