A story about the Victorian poet/hymn writer William Cowper illustrates how dramatically God’s grace can interact with our despair. Anyone knowing his history would understand why Cowper was given to long periods of depression. On one occasion, convinced he had committed the unpardonable sin, he left his home on a foggy London night and walked toward the Thames River, determined to commit suicide by drowning. As he walked, the fog grew thicker and he lost his way. After several hours of blind wandering, he found himself back at his doorstep. Astonished at God’s intervention, he wrote a poem that later became a beloved hymn:

God moves in a mysterious way His

wonders to perform;

He plants His footsteps in the sea, and

rides upon the storm.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,

but trust Him for His grace;

behind a frowning providence He

hides a smiling face.

Blind unbelief is sure to err and scan

His work in vain;

God is His own Interpreter, and He will

make it plain.

-rbc