Dale Stone (1965)

When God wants to drill a man,

And thrill a man, and skill a man

To play for Him the noblest part —

When He yearns with all His heart

To build so great and bold a man

That all the world shall be amazed –

Then watch God’s 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,

Making shapes and forms which only

God Himself can understand,

Even while His man is crying,

Lifting a beseeching hand …

Yet God bends but never breaks

When man’s good He undertakes;

When He uses whom He chooses,

And with every purpose fuses

Man to act, and act to man,

As it was when He began;

When God tries His splendor out,

Then man will know what He’s about!

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For printable version:

The Shaping of a Disciple