February 1
This Thing
is From Me
"This thing is from me" (1 Kings 12:24).
"Life's disappointments are veiled love's appointments." --Rev.
C. A. Fox
My child, I have a message for you today; let me whisper it in
your ear, that it may gild with glory any storm clouds which may
arise, and smooth the rough places upon which you may have to
tread. It is short, only five words, but let them sink into your
inmost soul; use them as a pillow upon which to rest your weary
head. This thing is from Me.
Have you ever thought of it, that all that concerns you concerns
Me too? For, "he that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of mine
eye" (Zech. 2:8). You are very precious in My sight. (Isa. 43:4)
Therefore, it is My special delight to educate you.
I would have you learn when temptations assail you, and the
"enemy comes in like a flood," that this thing is from Me, that
your weakness needs My might, and your safety lies in letting Me
fight for you.
Are you in difficult circumstances, surrounded by people who do
not understand you, who never consult your taste, who put you in
the background? This thing is from Me. I am the God of
circumstances. Thou camest not to thy place by accident, it is
the very place God meant for thee.
Have you not asked to be made humble? See then, I have placed
you in the very school where this lesson is taught; your
surroundings and companions are only working out My will.
Are you in money difficulties? Is it hard to make both ends
meet? This thing is from Me, for I am your purse-bearer and
would have you draw from and depend upon Me. My supplies are
limitless (Phil.4:19). I would have you prove my promises. Let
it not be said of you, "In this thing ye did not believe the
Lord your God" (Deut. 1:32).
Are you passing through a night of sorrow? This thing is from
Me. I am the Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief. I have
let earthly comforters fail you, that by turning to Me you may
obtain everlasting consolation (2 Thess. 2:16, 17). Have you
longed to do some great work for Me and instead have been laid
aside on a bed of pain and weakness? This thing is from Me. I
could not get your attention in your busy days and I want to
teach you some of my deepest lessons. "They also serve who only
stand and wait." Some of My greatest workers are those shut out
from active service, that they may learn to wield the weapon of
all--prayer.
This day I place in your hand this pot of holy oil. Make use of
it free, my child. Let every circumstance that arises, every
word that pains you, every interruption that would make you
impatient, every revelation of your weakness be anointed with
it. The sting will go as you learn to see Me in all things.
--Laura A. Barter Snow
"'This is from Me,' the Saviour said,
As bending low He kissed my brow,
'For One who loves you thus has led.
Just rest in Me, be patient now,
Your Father knows you have need of this,
Tho', why perchance you cannot see.
Grieve not for things you've seemed to miss.
The thing I send is best for thee.'
"Then, looking through my tears, I plead,
'Dear Lord, forgive, I did not know,
'Twill not be hard since Thou dost tread,
Each path before me here below.
And for my good this thing must be,
His grace sufficient for each test.
So still I'll sing, "Whatever be
God's way for me is always best."'"
February 2
Lessons in the Shadow
"In the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a
polished shaft: in his quiver hath he hid me" (Isa. 49:2).
"In the shadow." We must all go there sometimes. The glare of
the daylight is too brilliant; our eyes become injured, and
unable to discern the delicate shades of color, or appreciate
neutral tints--the shadowed chamber of sickness, the shadowed
house of mourning, the shadowed life from which the sunlight has
gone.
But fear not! It is the shadow of God's hand. He is leading
thee. There are lessons that can be learned only there.
The photograph of His face can only be fixed in the dark
chamber. But do not suppose that He has cast thee aside. Thou
art still in His quiver; He has not flung thee away as a
worthless thing.
He is only keeping thee close till the moment comes when He can
send thee most swiftly and surely on some errand in which He
will be glorified. Oh, shadowed, solitary ones, remember how
closely the quiver is bound to the warrior, within easy reach of
the hand, and guarded jealously. --Christ in Isaiah, Meyer
In some spheres the shadow condition is the condition of
greatest growth. The beautiful Indian corn never grows more
rapidly than in the shadow of a warm summer night. The sun curls
the leaves in the sultry noon light, but they quickly unfold, if
a cloud slips over the sky. There is a service in the shadow
that is not in the shine. The world of stellar beauty is never
seen at its best till the shadows of night slip over the sky.
There are beauties that bloom in the shade that will not bloom
in the sun. There is much greenery in lands of fog and clouds
and shadow. The florist has "evening glories" now, as well as
"morning glories." The "evening glory" will not shine in the
noon's splendor, but comes to its best as the shadows of evening
deepen.
If all of life were sunshine,
Our faces would be fain
To feel once more upon them
The cooling splash of rain.
--Henry Van Dyke
February 3
Suddenness of Change
"And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness"
(Mark 1:12).
It seemed a strange proof of Divine favor. "Immediately."
Immediately after what? After the opened heavens and the
dove-like peace and the voice of the Father's blessing, "Thou
art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." It is no
abnormal experience. Thou, too, hast passed through it, O my
soul. Are not the times of thy deepest depression just the
moments that follow thy loftiest flight? Yesterday thou wert
soaring far in the firmament, and singing in the radiance of the
morn; today thy wings are folded and thy song silent. At noon
thou wert basking in the sunshine of a Father's smile; at eve
thou art saying in the wilderness, "My way is hid from the
Lord."
