Encouragement for Difficult Seasons Kathryn Kuhlman Be Strong and Courageous

Many of you do not realize how many hours I spend sitting in an aeroplane in the air. Sometimes when I think of it, it's almost frightening. 100 ,000 miles, 200 ,000 miles in the air. I would like to know how many hours I have spent in the air looking... Down through the clouds. Sitting there in my seat in the airplane. And the plane is flying through the clouds. I sit there and I think and I think. Oh, I shall always remember the day when I was sitting in the plane and opening my Bible. And it wasn't just a happenstance. But I saw that glorious verse found in the 37th chapter of Job, the 16th verse of that 37th chapter. Dost thou know the balancing of the clouds? The wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge. All the balancing of the clouds. And sometimes those clouds are full of rain. What a comfort it is to know that no strange hand hath veiled our sky. It's the most wonderful thing in the world. It's the greatest security that a human being can know. That while we're sailing through the clouds, Whether our day is dark, whether the rain is falling, whether the sun is shining, regardless of circumstances, of conditions that we may be faced with, no strange hand hath veiled our sky. Sure, the shadows have gathered, but they've gathered at the will of him that we trust. And I want you to know something. If you are God's child, if you are living in the very center of His will, if you have committed unto Him body, soul, and spirit, if you have gotten to the place in your consecration where you literally have no will of your own, you have completely turned your life, your will, over to Him. and you're guided by him, then not one sorrow have fallen us, or can befall, save by his appointing, and for the fulfillment of his merciful purpose. Sometimes we're too blind, we're too feeble to understand the balancing of the clouds. The wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge. But we know that his name is love, and behind all the mystery is the light that changeth not. The balancing of the clouds. And remember, when we face the balancing of the clouds, It's the wondrous work of him which is perfect knowledge. He has perfect knowledge. Perfect wisdom. We cannot always understand. But one thing I found out a long time ago. Sword trial makes common Christians into uncommon saints. and fitsome for being used in uncommon service. I don't care who you may be. You may be the most common person in the whole world, the most ordinary person in the world. But God can take that life of yours and change you from the most common Christian. into one of the most beautiful, into an uncommon saint. And when he has made you into an uncommon saint, he'll use you into an uncommon service. You've heard me say it over and over again. It isn't silver vessels. It isn't... golden vessels that he asks for, but he wants yielded vessels. And sometimes when those clouds are thick and dark and the storm comes, it isn't the easiest thing to continue to yield to the one who has perfect knowledge. But we have to trust him with a perfect trust and a perfect confidence. Oh, the day had closed with heavy showers. And I have a few plants outside of my patio. And one especially was a beautiful thing. I had watched it as the bud had opened and now was in full bloom. When the rain came and the storm came, I saw that one beautiful flower that I admired for its beauty and had watched it so long. And now suddenly, to the pitiless storm, it seemed as though the flower fell, shut up its petals, dropped its head, and I thought, All of its glory, all of its beauty is gone. And now I just have to wait until next year to see it bloom again. But the night passed. The morning came. The sun shone again. The morning brought strength to the flower. The light looked at it. And the flower looked at the light. And when I saw it again, there it was. It had made contact. It had made communion. And power had passed into the flower. It held up its head. It opened its petals. It regained its glory and seemed more beautiful than ever before. I wonder how it took place, this feeble thing coming into contact with the storm thing. And then, when it looked as though it was a defeated thing, it again came into contact with a strong thing and gained its strength and its beauty. I cannot tell you how it is that I should be able to receive... into my being a power to do and to bear my communion with God. But I know it's a fact. I know that I need not be defeated on a single score. I can sit here and tell you of a truth, a fact. I'll stake my life on it. You do not have to be defeated on a single score if you make contact with the Holy Spirit. I don't care how great your storm. I don't care what the clouds are that you're having to pass through. Know that. That's exactly what Paul was talking about. Oh, sure, beloved. We know about the great compassion of the Lord Jesus Christ, the mercy of the Lord. We speak much of the love of God. We know exactly what Paul was talking about when he talked about the love of God. But he could not have lived without the fellowship and the communion with the Holy Spirit. There is your secret of