Daily Encouragement

The Daily Devotional I’m reading with my kids right now is called ‘Mountain Trailways for Youth,’ by Mrs. Chas. E. Cowman. She also wrote another favourite of mine, ‘Streams in the Desert,’ that is especially helpful when going through the difficult seasons in life. Every time I buy a devotional for the youth of today, and look in it, I’m discouraged about the shallowness of it. How is that supposed to build up our youth for the difficulties they are facing every day?

“But you will not mind the roughness nor the steepness of the way,

Nor the chill, unrested morning, nor the searness of the day;

And you will not take a turning to the left of to the right,

But go straight ahead, nor tremble at the coming of the night,

For the trail leads Home.”

It can be downloaded free here, but I recommend buying the book:

https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.268435/2015.268435.Mountain-Trailways_djvu.txt

In my younger days, I was very encouraged by “My Utmost for His Highest” as a Daily Encouragement Devotional.

From Mountain Trailways for Youth, April 3

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” Luke 11:13

I was standing on the wall of a great lock. Outside was a huge lake vessel about to enter. At my feet lay the empty lock–waiting. For what? Waiting to be filled. Away beyond lay great Lake Superior with its limitless abundance of supply, also waiting. Waiting for what? Waiting for something to be done at the lock ere the great lake could pour in its fullness. In a moment it was done. The lock-keeper reached out his hand and touched a steel lever. A little wicket gate sprang open under the magic touch. At once the water in the lock began to boil and seethe. As it seethed I saw it rapidly creeping up the walls of the lock. In a few moments the lock was full. The great gates swung open, and the huge ship floated into the lock now filled to the brim with the fullness inpoured from the waiting lake without.

Is not this a picture of a great truth about the Holy Spirit? Here are God’s children, like that empty lock, waiting to be filled. And, as that great inland sea outside the lock was willing and waiting to pour its abundance into the lock, so here is God willing to pour His fullness of life into the lives of His children. But He is waiting!

For what? Waiting, as the lake waited, for something to be done by us. Waiting for us to reach forth and touch that tiny wicket gate of consecration through which His abundant life shall flow and fill.

Is it hard to move? Does the rust of worldliness corrode it? Do the weeds and ivy-vines of selfishness cling about and choke it? Is the will stubborn, and slow to yield? Yet God is waiting for it. And once it is done, He reveals Himself in fullness of life even as He has promised; even as He has been all the time willing and ready to do. For all the barriers and hindrances have been upon our side, not upon His. They are the barriers not of His unwillingness, but of our unyieldedness. And do you say you got all of Christ when you were saved? Doubtless you did, but the point in issue here is not whether you got all of Christ, but did Christ get all of you?”

-James McConkey

Give your life to God, and God will fill your life.”