Drill a Man
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with another poem to end the week, and this particular poem I want to share is so near and dear to my heart. I had just been released from rehabilitation; this was back in, oh, the late 60’s, and I was so excited about coming home. But when I wheeled into my house for the first time (me in my new wheelchair)—oh my goodness—I realized I don’t fit! And when I would wheel up to our dining room table, my legs kept hitting the rim. I was too tall in my wheelchair. My wonderful home in which I had grown up just wasn’t very homey anymore, and it didn’t take long for discouragement to set in. This was also around the time that lots of my friends were going off to college, and others were getting married. Some got jobs and some just weren’t able to visit me any longer and I began to feel like I was being left behind. While everyone else’s lives seemed to be moving forward, mine was stuck in the past. And discouragement quickly turned into depression.
One of my friends from high school (her name was Connie) could see that I was facing a whole new set of challenges now that the hospital and rehabilitation were behind me. Connie and I used to play sports together in high school, and we had gone on a few church weekend retreats together. She was one of my best friends back in school, but she had moved out of state to go to college. And so, she sent me a little note and when it arrived in the mail, I read her encouraging words, reminders that she hadn’t forgotten me, that she was praying for me, that she’d be over for a visit when the semester ended. And then she shared in the note a powerful little Bible verse from Joshua Chapter 1, verse 9 where it says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Wow, talk about a verse that fit the need of the moment! It was exactly what I needed because I was terrified of the future and I was discouraged. But here God was telling me that He understood my feelings and that I shouldn’t be afraid, that He would be with me in the weeks and months ahead. Then in the letter, I noticed a folded piece of paper. Connie had included a poem, and this is what I read:
When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man,
And skill a man
When God wants to mold a man
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses,
And which every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try His splendor out-
God knows what He’s about.
– Anonymous
Oh, I read that poem, put it down and I realized it was all I needed to hear. And suddenly I found courage to face the day. Yes, courage from God’s Word in Joshua Chapter 1, verse 9, but also courage from this wonderful poem, “how God ruthlessly perfects, how he royally elects.” I hope the words have blessed you today and given you courage. And if you’d like to download this poem, we’ve got it posted today on my radio page at joniandfriends.org. Read it, be blessed by it, then pass on the courage.
Previously aired as Program #8080 on 4/19/13.
© Joni and Friends
