Thank God for Thorns

An unknown poet has written:

Once I heard a song of sweetness as it cleft the morning air,
Sounding in its blest completeness like a tender, pleading prayer;
And I sought to find the singer whence the wondrous song was born;
Till I found a bird, sore wounded, pinioned by an ugly thorn.

I have seen a soul of sadness while its wings with pain were furled,
Giving hope and cheer and gladness that should bless the weeping world;
Soon I learned a life of sweetness was of pain and sorrow born,
For that stricken soul was singing with its heart against a thorn!’

You are told of One who loves you, of a Savior crucified,
You are told of nails that pinioned, and a spear that pierced His side;
You are told of cruel scourging, of a Savior bearing scorn,
And He died for your salvation with His brow against the thorn.

You are not above the Master! Will you breathe a sweet refrain?
Then His grace will be sufficient when your heart is pierced with pain;
Will you live to bless His loved ones though your life be bruised and torn,
Like a bird that sang so sweetly with its heart against a thorn'

If you have thorns in your life, thank God for the roses of grace that inevitably go with them.

H.G.B., Our Daily Bread, Friday, February 6

Resources

• Ask Him Anything, L.J. Ogilvie, Word, 1981, pp. 73ff
• Taking The Guesswork Out of Applying The Bible, Jack Kuhatschek, IVP, 1991, pp. 34ff