What is the sign of a friend? That he tells you secrets or sorrows? No, that he tells you secret joys. Many will confide to you their secret sorrows, but the last mark of intimacy is to confide secret joys.

Have we ever let God tell us any of His joys, or are we telling God our secrets so continually that we leave no room for Him to talk to us? At the beginning of our Christian life we are full of requests to God, then we find that God wants to get us into relationship with Himself, to get us in touch with His purposes.

Are we so wedded to Jesus Christ's idea of prayer - "Thy will be done" - that we catch the secrets of God?

The things that make God dear to us are not so much His great big blessings as the tiny things, because they show His amazing intimacy with us; He knows every detail of our individual lives.

"... him shall He teach in the way that He shall choose." At first we want the consciousness of being guided by God, then as we go on we live so much in the consciousness of God that we do not need to ask what His will is, because the thought of choosing any other will never occur to us.

If we are saved and sanctified God guides us by our ordinary choices, and if we are going to choose what He does not want, He will check, and we must heed.

Whenever there is doubt, Stop at once. Never reason it out and say - "I wonder why I shouldn't?" God instructs us in what we choose, that is, He guides our common sense, and we no longer hinder His Spirit by continually saying - "Now, Lord, what is Thy will?"

There are certain secrets of God’s providence He allows His children to learn. Often, however, at least on the surface, His dealings with them appear to be harsh and hidden. Yet faith looks deeper and says, “This is God’s secret. You are looking only on the outside, but I look deeper and see the hidden meaning.”

Remember, diamonds are found in the rough, and their true value cannot be seen. And when the tabernacle was built in the wilderness, there was nothing ornate about its outward appearance. In fact, the outer covering of the thick hides of sea cows gave no hint of the valuable things inside.

Dear friend, God may send you some valuable gifts wrapped in unattractive paper. But do not worry about the wrappings, for you can be sure that inside He has hidden treasures of love, kindness, and wisdom. If we will simply take what He sends and trust Him for the blessings inside, we will learn the meaning of the secrets of His providence, even in times of darkness. A. B. SIMPSON

Not until each loom is silent, And the crossthreads cease to fly, Will God unroll the pattern And explain the reason why The dark threads are as needful In the Weaver’s skillful hand, As the threads of gold and silver For the pattern He has planned.

A person who has Christ as his Master is the master of every circumstance. Are your circumstances pressing in on you? Do not push away, for they are the Potter’s handstand. You will learn to master them not by stopping their progress but by enduring their discipline. Your circumstances are not only shaping you into a vessel of beauty and honor but also providing you with resources of great value.

The “loud shout” of steadfast faith is the exact opposite of the groans of wavering faith and the complaints of discouraged hearts. Of all “the secret[s] of the LORD” (Psalm 25:14 KJV), I do not believe there are any more valuable than the secret of this “loud shout” of faith.

“The LORD said to Joshua, ‘See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men’ ” (Joshua 6:2). He did not say, “I will deliver” but “I have delivered.” The victory already belonged to the children of Israel, and now they were called to take possession of it. But the big question still remaining was how. It looked impossible, but the Lord had a plan.

No one would normally believe that a shout could cause city walls to fall. Yet the secret of their victory lay precisely in just that shout, for it was the shout of faith. And it was a faith that dared to claim a promised victory solely on the basis of the authority of God’s Word, even though there were no physical signs of fulfillment. God answered His promise in response to their faith, for when they shouted, He caused the walls to fall.

God had declared, “I have delivered Jericho into your hands,” and faith believed this to be true. And many centuries later the Holy Spirit recorded this triumph of faith in the book of Hebrews as follows: “By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days” (Hebrews 11:30). H ANNAH WHITALL SMITH

Faith can never reach its consummation, Till the victor’s thankful song we raise: In the glorious city of salvation, God has told us all the gates are praise.

Lord , my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.

Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.

The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him: and he will shew them his covenant.—There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets.—Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him?

Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.—If ye love me, keep my commandments.

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth.

The Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?—It is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.—God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.—Even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory.

Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.—The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him: and he will shew them his covenant.—I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.