A thing that is lent may be taken away;
a thing that is given is not taken away.
Joy is given.
Sorrow is lent.
We are not our own, we are bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20),
"and our sorrow is not our own"
(Samuel Rutherford said this a long time ago),
it is lent to us for just a little while
that we may use it for eternal purposes.
Then it will be taken away
and everlasting joy will be our Father's gift to us,
and the Lord God will wipe away all tears from off all faces (Is 25:8)
So, let us use this "lent" thing to draw us
nearer to the heart of Him who was once a Man of Sorrows,
(He is not that now, but He does not forget the feeling of sorrow).
Let us use it to make us more tender with others,
as He was when on earth, and is still,
for He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. (Heb 4:15)
*excerpt from Edges of His Ways by Amy Carmichael's
Photo Credit Sheffield Leithart
