Covid-19 Resources

Medical Symposium about the lessons learned from the 1918 Flu and their applications to COVID-19

Can treatments used during the 1918 Spanish Flu outbreak be used to combat the pandemic we currently face? Learn from top medical professionals from across the country for an online symposium as they share lessons learned that could be applied today!

Here is a site with more detailed information about hydrotherapy (presented above) in general, as well as a link to information on using hydrotherapy specifically as it relates to Covid-19.

COVID-19 Medical Symposium 2: Urban and Rural Delivery

Join us as we investigate the past utilization of Ultraviolet Radiation and Open Space as a treatment for physical and mental illness in the 1918 Pandemic Flu and ask the question does this have any role for our front-line war with COVID-19 and if so how does this relate to diversity in Urban and Rural delivery? The 1918 H1N1 influenza Pandemic was a serious threat to the United States and much of the world, resulting in the death of over 50 million people. SARS-CoV2 or COVID-19 has so far resulted in over 133,000 deaths globally and had a profound effect on each of our overall lives physically, financially, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. In part 1 of our Medical Symposium entitled, “Novel Lessons Learned from the 1918 Flu: Could they Apply to the COVID-19 Pandemic” we discovered there were some unusual treatments employed during the Spanish Flu that had good results, namely Hydrothermal Therapy (HT). We were also intrigued to find that HT has some scientifically positive implications for COVID-19. This week, we continue part 2 of our Medical Symposium, as we seek to review the past as an informational opportunity for potential conjunctive treatments for COVID-19.

Medical Symposium 3: Nutrition, Exercise and Racial Disparity in COVID-19 Death Rates

Join us as we explore the benefits of nutrition and exercise-induced antioxidants and the racial disparities in COVID-19 death rates. Why is it that African Americans are at a higher risk?

Medical Symposium 4: Self-Restraint and Sleep - Keys to Reopening the Globe

Daily we are inundated with the question of when and how we should “Reopen” America and the globe. Cities, States, and Countries differ on their preferred approach to the matter and no one is quite sure how to proceed. As individuals, how do we approach the issue? How do we protect ourselves, families, patients and the community we reside in? Evaluating the past and comparing it to today the current Pandemic the answer that we have routinely seen established is the need to “Optimize the immunity”. Over the past 4 weeks we have examined 6 historical methods from the 1918 Pandemic and found them to be scientifically applicable to us today. This Sunday’s final Medical Symposium, “Proper Sleep and Self-Restraint Keys to Re-Opening the Globe” will address two additional methods and investigate their validity to today’s COVID-19 crisis. Proper sleep is well known to have immune modulating effects. This week our expert panel of physicians will address the issue of sleep and the immunity. In addition, world renown physicians will also examine the relationship of certain common substances and their effect on the innate and learned immunity.

Here is a page with links to .pdf copies of slides used for presentations 1, 2, and 4 above, as well as links to other health topics.

A Thousand Ways . . . Update

The dental device is wonderful. 

It hasn't worked out for me to get the second sleep study done yet (for a variety of "reasons" pretty much beyond my control), but the dental device seems to be far more effective than my CPAP machine ever as. And I would never even have known about it if things had gone my way last spring and early summer. Even this delay in getting the second sleep study done is part of God's plan for my life. Someday, I'll understand, and, again, be thankful it worked out the way it did.

The Invitation

I have been reading through The Desire of Ages, a wonderful book on the life of Christ, for my devotions each morning. This morning, I read chapter 34, The Invitation. It seems like a perfect "fit" for all the current panic and unrest that fills the news every day because of Covid-19, so I thought I'd share it here. (I've read the whole book more than once, and this particular chapter many times.)

Here is a link to an audio recording of the entire book. I can't figure out how to find a link that specifically goes directly to this particular chapter, so you'll have to scroll down on the linked page to chapter 34 to listen to it. The entire book is well worth listening to . . . and you can follow along at the links in the first paragraph if you wish.

I've copied it (cut and paste, not by actually typing it all) word-for-word from the link. It is my prayer that this will be as much of a blessing to you as it has been to me.

