The Truth!

A favorite hymn of mine is “Where Can I Turn For Peace”. The hymn consists of a series of questions and answers. The opening line, “where can I turn for peace, where is my solace?” is a question that many have asked and for good reason. We live in a troubled world. So long as anyone feels troubled, threatened, alone or in anguish there is a need for peace and peacemakers.

I find my peace through the Holy Ghost, through music, prayer, and scripture study. These three calm my soul not only when all seems hopeless but during those discouraging trying moments of life when the rudder is dashed and the sails are tattered. This was the case today.

Other times when I feel peace is during certain parts of films that I enjoy. I recommend that everyone watch “A Bridge To Far” which accounts a disastrous attempt by the allied forces in World War Two to secure bridges in Holland with the hope that they could march straight into Germany and end the war. It did not go according to plan and far too many men were killed or captured during one of the most infamous military operations in recent history.

At the end of the film, battered, bloody, and out of ammunition, a group of soldiers can only sit as German Soldiers approach to take them captive. They begin singing the hymn “Abide with Me”. A line from that hymn even now touches my heart as I think of these men alone, wounded, and far away from the lives, families, and other loved ones who are could not comfort them in this dark hour. “Help of the helpless Lord, abide with me”, was their plea.

Would God leave those forlorn, who call upon him as their last resort?

There are many pressures that all of us are under. Though German MG42 machine guns represent a different kind of pressure that we do not face, the pressures of work, Church, school, and social life can seem just as frightening and distressing. They all add up and it seems as though a millstone of sorrow and distress rests heavily upon our shoulders. I knew that working out would not solve the problem today. I needed heaven’s help.

After work, I went up to my room, said a prayer, read some scriptures. I began to feel tired. I turned on some relaxing music and set my alarm for half an hour. After briefly resting physically, I returned to my reading of the scriptures and found solace of spirit and felt that things will be better. That not all is lost even though the way may not seem clear.

I know I can press forward and can do so with confidence.

At the least, my soul has been comforted, and in that I can rejoice.