::R4841 : page 188::

FACE TO FACE WITH TROUBLE

“You are face to face with trouble,
And the skies are murk and gray;
You hardly know which way to turn,
You are almost dazed, you say.
And at night you wake to wonder
What the next day’s news will bring;
Your pillow is brushed by phantom care
With a grim and ghastly wing.

“You are face to face with trouble;
A child has gone astray;
A ship is wrecked on the bitter sea;
There’s a note you cannot pay;
Your brave right hand is feeble;
Your sight is growing blind;
Perhaps a friend is cold and stern,
Who was ever warm and kind.

“You are face to face with trouble;
No wonder you cannot sleep;
But stay, and think of the promise,
The Lord will safely keep,
And lead you out of the thicket,
And into the pasture land;
You have only to walk straight onward,
Holding the dear Lord’s hand.

“You are face to face with trouble;
And did you forget to look,
As the good old father taught you,
For help to the dear old Book?
You have heard the Tempter whisper,
And you’ve had no heart to pray,
And God has dropped from your scheme of life,
For—oh, many a weary day!

“Then face to face with trouble;
It is thus He calls you back
From the land of dearth and famine
To the land that has no lack.
You would not hear in the sunshine;
You hear in the midnight gloom.
Behold, His tapers kindle
Like stars in the quiet room.

“Oh! face to face with trouble,
Friend, I have often stood,
To learn that pain has sweetness,
To know that God is good.
Arise and meet the daylight;
Be strong and do your best!
With an honest heart, and a childlike faith
That God will do the rest.”

====================

— June 15, 1911 —