This chapter is based on Matthew 11:28-30.

“Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

These words of comfort were spoken to the multitude that followed Jesus. The Saviour had said that only through Himself could men receive a knowledge of God. He had spoken of His disciples as the ones to whom a knowledge of heavenly things had been given. But He left none to feel themselves shut out from His care and love. All who labor and are heavy-laden may come unto Him.

Scribes and rabbis, with their punctilious attention to religious forms, had a sense of want that rites of penance could never satisfy. Publicans and sinners might pretend to be content with the sensual and earthly, but in their hearts were distrust and fear. Jesus looked upon the distressed and heart burdened, those whose hopes were blighted, and who with earthly joys were seeking to quiet the longing of the soul, and He invited all to find rest in Him.

Tenderly He bade the toiling people, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

In these words Christ is speaking to every human being. Whether they know it or not, all are weary and heavy-laden. All are weighed down with burdens that only Christ can remove. The heaviest burden that we bear is the burden of sin. If we were left to bear this burden, it would crush us. But the Sinless One has taken our place. “The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6. He has borne the burden of our guilt. He will take the load from our weary shoulders. He will give us rest. The burden of care and sorrow also He will bear. He invites us to cast all our care upon Him; for He carries us upon His heart.

The Elder Brother of our race is by the eternal throne. He looks upon every soul who is turning his face toward Him as the Saviour. He knows by experience what are the weaknesses of humanity, what are our wants, and where lies the strength of our temptations; for He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. He is watching over you, trembling child of God. Are you tempted? He will deliver. Are you weak? He will strengthen. Are you ignorant? He will enlighten. Are you wounded? He will heal. The Lord “telleth the number of the stars;” and yet “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.” Psalm 147:4, 3. “Come unto Me,” is His invitation. Whatever your anxieties and trials, spread out your case before the Lord. Your spirit will be braced for endurance. The way will be opened for you to disentangle yourself from embarrassment and difficulty. The weaker and more helpless you know yourself to be, the stronger will you become in His strength. The heavier your burdens, the more blessed the rest in casting them upon the Burden Bearer. The rest that Christ offers depends upon conditions, but these conditions are plainly specified. They are those with which all can comply. He tells us just how His rest is to be found.

“Take My yoke upon you,” Jesus says. The yoke is an instrument of service. Cattle are yoked for labor, and the yoke is essential that they may labor effectually. By this illustration Christ teaches us that we are called to service as long as life shall last. We are to take upon us His yoke, that we may be co-workers with Him.

The yoke that binds to service is the law of God. The great law of love revealed in Eden, proclaimed upon Sinai, and in the new covenant written in the heart, is that which binds the human worker to the will of God. If we were left to follow our own inclinations, to go just where our will would lead us, we should fall into Satan’s ranks and become possessors of his attributes. Therefore God confines us to His will, which is high, and noble, and elevating. He desires that we shall patiently and wisely take up the duties of service. The yoke of service Christ Himself has borne in humanity. He said, “I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart.” Psalm 40:8. “I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.” John 6:38. Love for God, zeal for His glory, and love for fallen humanity, brought Jesus to earth to suffer and to die. This was the controlling power of His life. This principle He bids us adopt.

There are many whose hearts are aching under a load of care because they seek to reach the world’s standard. They have chosen its service, accepted its perplexities, adopted its customs. Thus their character is marred, and their life made a weariness. In order to gratify ambition and worldly desires, they wound the conscience, and bring upon themselves an additional burden of remorse. The continual worry is wearing out the life forces. Our Lord desires them to lay aside this yoke of bondage. He invites them to accept His yoke; He says, “My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” He bids them seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and His promise is that all things needful to them for this life shall be added. Worry is blind, and cannot discern the future; but Jesus sees the end from the beginning. In every difficulty He has His way prepared to bring relief. Our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us, of which we know nothing. Those who accept the one principle of making the service and honor of God supreme will find perplexities vanish, and a plain path before their feet.

