Expositions of Holy Scripture: Second Kings Chapters VIII to End and Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Esther, Job, Proverbs, and EcclesiastesMaclaren, Alexander
Religion
Expositions of Holy Scripture: Second Kings Chapters VIII to End and Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Esther, Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes
Of course there is a great uniformity in our lives, and many of us who
are set down to one continuous occupation can tell twelve months
before what, in all probability, we shall be doing at each hour of
each day in the week. But for all that, there is a certain individual
physiognomy about each new day as it comes to us; and the oldest, most
habitual, and therefore in some degree easiest and least stimulating,
work has its own special characteristics as it comes again to us day
by day for the hundredth time.
So there are three pieces of practical wisdom that I would suggest,
and one is--be content to take your work in little bits as it comes.
There is a great deal of practical wisdom in taking short views of
things, for although we have often to look ahead, yet it is better on
the whole that a man should, as far as he can, confine his
anticipations to the day that is passing, and leave the day that is
coming to look after itself. Take short views and be content to let
each day prescribe its tasks, and you have gone a long way to make all
your days quiet and peaceful. For it is far more the anticipation of
difficulties than the realisation of them that wears and wearies us.
If a man says to himself, 'This sorrow that I am carrying, or this
work that I have to do, is going to last for many days to come,' his
heart will fail. If he said to himself, 'It will be no worse to-morrow
than it is at this moment, and I can live through it, for am I not
living through it at this moment, and getting power to endure or do at
this moment? and to-morrow will probably be like today,' things would
not be so difficult.
You remember the homely old parable of the clock on the stair that
gave up ticking altogether because it began to calculate how many
thousands of seconds there are in the year, and that twice that number
of times it would have to wag backwards and forwards. The lesson that
it learned was--tick one tick and never mind the next. You will be
able to do it when the time to do it comes. Let us act 'as the duty of
every day requireth.' 'Sufficient for the day is the work thereof.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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