Poem of Encouragement

Thy Way, Not Mine
by Horatius Bonar (1808–89)


THY way, not mine, O Lord,
However dark it be!
Lead me by thine own hand,
Choose out the path for me.

Smooth let it be, or rough,
It will be still the best;
Winding or straight, it matters not,
Right onward to thy rest.

I dare not choose my lot;
I would not, if I might;
Choose thou for me, my God;
So shall I walk aright.

The kingdom that I seek
Is thine; so let the way
That leads to it be thine,
Else surely I might stray.

Take thou my cup, and it
With joy or sorrow fill,
As best to Thee may seem;
Choose Thou my good and ill;

Choose Thou for me my friends,
My sickness or my health;
Choose thou my cares for me,
My poverty or wealth.

Not mine, not mine the choice,
In things both great or small;
Be thou my Guide, my Strength,
My Wisdom, and my All.