strength, of victory. That's the reason Paul could not have lived. He could not have gone through those storms. He could not have gone through those testing times. He could not have gone through those clouds of his life triumphantly had it not been for the power of the Holy Spirit. Sure. Does thou know the balancing of the clouds? Balancing of the clouds. Over and over again, you've heard me say, life is a balance. It's never unlimited joy. There's some people, you know, think that life should always be unlimited joy. Every day, just a glorious picnic. Time of great joy. There can be sorrow. And if you are a part of humanity, there will be sorrow. There'll be disappointment. There'll be tragedy. But there will also be the balancing of the clouds. As surely as there's a cloud, There'll also be the sun. Always know that. And he is the one who will balance the clouds, the wondrous works of him, which is perfect in knowledge. You don't have to worry about the balancing of the clouds. The important thing is how you face it and what you do with it. It was in my power to balance the clouds. I would have every day a beautiful sunny day. I would have the temperature just right. Never too cold. Never too hot. Just the right temperature, you know. I do not... control the weather, neither can you, no man can. I cannot balance the clouds, neither can you, no man can. Dost thou know the balancing of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge? He knows exactly how to balance those clouds. And the only thing that you and I have to worry about is what we do with that tragedy, what we do with that suffering, that sorrow, that disappointment that is a part of the balancing of these clouds. I found out something. Life demands courage. And it's just like that. Do you recall how that after the death of Moses, the Lord commissioned Joshua to lead the children of Israel into the promised land? And Joshua, being human, with human weaknesses, great hero though he was, must have had his fears. For the Lord spoke to him in these words, Be strong. and have a good courage. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Surely these are among the most reassuring, the most meaningful words ever spoken. It's when you've heard God's teaching and have realized that you're a child of God and have put your trust in Him, and have accepted the necessity of having faith in him that you've laid hold of the courage the person needs for facing life. You've got to have courage to face life today. Therefore, when we face the future, we must face it with courage in the one who is perfect wisdom and perfect knowledge. And the courage to live well needs a clean foundation. I think we should also bear in mind that you cannot be a person of courage and at the same time live a soft life. I don't know whether I can make myself clear or not. You know, like so many other things, courage has to be exercised. or some fine day, you'll find that you no longer have it. And there's nothing in the scriptures or in human experience to indicate that we can safely permit ourselves to get soft. Sometimes I think that's what's wrong with the generation in which we're living. Our generation has gone soft. If you know what I'm trying to say, the generations of today are not... what you would call the sturdiest that ever lived. We must be very careful of the tendency to assume that it is necessarily a good thing to have it easy. Everybody today is looking for the easy way out, an easy life. You know, I'll never forget. That father who came to me recently and said, my son and my daughter will never have to go through what I went through when I was their age. No, he said. I was born poor. We didn't have two nickels to rub together. He said I had to get up at four o 'clock in the morning. And it was planned. Stay cold. During the wintertime, I had to go out and chop the wood. I had to walk five miles through the snow to go to school in the winter. I had to work after school. I had to work on Saturdays all through my boyhood. But my son is not going to have to go through any of that. I'll tell you, Miss Coleman, I'll never have a child of mine go through what I went through. Now that father, with his philosophy of trying to spare his son, his children, all the hard things that he himself went through, is likely to do his son, his children, a big disservice. Hardship and difficulty make men and women the tough... things that you have to face in life are really all too one's good. Of course, you don't think about these things when you go through them. Indeed, a person ought to thank the Lord for the tough things that come his way. I can look back and thank God for every stone that ever bruised my feet. I mean that. When you can sincerely do that, you're making real progress in wisdom the people who distinguish themselves in human life who rise to big achievements and experience the greatest joys are those who take difficulty as a challenge and do not let it frighten don't let difficulty frighten you whatever you do don't let those clouds frighten you Dost thou know the balancing of the clouds? The balancing of the clouds. The wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge. Let him balance the clouds.