“Learn of Me,” says Jesus; “for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest.” We are to enter the school of Christ, to learn from Him meekness and lowliness. Redemption is that process by which the soul is trained for heaven. This training means a knowledge of Christ. It means emancipation from ideas, habits, and practices that have been gained in the school of the prince of darkness. The soul must be delivered from all that is opposed to loyalty to God.

In the heart of Christ, where reigned perfect harmony with God, there was perfect peace. He was never elated by applause, nor dejected by censure or disappointment. Amid the greatest opposition and the most cruel treatment, He was still of good courage. But many who profess to be His followers have an anxious, troubled heart, because they are afraid to trust themselves with God. They do not make a complete surrender to Him; for they shrink from the consequences that such a surrender may involve. Unless they do make this surrender, they cannot find peace.

It is the love of self that brings unrest. When we are born from above, the same mind will be in us that was in Jesus, the mind that led Him to humble Himself that we might be saved. Then we shall not be seeking the highest place. We shall desire to sit at the feet of Jesus, and learn of Him. We shall understand that the value of our work does not consist in making a show and noise in the world, and in being active and zealous in our own strength. The value of our work is in proportion to the impartation of the Holy Spirit. Trust in God brings holier qualities of mind, so that in patience we may possess our souls.

The yoke is placed upon the oxen to aid them in drawing the load, to lighten the burden. So with the yoke of Christ. When our will is swallowed up in the will of God, and we use His gifts to bless others, we shall find life’s burden light. He who walks in the way of God’s commandments is walking in company with Christ, and in His love the heart is at rest. When Moses prayed, “Show me now Thy way, that I may know Thee,” the Lord answered him, “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” And through the prophets the message was given, “Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” Exodus 33:13, 14; Jeremiah 6:16. And He says, “O that thou hadst hearkened to My commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.” Isaiah 48:18.

Those who take Christ at His word, and surrender their souls to His keeping, their lives to His ordering, will find peace and quietude. Nothing of the world can make them sad when Jesus makes them glad by His presence. In perfect acquiescence there is perfect rest. The Lord says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.” Isaiah 26:3. Our lives may seem a tangle; but as we commit ourselves to the wise Master Worker, He will bring out the pattern of life and character that will be to His own glory. And that character which expresses the glory—character—of Christ will be received into the Paradise of God. A renovated race shall walk with Him in white, for they are worthy.

As through Jesus we enter into rest, heaven begins here. We respond to His invitation, Come, learn of Me, and in thus coming we begin the life eternal. Heaven is a ceaseless approaching to God through Christ. The longer we are in the heaven of bliss, the more and still more of glory will be opened to us; and the more we know of God, the more intense will be our happiness. As we walk with Jesus in this life, we may be filled with His love, satisfied with His presence. All that human nature can bear, we may receive here. But what is this compared with the hereafter? There “are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” Revelation 7:15-17.

A Thousand Ways . . .

"And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." Isaiah 65:24

I saw this promise filled . . . for me . . . yesterday:

 I've been using a CPAP machine for sleep apnea for almost 3 years. (My airway is genetically very narrow; my mom had sleep apnea, and so does my sister, even though none of us fit the "typical profile" for sleep apnea.) My CPAP machine decided it was done when I plugged it in at home after a trip in June. (It had been giving me trouble for a couple of months, but always, eventually, came on.) I knew I was leaving in three weeks for camp, and that I would have no cell service for the 4 weeks I was there, so I did my best to get a replacement before I left. For a variety of (Divinely-orchestrated, I've decided since then) reasons, it just didn't work out. I took my existing machine (which had come back on a couple of weeks after I plugged it in) to camp with me. And, it didn't come on when I plugged it in. (But, it did decide to start working the last week and a half I was there.)

I guess I must have been sputtering about it to my assistant in the camp store, because she told me about a dentist near her (in another state, way too far from where I live, for me to go to) who helps patients with sleep apnea by using a special dental device. I probably would not have known about this alternate, proven, treatment method, had my machine been functioning the way it was supposed to.

