“‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus”
‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, 
And to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise, 
And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”

O how sweet to trust in Jesus, 
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me 
‘Neath the healing, cleansing flood!


Yes, ‘tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.


I’m so glad I learned to trust The,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Will be with me to the end.


Refrain: Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more!


Brianna: This hymn was written in 1882 by Louisa Stead. As the story goes, Louisa had always felt a calling to be a missionary and go to China. But due to fragile health, she was kept home in the US. She married Mr. Stead and had a daughter named Lily. When Lily was 4 years old, the family went on vacation to a nearby beach. While there, relaxing and enjoying their vacation, they saw a young boy drowning in the ocean. Mr. Stead swam out and tried to rescue him, only he was pulled under by the boy and both Mr. Stead and the boy drowned as Louisa and her daughter watched from shore. 
    Louisa was left without any means of support except for God’s care. She and her daughter were in dire poverty—one day when there was no food in the house and no money to purchase any, Louisa opened the front door to find someone had left groceries and money sitting there for her. That same day she sat down and wrote “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.” She later became a missionary to Africa, remarried, and once again had to stay in the US due to her health. But once recovered, she went back to the missionary field in Rhodesia and later died in Zimbabwe. Her daughter Lily married and became a missionary as well.
    Tiffany: I love the words of this precious hymn because I have lived them out! There is a wonderful rest that comes from simply trusting my omniscient and omnipotent Savior and taking Him at His Word. When I try to do things my way—trusting in my own finite knowledge of what is best—failure always ensues. Yet the Lord daily proves His faithfulness to me, giving me ample opportunity to “prove Him over and over,” and His goodness never ceases to amaze me. My constant prayer is that He would give me grace to trust Him more. The joy, peace, and victory that comes from resting in Christ and being completely surrendered to Him is truly indescribable.


“Just as I Am”
Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me.
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.


Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee Whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.


Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve:
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!


Just as I am, Thy love unknown,
Hath broken every barrier down;
Now, to be Thine, yes, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!


Just as I am, of that free love
The breadth, length, depth, and height to prove,
Here for a season, then above,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!


    Brianna: Born March 18, 1789, Charlotte Elliot was known by others as light-hearted and fun-loving. She lived in England where she became popular for her satirical verse and cartoons. When she was 30, she was diagnosed with a degenerative disease that quickly put an end to her carefree youth. As her disease worsened, she began to sink down into deep depression. She ceased writing and drawing, and seemed to be nearing death.
    Charlotte’s father was a godly man who often entertained ministers. One of these, Dr. Cesar Malan, of Geneva was visiting the house when he happened to ask Charlotte if she knew herself to be a Christian. Because of her illness, Charlotte tended to be irritable. In a petulant tone, she replied that she did not wish to discuss religion. Dr.  Malan apologized for any offense he might have caused and told her he would pray that she might give her heart to Christ and employ in His service the talents which He had gifted her with.
    The Holy Spirit used this simple conversation to prick Charlotte’s conscience. Because of her harsh words to the doctor, she saw the pride and alienation from God that was in her heart. After several days of misery, she went to Cesar Malan and confessed that his question had troubled her. “I am miserable,” she said, “I want to be saved. I want to come to Jesus; but I don’t know how.”
    “You are right to feel a sense of sin,” answered Malan. “Without it, no one comes to the Savior for pardon and life. But you must come just as you are, a sinner, to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.”
    Charlotte did. She came to the Savior just as she was. A new hope filled her life—a new calling. She wanted to know and serve her Savior. Despite her debilitating illness, she rose early and sought her God.
    She wrote: “My Heavenly Father knows, and He alone, what it is, day after day, and hour after hour, to fight against bodily feelings of almost overpowering weakness and languor and exhaustion, to resolve, as He enables me to do, not to yield to the slothfulness, the depression, the irritability, such as a body causes me to long to indulge, but to rise every morning determined on taking this for my motto, ‘If any man will come after Me, let Him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’”
    She began to use her literary gifts to further Christ’s kingdom. Twelve years after her conversion, she wrote the hymn, “Just as I Am.” During her life she wrote 150 hymns. Cesar Malan’s prayer was answered—her talents were used in wondrous ways. She died on September 2, 1871, at the age of eighty-two. It would be appropriate to sum her life’s vision with her own words: 
“Jesus, make Thyself to me, 
A living bright reality: 
More present to faith’s vision keen, 
Than any outward object seen: 
More dear, more intimately rich, 
Than e’en the sweetest earthly tie.”
    Tiffany: I have always treasured this classic hymn. As II Corinthians 9:15 says, “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift”! What a relief that God did not require me to meet a certain standard of holiness before I came to Him for forgiveness and saving grace. Jesus Christ paid the price for my sins, and His righteousness is now mine to claim. In the words of another precious hymn, “In a love which cannot cease, I am His, and He is mine.” Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!


“It is Well with My Soul”
Brianna: On November 22, 1873, Horatio Spafford bade farewell to his wife and four daughters as they boarded a ship which was to take them to Europe. Earlier that year, the great Chicago fire had destroyed Mr. Spafford’s business and home. He was now sending his daughters to Europe with their mother to attend school there, as Chicago schools had been burned, while he stayed behind trying to reconstruct his business.
    That night the ship that the wife and daughters were on, sunk after colliding with another sailing vessel. All the girls drowned, leaving only the mother who survived.
    The next month, Mr. Spafford was traveling on another ship to England where he planned on reuniting with his wife. As the ship passed over the exact spot Mr. Spafford’s daughters had drowned, a poem began to form itself in his mind:


When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrow like sea billows roll,
Whatever my life, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.


Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hast regarded my helpless estate,
And has shed His own blood for my soul.


My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought,
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul.


And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend,
Even so it is well with my soul.


Tiffany: I have echoed the words of this hymn in moments of peace, joy, and gladness; and I have recalled it in times of sorrow, confusion, or disappointment. No matter what the season of life I am in, the Lord has used it to encourage me. Dear sisters, it is well with my soul! I can say that with strong confidence, because I know that my Redeemer lives—one day my faith will become sight, and even now, while I “see through a glass, darkly,” His peace, His joy, His love, His grace, His strength, and His presence fill my daily walk with my Savior. Regardless of the circumstances I find myself in, my God is ever with me and He upholds me with His right hand, where no one can pluck me out.
    Conclusion: Most hymn writers were ordinary Christian men and women who responded in a Christ-like manner to various circumstances that came their way. They then proceeded to record and share God’s faithfulness and the lessons He taught them through trials and triumphs. As daughters of the King, may each of us do likewise—proclaim the goodness of our Lord! “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known Thy faithfulness to all generations.”—Psalm 89:1

The words of this lovely hymn were written by Isaac Watts, a familiar hymn writer during the 1700s. William Croft composed the tune before the song was written. The reason why I chose this beautiful hymn for my article is because of the comfort and joy those words bring to us in this particular hymn. Singing these divine words can help a lot when you are feeling alone and forsaken by God. But this song proves that God will never leave or forsake you. The lines in this hymn were written from Psalm 90:1–5.
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Dear Sisters,

Greetings in our Lord Jesus! I am so thankful for the gift we have had to walk together through the years that Tiffany has published Virtuous Daughters magazine! It's sweet to follow the Lord and to reflect on the lessons that He is bringing home deeper and deeper in our hearts as the years go by. I am excited to share with you a few things the Lord has been teaching me lately on the topic of identity.

…Lately the Lord has been teaching me many lessons. He has especially been reminding me to claim His promises and that feelings don’t change the facts

Dear Sisters,
One thing the Lord has reminded me lately is, in the words of Proverbs 14:26, “In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and His children shall have a place of refuge.” One of my goals in life is to have peace rooted in my Savior, Jesus Christ. There are certain spiritual weaknesses that will hinder this peace in my life. For example, fear and anxiety will cause me to worry and will not allow me to keep my thoughts stayed on Christ; self-pity will cause me to be dissatisfied; pride will cause me to concern myself with what others think of me (fear of man); and disobedience will cause me to have a guilty conscience.

Dear Sisters,
Even though it is easy right now to feel discouraged with the current events in our country, I want to remember that Christ is Victor! His will must prevail! I love the wonderful hymn, “Faith is the Victory.” Even when negative things are happening in our nation, we can rejoice in the unspeakable gift of salvation and live victoriously in Christ. We must trust Him; He will never leave or forsake His own.

The Lord is reminding me to seek His face. A friend and I are memorizing Psalm 27, and as I have pondered this beautiful chapter, God has revealed so many truths! One thing do I desire of the Lord! When He asks me to seek His face, my heart cries out that His face—and His face only—will I seek. “When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.”—Psalm 27:8 

    You see, when we are seeking the Lord, we cannot be seeking anything else. Looking into His face causes us to be awed by His power, His grace and mercy, His love, and His justice. 
    What sort of things snatch our attention and shift our focus away from the Lord? The list is endless as it is anything that is not God Himself. Here are a few examples:
    Fear. Fear is a very real feeling that grips and penetrates our hearts and lives. When we are fearful, we are focusing on things, people, doubts, situations, or the unknown rather than seeking the Lord. Psalm 9:10 brings me peace during frightening circumstances. “And they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee: for Thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee.” This ties in beautifully with Psalm 27:8.
    Wants. We all have something we want in life. It could be money, friends, material things, fashionable clothes, easier school or work, etc. But Psalm 27:4 reminds us that we should only seek our Lord’s face. “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple.”
    The World. What a distraction! Fads, attitudes, pleasures—they pull us away from our responsibility to seek the ways of Christ. Nothing, however, is comparable with the rewards and blessings of being devoted to our Lord. “Teach me Thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.”—Psalm 27:11
    What does it mean to seek, anyway? I think it is a yearning, burning desire to have something. All of our energy is put into seeking it. We search, we persist. We “hunger and thirst” after it. Is this how we seek after Christ? Are we passionate about abiding in Him, loving Him, and being devoted to His work? He will always accept those who long to know Him better, so start seeking Him today!
    “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.”—Deuteronomy 4:29

Seek His Face,
​Tiffany

“Stop!! There's a car coming!” I cried out impulsively, as we started to accelerate after a stop sign at a highway intersection. A car, fast approaching at highway speeds, was less than 120 feet away and headed straight toward our vehicle. In that millisecond, I knew there was scarcely time for our vehicle to stop before we were completely in the lane of the incoming car, and a t-bone collision was inevitable.
  
As I sensed the oncoming wreck, I knew—without a shadow of a doubt—this would be it. We have had close calls in our travels before, from which God had always so mercifully delivered us—but this time, I felt so keenly it was too close to be a “close call”—it would be “the call” for me to go Home.

Liberty is the result of the belief that right is greater than wrong, not equal to it. We have been raised in a culture that believes that right and wrong are equal, opposing forces, and we can try really hard to oppose wrong, but we probably won’t win in the end, because that evil out there is just too strong. This view does not generate liberty, but bondage, because it results in the fear of man, and not of God, and ultimately is humanism. “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but he that trusteth in the Lord shall be exalted” (Proverbs 29:25