Disappointment - His Appointment
Disappointment—His appointment;
Change one letter, then I see
That the thwarting of my purpose
Is God's better choice for me.
His appointment must be blessing
Though it may come in disguise;
For the end, from the beginning,
Open to His vision lies.
Disappointment—His appointment.
Whose? The Lord who loves me best,
Understands and knows me fully,
Who my faith and love would test.
For like loving earthly parents
He rejoices when He knows
That His child accepts unquestioned
All that from His wisdom flows.
Disappointment—His appointment;
No good things will He withhold.
From denials oft we gather
Treasures of His love untold.
Well He knows each broken purpose
Leads to a fuller, deeper trust,
And the end of all His dealings
Proves our God is wise and just.
Disappointment—His appointment;
Lord, I take it then as such,
Like clay in the hands of the Potter
Yielding wholly to His touch.
My life's plan is all His moulding;
Not one single choice be mine.
Let me answer unrepining,
“Father, not my will, but Thine.”
—Author Unknown
The poem is by Edith Lillian Young
ReplyDeleteThis song has been erroneously misattributed and miss credited to Unknown, Anonymous, Edith Lillian Young, and others, especially on the Internet; but the correct author is Laura Sophia Soole published first in Home Words for Heart and Hearth in 1893, page 248, in five stanzas; with these Bible verses appended: “He performeth the thing that is appointed for me.”–Job xxiii. 14.
ReplyDelete“Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass.”—JoB xiv. 5.
(Also, it appears the song comes out of her experience of her son's military career as may be seen in "Ready for either.": "Incidents in the Life of a Young Cavalry Officer by his Mother." Mrs. Laura Sophia Soole, Godfrey Hope Soole; with Preface to second edition by Field-Marshal Earl Roberts. Published by Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Company, 1911.)
Thank you for this clarification. 🙂
DeleteThank you for this information.I bought a book 'Grace' by Bernadette Keaggy and went looking and found this page.
ReplyDeleteI love the words as they put my thoughts better than I can about what I have come to understand over the last few years. Such a wonderful example and easy to remember - change one letter. God Bless and I hope to find her book!