I talked to my sleep doctor after I got home from camp, and got a referral to a local dentist. (The same one, interestingly, who treated my TMJ in the early '90's, and my mother's TMJ in the mid '80's.) In talking to the technician at the dentist’s office Tuesday, she suggested that maybe the problem with my CPAP machine was in the cord, and that I might be able to get just the cord replaced. She also suggested checking to see if I could find a loaner or rental CPAP machine, so I'm not doing without completely, like I have been most of the last two months.

On the way home from my initial visit with the dentist Tuesday afternoon, I stopped by the local office of the company I get my CPAP supplies from, to see about a loaner / rental, and / or if they might be able to fix my current machine. The secretary (who is new) started the hunt for rental machines. The sleep coach asked me to drop my current machine off on the way back in to the dentist (to get impressions for the appliance made) yesterday morning, let her look at it, and pick it up on the way home.

When I arrived to drop of my current machine yesterday morning, the secretary told me they didn’t need it. She called the sleep coach from the back, who told me she’d dug around in their store room, had found a donated machine identical to mine, with very low hours . . . and she gave it to me. (Those machines are expensive!!) Not only does that save me roughly $100 a month rental costs for the next 4 months; if, for some inexpiable reason, the dental device doesn’t work, this CPAP machine is mine until it reaches the end of its useful life. (It takes a month to even get the dental device, and an additional 3 months for it to be adjusted to full efficiency, which will need to be tested by another sleep study after I’ve worn it for 90 days.)

Back to Isaiah 65:24 . . . God not only impressed someone who was not going to use it (whether the patient died, or just couldn’t get used to it, I’ll never know) to donate that machine before I even knew I needed it. He also impressed the sleep coach to hang on to donated machines for situations like this, and helped her find it in the store room. The machine I’ve been using doesn’t seem to be very common in this area at this point in time . . . but the sleep coach I talked to Tuesday night, the one who dug around and found the donated machine, has extensive training working with this particular type of machine. (It was thoroughly cleaned and sterilized when she gave it to me.)

The interesting twist is that I allowed myself to become really discouraged yesterday morning, partly, I’m sure, from exhaustion (from not sleeping very well without the CPAP machine), but also from not knowing how I was going to survive another month until my dental device comes in, and then until it is fully effective. But God had already “found” the machine for me Tuesday evening, even though I didn’t know it. It seems like the devil does his best to bring us low when he knows God already has an answer, a plan, to help us out.

I have also allowed myself to get really frustrated with this whole process, because of all the times I called the doctor’s office after my CPAP stopped working in June, left messages . . . and never had my calls returned. (I finally stopped by the office on my way home from another errand.) If things had gone according to my plan, and the doctor’s office had been prompt in returning my first call, there was plenty of time for me to get a new machine before camp. But then I would have been tied to that machine for 5 years, because Medicare would not have paid for the dental device a month later. (I’m sure the dental device has a name, but I don’t know what it is.) Medicare will only pay for a CPAP machine or a dental device, but not both, any more often than once every 5 years.

(Needing to rely on a CPAP machine for adequate sleep requires me to be near an electric outlet every single night. It also requires distilled water. And, it's just one more piece of luggage that has to be hauled around and kept track of whenever I travel. This is a major nuisance when traveling by bus or plane.)

As many times as I have seen God work things out for my best good, in spite of my human plans to the contrary, there was no reason for me to feel the way I did yesterday morning. Satan is the author of discouragement, not God. God has a thousand ways to provide for our needs, if we will only keep our eyes on Him, instead of on the circumstances around us, no matter how “impossible” they seem to us. Even when our faith falters, and our trust seems to evaporate (like mine did yesterday), God still loves us, and He still works in our behalf.

But, God was not through with me. I stopped at Taco Bell on my way home, because I had more errands to run between the dentist’s office and home, followed immediately by driving out to prayer meeting. I ordered my bean burritos, drove towards the window to pay for them . . . and discovered that my wallet was not in my purse. That meant I had no way to pay for the burritos I’d just ordered, and, since I ordered them without cheese or red sauce, Taco Bell probably wouldn’t be able to sell them to anyone else. I wasn’t sure what to do. The clerk wondered if I wanted to go home and come back, but that was too far away. While we were discussing it, a young man who works there came to the window, and asked if I wanted mild or hot sauce. I told him I didn’t even have money to pay for what I’d ordered. He said, “That’s OK. This one is on me.” He paid for my lunch.

