Streams in the desert--

Blessed are those whose strength is in You...As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs. (Psalm 84:5-6)

Comfort is not given to us when we are lighthearted and cheerful. We must travel the depths of emotion in order to experience comfort--one of God's most precious gifts. And then we must be prepared to become coworkers with Him.
When the sahdows of night--needed night-- gather over the garden of our souls, when leaves close up and flowers no longer reflect any sunlight within their folded petals, and when we experience even the thickest darkness, we must remember that we will never be found wanting and that the comforting drops of heavenly due fall only after the sun has set.

I've been through the valley of weeping,
The valley of sorrow and pain;
But the "God of all comfort"was with me,
At hand to uphold and sustain.

As the earth needs the clouds and sunshine,
Our souls need both sorrow and joy;
So He places us oft in the furnace,
The dross from the gold to destroy.

When he leads through some vally of trouble,
His omnipotent hand we trace;
For the trials and sorrows He sends us,
Are part of His lessons in grace.

Oft we run from the purging and pruning,
Forgetting the Gardener knows
That the deeper the cutting and trimming,
The richer the cluster that grows.

Well He knows that affliction is needed;
He has a wise purpose in view,
And in the dark valley He whispers,
"Soon you'll understand what I do."

As we travel through life's shadowed valley,
Fresh springs of His love ever rise;
And we learn that our sorrows and losses,
Are blessing just sent in disguise.

So we follow wherever He leads us,
Let the path be dreary or bright;
For we proved that our God can give comfort;
Our God can give song in the night.

L.B. Cowman