Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-01-06

l:15-17.
~ HE thought for the month is RE
VI Igion and Power" The subtopic
is Solitude and Vision" The
vision is ever seen. in solitude The great
plans of life are not laid amid the din
and shock of the battle of life, but as we
pray apart
The loneliness of leadership is in noth-
ing more consistent than in the fact that
great leaders. saints and seers, catch their
visions and face their Gethsemanes in
loneliness and solitude. It is as though
the God who worketh out, through us,
His larger plans for mans eternal des-
tiny, could only bare the secrets of His
breast to those who cared enough about
His secrets and His plans to leave the
din and clatter of mere toll and seek in
places far apart communion with the
Master Artisan. Therefore the giant souls
OF all the past have prayed and planned
apart.
There is great need and great reason
Tor the practice of solitary seeking after
God We best face ourselves and our
own life problems when we stand face to
face with Him, and we never see more
clearly, or consent to act more unselishly,
than in the hour when God seems near
al nand, and augtd by His majestic pur-
felt their luster and are put aside without
regret
And then we plan More wisely when,
alone with God. we cry for wisdom to
the source of light. Plans are not the
children of the mind alone. Plans, to be
pregnant with real power. must have in
them that deep enthusiasm that God in
us" that links the human and divine in
an uncomfortable league Of strength
whose victory means a victory for right.
we gain great in
tude, this waiting upon God. when none
is nigh. Out from the desert came
Moses, to shake the foundations of
Egypt. Out from the desert came
from the wastes of Arabia; Amos and
Elijah, from loneliness and obscurity,
and on through all the history Of fear
less prophesy and mighty message we
and at His feet. in solitude and prayer.
they learned His plans and caught His
spirit: then all aflame, came forth to
challenge sin and build the towers of
truth.
This is the era Of the morning watch.
for men have learned: strong. busy men
have learned, and women too that we
may daily go apart with God, and in
His word. chief fountain of the truth,
acquire knowledge Of His will and
may come forth with holy. happy py
hearts: unselfsh, wise and brave, with
power to witness for the truth.
The Scriptures given us today are not
the only ones that tell of shepherds
from the Wilderness" Gods word is
rich in fine examples of that prepara-
ton for His work which drove men
to the wilderness. for wisdom, courage
and a larger view of what Gods plans
concerning man include. and if. amid
the turmoil of these modern times,
when every worldwide movement or
local issue seems to grow more COM
pick, we are to be our best. and do
our best, for God and man, we must
find time to be alone with God. Then
fearlessly we shall strike great blows
for God, then tenderly we shall do kind
deeds for men, then holy. from our con-
tact with the King. our lives shall
speak more loudly than our tongues.
and we, like Christ, shall go to our
Gethsemane, or face our cross. or what
His will and word direct. that We shall
do with faith and fOrtitude, that come
alone from waiting upon God.