MH page 258

If those who are suffering from ill-health would forget self in their interest for others; if they would fulfill the Lord's command to minister to those more needy than themselves, they would realize the truthfulness of the prophetic promise, “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily.”

Forgetting self-absorption through ministering to the needy produces rapid health improvements. It reiterates the empirical claim that serving others causes a rapid recovery from ill health.

Today 'tis Elim with its palms and wells, And happy shade for desert weariness; 'Twas Marah yesterday, all rock and sand, Unshaded solitude and dreariness. Yet the same desert holds them both, the same Hot breezes wander o'er the lonely ground; The same low stretch of valley shelters both, And the same mountains compass them around.

Life alternates between pleasant and difficult circumstances, likened to an oasis and a desert. It is a poetic narrative reflecting on the changing experiences of hardship and relief in life.

So it is here with us on earth, and so I do remember it has ever been; The bitter and the sweet, the grief and joy, Lie near together, but a day between.

Human experiences of joy and sorrow are closely interlinked. It presents a poetic observation on human emotional and situational experiences.

Sometimes God turns our bitter into sweet, Sometimes He gives us pleasant watersprings; Sometimes He shades us with His pillar cloud, And sometimes to a blessed palm shade brings.

God sovereignly provides comfort, guidance, and relief through changing life circumstances. It expresses theological dependence on divine providence and comfort.