I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 22nd of November, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in the Book of Isaiah 35:3-4:

“Strengthen the weak hands,
And make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Behold, your God will come with vengeance,
With the recompense of God;
He will come and save you.”

Then we go to the Book of Hebrews 12:12-13: 

‘Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.’

You and I need to walk on straight paths. We must stop making things even harder for ourselves in a world that seems to have gone mad at the moment. Keep on the main road. There are no shortcuts on our way to Heaven. Every time I take a shortcut, I normally get stuck in the mud and have to walk home and get the tractor to come and pull me out! The Bible says we need to strengthen our hands and weak knees so that they will not be dislocated but rather heal. 

You know, many times I read in the New Testament that Jesus told His disciples to come aside and rest awhile because they didn’t even have time to eat. I had an old friend who used to farm next door to me. Alan was a wonderful man, he has gone to be with Jesus now, and we used to meet across the fence early in the morning when we started farming with our staff, and he often used to say to me, “Angus, you need to take time out to smell the roses.” What does that mean? It means to take time to rest to strengthen your hands and your knees for the long road ahead. 

William Carey, that great man of God who translated the Bible from English into many different Indian languages, had a rose garden. He would often go into his rose garden that was walled up and be quiet on his own, and that would strengthen him. I have a beautiful hobby: I am a bee-keeper, and sometimes, when the going gets too tough, I just want to go and sit with my bees and not even take the honey out sometimes. I just sit there and watch them working tirelessly and just be in the presence of God.

Today, take time out to smell the roses,
Jesus bless you and goodbye.