My next dilemma was figuring out where my wallet was. I’d had it at the grocery store Tuesday night, and the only other place I’d been was the dentist's office. (I ran into the CPAP place for just a minute, and didn’t even take my purse in with me, as I was parked right in front of the office, and there was no one around in the parking lot.) I called the dentist’s office. They couldn’t find it, and my husband was out walking the dog (without his phone), so I couldn’t reach him for almost an hour. This time, I wasn’t really panicking, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to purchase the other items I needed in the time I had left, and I knew that, if it was truly missing, I needed to be calling our credit card company.

When I finally got through to him, my wallet was on the table by my computer. Apparently I’d taken it out of my purse after I got home Tuesday evening, and failed to put it back in before I left yesterday morning.

The credit union we bank at was still open when I got to it, so I was able to withdraw enough cash to pay for the things I needed.

God didn’t have to do any of those things for me. He does them because He loves us, and He wants us to know we can trust Him no matter how “murky” the water around us seems to be. Reader, whoever you are, wherever you live, whatever your dilemma, He longs to do this for you, too. He might not work quite this dramatically, but He does always have the perfect solution, and He will work things out in His own best way, according to His own best timetable if we put our troubles in His capable hands, and leave them there.

"Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." Psalms 55:22

"Sanctified in Me"??

During an online class in Scripture Memorization, we were asked to talk about choosing verses:*

Ezekiel 36:23 ("And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.")  has been the "foundation" of my Scripture memorization over the years. I first "discovered" it when I looked up the more familiar Ezekiel 36:26 ("A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.") for another purpose, and noticed that verse 23 was underlined in my Bible. I have no idea how it got underlined -- I don't ever remember seeing it before in my life.

To me, verse 23 is THE "secret key" to sharing the truth of God's love to the whole world. If Christ is not sanctified in me (to the point it is obvious to everyone I interact with in any way), all the "preaching in the world" is going to fall flatter than flat in the eyes of whoever I'm "witnessing" to.

It's also interesting to note that this verse does not say that "the heathen shall know that I am the Lord" "when Kathy (or any one else) has been on 'x' number of mission trips or preached 'y' number of sermons or had 'z' number of baptisms." No, it says, ". . . and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes." In other words, only when the world can see that Christ has made a difference in my life will they be open to hearing what He can do for them.

Ezra 7:10 ("For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.") takes this from the "theoretical" to the "practical." Notice the steps Ezra went through, and the order he went through them in:

1. Heart preparation
2. Diligent searching to know God's law
3. Obedience to God's law
4. Teaching God's law, statutes, and judgments.

This brings to mind a song, Sermon in Shoes,  I learned as a child:

       Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes?

       Do you know, Oh Christian, you’re a sermon in shoes?

       Jesus calls upon you, to spread the gospel news,

       So walk it, and talk it. 

       Live it, and give it.

       Teach it, and preach it. 

       Know it, and show it.

       A Sermon in Shoes.

              (Ruth Harms Calkin, Copyright 1952 Nuggets of Truth)

By implication, if God is not "sanctified in me" (if I know of any aspect of my life that is out of harmony with His will as revealed in His Word, and I refuse to surrender that part of my life, and bring it into harmony with God's word by His grace and through His strength), then, instead of drawing others to Him, I am among those who are profaning His name among the heathen, which is a sobering, even scary, thought . . . especially in the light of all the (negative) things God has to say about those who are "stumbling blocks"!!

*The above is based on what I wrote, but has been expanded on a bit for the purpose of this blog post.

Uninvited Guests

They were tiny little things. I didn't even realize they'd come calling until I took the blackstrap molasses out of the cupboard for breakfast one morning. Even then, I was oblivious to their presence . . . until I set the molasses on the table . . . and saw them scurrying away. (A wandering scout had apparently discovered the sticky sweetness just inside the cap at some earlier point in time, and hustled off to share his find with his buddies, who hastened to the new treat. Oh that we would be as faithful in sharing the delights of God's love!). 

