Read in my hometown newspaper today that a person was devastated by crashing his 67 Corvette. Devastated indeed.

I will give you devastation! Try being blind. This is what John Milton is facing in his old age. He writes a poem about it:

“On His Blindness” By John Milton

WHEN I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest He returning chide,�
Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?
I fondly ask:�But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies: God doth not need
Either man’s work, or His own gifts, who best
Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best. His state
Is kingly; thousands at His bidding speed
And post o’er land and ocean without rest:�
They also serve who only stand and wait.

As one of my distance learning students explains, “When Milton lost his sight, he very strongly considered giving up writing poetry. He couldn’t imagine himself still writing. This feeling of utter abandonment is expressed in his poem On His Blindness.” But though he may have felt that way for a while, that emotion was soon changed into a feeling of hope; a wiliness to continue in his calling.” And what is amazing is that Milton wrote his greatest work�“Paradise Lost” when he was blind.

How could he do this? My student says, “If you one reads carefully there are portions of the poem which tell of hope in faraway places, hope that is longed for and not thrown away carelessly. At the words, “They also serve who wait,” Milton shows that he is waiting while serving, for God to show him what to do next. Interestingly enough, another word for wait is hope. In the NIV, Isaiah 40:31 says, “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” In the KJV Isaiah 40:31 says, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Now it is plain that while Milton is waiting, he is also hoping.”

Friend I hope you have that hope in your life! I know I do.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 9:30 am and is filed under Choices, Christianity, Hope, Scripture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.