Accepting Consolation
The sermon emphasizes the importance of faith, endurance, and gratitude in finding strength and comfort in times of pain and uncertainty.
Mary Wilder Tileston preaches about finding comfort and hope in God, emphasizing that those who trust in Him will not be left desolate, and that sorrow should not consume us like those who lack hope. She encourages embracing happiness, enduring pain, and being grateful for the small joys in life as a sign of loyalty to departed loved ones. Tileston speaks of the strength gained through faith in God's wisdom and love, and the importance of dispelling doubts by actively doing good in the world.
Text
None of them that trust in Him shall be desolate.
PSALMS 34:22 That ye sorrow not, even as others who have no hope.
1 THESSALONIANS 4:13 Are the consolations of God too small for thee?
JOB 15:11 (R. V.)
WHAT shall make trouble? Not the holy thought
Of the departed; that will be a part
Of those undying things His peace hath wrought
Into a world of beauty in the heart.
SARAH J. WILLIAMS
SHE spoke of those who had walked with her long ago in her garden, and for whose sake, now that they had all gone into the world of light, every flower was doubly dear. Would it be a true proof of loyalty to them if she lived gloomily or despondently because they were away? She spoke of the duty of being ready to welcome happiness as well as to endure pain, and of the strength that endurance wins by being grateful for small daily joys, like the evening light, and the smell of roses, and the singing of birds. She spoke of the faith that rests on the Unseen Wisdom and Love like a child on its mother's breast, and the melting away of doubts in the warmth of an effort to do some good in the world.
HENRY VAN DYKE
Sermon Outline
- The Consolations of God
- The Duty of Endurance
- The Strength of Faith
- Resting in Unseen Wisdom
- Melting Away of Doubts
Key Quotes
“None of them that trust in Him shall be desolate.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“That ye sorrow not, even as others who have no hope.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“Are the consolations of God too small for thee?” — Mary Wilder Tileston
Application Points
- We can find strength in times of pain by being grateful for small daily joys.
- Faith can provide comfort and strength by resting in Unseen Wisdom and Love.
- It's our duty to be ready to welcome happiness as well as to endure pain.