They were soon brushed off, and breakfast proceeded without incident. I did make sure to put the molasses somewhere else, though, to give the little rascals time to figure out that their meal was no longer available, and move on (preferably out of my house!) to "greener pastures."

When I went in to start lunch, I checked the cupboard to make sure they'd evacuated so I could put the molasses away. Whoops! Not only had they not evacuated . . . they'd recruited reinforcements . . . and invaded the peanut butter jar. (Another lesson for us?)

Unfortunately (for me), that lid was not on very tight. They'd managed to get inside . . . and even down into the peanut butter. NOT good! I carefully removed all of them (I hope!) with a spoon . . . and the peanut butter joined the molasses on the counter on the opposite side of the kitchen!

At this point, it was time for further action. I have a special bottle, filled with special food, for just such occasions. I put a few drops on a piece of tinfoil and set it on the shelf where the peanut butter had been. 

I watched for a few minutes, but didn't see any immediate takers, so went back to what I was doing. The next time I looked, there was very little free space around my offerings. My "friends" were crowding around for a drink of this delicious new food.

It looked good. It tasted good. And "everyone" was enjoying it. So many couldn't possibly be "wrong," could they? . . . or could they?

Unfortunately for them, they failed to check the ingredients of my bottle of special food: 

If they had, they might have been less anxious to enjoy it, and carry it back to their nest to share with the rest of their family. They were oblivious to the fact that that delicious new food spelled death for all who indulged it. (How often, when we fall for Satan's temptations, we hasten off to invite others to join us in rebelling against God, often to both of our eternal ruin.)

As I watched the ants over the next few hours, adding more poison as they cleaned up what was there, I couldn't help but think of yet another spiritual parallel:

Like the ants sincere belief that this new food was beneficial, "Eve (at the forbidden tree) really believed the words of Satan, but her belief did not save her from the penalty of sin. She disbelieved the words of God, and this was what led to her fall. In the judgment men will not be condemned because they conscientiously believed a lie, but because they did not believe the truth, because they neglected the opportunity of learning what is truth.Notwithstanding the sophistry of Satan to the contrary, it is always disastrous to disobey God. We must set our hearts to know what is truth. All the lessons which God has caused to be placed on record in His word are for our warning and instruction. They are given to save us from deception. Their neglect will result in ruin to ourselves. Whatever contradicts God’s word, we may be sure proceeds from Satan." – Patriarchs and Prophets, page 55, paragraph 2. (Emphasis mine.)

The only way for us to escape Satan's deceptive snares is to be diligent students of God's word, and to measure every thought, word, and deed by that standard. It doesn't matter what others think, say, or do. They are not our example. 

Just as I watched the ants falling for my innocent-looking "temptation," so Satan is watching, and gloating, when he can entice us to swallow his lies, because we forgot to "read the ingredients" through careful, prayerful, diligent, study of God's word. 

It is my prayer that we will learn from the ants' mistake, and make that Word the guide of our lives from this day forward. 

God Hath Not Promised . . . .

Below is one of my mother's favorite poems. I hadn't thought of it in a long time until a few weeks ago, as I was washing dishes one morning. 

Remembering it, and following along with the lyrics while I listened to the melody was a blessing to me, so I thought I'd pass it along for you to enjoy, too. 

God hath not promised skies always blue,

Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;

God hath not promised sun without rain,

Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

But God hath promised strength for the day,

Rest for the labor, light for the way,

Grace for the trials, help from above,

Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

God hath not promised we shall not know

Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;

He hath not told us we shall not bear

Many a burden, many a care.

But God hath promised strength for the day,

Rest for the labor, light for the way,

Grace for the trials, help from above,

Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,

Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;

Never a mountain, rocky and steep,

Never a river, turbid and deep.

But God hath promised strength for the day,

Rest for the labor, light for the way,

Grace for the trials, help from above,

Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

The words have been put to music -- you can listen to it here:

https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/720