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Mysterious Ways

 
  William Cowper didn’t see any reason to live.

  He decided that he’d jump off the bridge over the Thames. So, he called a cab to take him there.

  But that night in 1763, a thick fog enveloped London. It was so thick the cab driver couldn’t find the bridge and couldn’t even find the way to take William home. In frustration, he ordered the driver to stop and get out to get his bearings. He walked up to the nearest house to read the number and it was William's house. Gone now were William’s thoughts of suicide and instead a new idea came into his head.

So, he went in and wrote these words:

God moves in mysterious ways

His wonders to perform.

He plants his footsteps in the sea

And rides upon the storm.

 You fearful saints, fresh courage take;

The clouds you so much dread

Are big with mercy and shall break

In blessings on your head.

 

  I sometimes wish we could see all the ways God watches over us when need it. There are times when God helps us and if we are not careful we might even realize it. We might make the mistake of thinking that God only works in the big, flashy, and bold ways we sometimes see in the Bible. The truth is he more often works in the subtle, simple, and hidden methods that only those who have faith can even recognize.

He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.  He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD.

Psalms 40:2-3  

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