Do the Next Thing(a poem quoted by Elizabeth Elliot)
At an old English parsonage down by the sea,
There came in the twilight a message to me.
Its quaint Saxon legend deeply engraven
That, as it seems to me, teaching from heaven.
And all through the hours the quiet words ring,
Like a low inspiration,
do the next thing.
Many a questioning, many a fear,
Many a doubt hath its quieting here.
Moment by moment, let down from heaven,
Time, opportunity, and guidance are given.
Fear not tomorrows, child of the King,
Trust them with Jesus, do the next thing.
Do it immediately, do it with prayer;
Do it reliantly, casting all care.
Do it with reverence, tracing His hand,
Who placed it before thee with earnest command.
Stayed on Omnipotence, safe ‘neath His wing,
Leave all results, do the next thing.
Looking to Jesus, ever serener,
Working or suffering be thy demeanor;
In His dear presence, the rest of His calm,
The light of His countenance, be thy psalm,
Strong in His faithfulness, praise and sing.
Then, as He beckons, do the next thing.
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2 comments:
I really like this poem. Where did you find it? We all need to heed this advice. There are so many times we know he knows what is best for me and he has control of any situation we are in, but as being in human-like form, with thinking brains, we have trouble letting go and handing it all over to him.
I found it on a blog actually: http://myblessedhome.wordpress.com/2008/07/11/do-the-next-thing/
It's the Christian version of Nike's Just Do It!
What I take from it is that sometimes we get so caught up in worrying about what is going on that we make things worse than they need to be. The simple advice to, "Do the next thing" puts your focus back where you can do the only thing you can do to help (versus worrying and analyzing which do nothing to help). Sometimes focusing only on the task at hand is better than looking at the whole picture.
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