Nay, but, my soul, the very suddenness of the change is a proof
that it is not revolutionary.
Hast thou weighed the comfort of that word "immediately"? Why
does it come so soon after the blessing? Just to show that it is
the sequel to the blessing. God shines on thee to make thee fit
for life's desert-places--for its Gethsemanes, for its Calvaries.
He lifts thee up that He may give thee strength to go further
down; He illuminates thee that He may send thee into the night,
that He may make thee a help to the helpless.
Not at all times art thou worthy of the wilderness; thou art
only worthy of the wilderness after the splendors of Jordan.
Nothing but the Son's vision can fit thee for the Spirit's
burden; only the glory of the baptism can support the hunger of
the desert. --George Matheson
After benediction comes battle.
The time of testing that marks and mightily enriches a soul's
spiritual career is no ordinary one, but a period when all hell
seems let loose, a period when we realize our souls are brought
into a net, when we know that God is permitting us to be in the
devil's hand. But it is a period which always ends in certain
triumph for those who have committed the keeping of their souls
to Him, a period of marvelous "nevertheless afterward" of
abundant usefulness, the sixty-fold that surely follows. --Aphra
White
February 4
God's Wind
"I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth" (Isa.
58:14).
Those who fly through the air in airships tell us that one of
the first rules they learn is to turn their ship toward the
wind, and fly against it. The wind lifts the ship up to higher
heights. Where did they learn that? They learned it from the
birds. If a bird is flying for pleasure, it goes with the wind.
But if the bird meets danger, it turns right around and faces
the wind, in order that it may rise higher; and it flies away
towards the very sun.
Sufferings are God's winds, His contrary winds, sometimes His
strong winds. They are God's hurricanes, but, they take human
life and lift it to higher levels and toward God's heavens.
You have seen in the summer time a day when the atmosphere was
so oppressive that you could hardly breathe? But a cloud
appeared on the western horizon and that cloud grew larger and
threw out rich blessing for the world. The storm rose, lightning
flashed and thunder pealed. The storm covered the world, and the
atmosphere was cleansed; new life was in the air, and the world
was changed.
Human life is worked out according to exactly the same
principle. When the storm breaks the atmosphere is changed,
clarified, filled with new life; and a part of heaven is brought
down to earth. --Selected
Obstacles ought to set us singing. The wind finds voice, not
when rushing across the open sea, but when hindered by the
outstretched arms of the pine trees, or broken by the fine
strings of an Aeolian harp. Then it has songs of power and
beauty. Set your freed soul sweeping across the obstacles of
life, through grim forests of pain, against even the tiny
hindrances and frets that love uses, and it, too, will find its
singing voice. --Selected
"Be like a bird that, halting in its flight,
Rests on a bough too slight.
And feeling it give way beneath him sings,
Knowing he hath wings."
February 5
Sit Still
"Ye shall not go out with haste" (Isa. 52:12).
I do not believe that we have begun to understand the marvelous
power there is in stillness. We are in such a hurry--we must be
doing--so that we are in danger of not giving God a chance to
work. You may depend upon it, God never says to us, "Stand
still," or "Sit still," or "Be still," unless He is going to do
something.
This is our trouble in regard to our Christian life; we want to
do something to be Christians when we need to let Him work in
us. Do you know how still you have to be when your likeness is
being taken?
Now God has one eternal purpose concerning us, and that is that
we should be like His Son; and in order that this may be so, we
must be passive. We hear so much about activity, may be we need
to know what it is to be quiet. --Crumbs
Sit still, my daughter! Just sit calmly still!
Nor deem these days--these waiting days--as ill!
The One who loves thee best, who plans thy way,
Hath not forgotten thy great need today!
And, if He waits, 'tis sure He waits to prove
To thee, His tender child, His heart's deep love.
Sit still, my daughter! Just sit calmly still!
Thou longest much to know thy dear Lord's will!
While anxious thoughts would almost steal their way
Corrodingly within, because of His delay
Persuade thyself in simple faith to rest
That He, who knows and loves, will do the best.
Sit still, my daughter! Just sit calmly still!
Nor move one step, not even one, until
His way hath opened. Then, ah then, how sweet!
How glad thy heart, and then how swift thy feet
Thy inner being then, ah then, how strong!
And waiting days not counted then too long.
Sit still, my daughter! Just sit calmly still!
What higher service could'st thou for Him fill?
'Tis hard! ah yes! But choicest things must cost!
For lack of losing all how much is lost!
'Tis hard, 'tis true! But then--He giveth grace
To count the hardest spot the sweetest place.
--J. D. Smith
February 6
Rejoice in the Flood
"He turned the sea into dry land; they went through the flood on
foot: there did we rejoice in him" (Ps. 66:6).
It is a striking assertion, "through the floods" (the place
where we might have expected nothing but trembling and terror,
anguish and dismay) "there," says the Psalmist, "did we rejoice
in him!"
How many there are who can endorse this as their experience:
that "there," in their very seasons of distress and sadness,
they have been enabled, as they never did before, to triumph and
rejoice.
How near their God in covenant is brought! How brightly shine
His promises! In the day of our prosperity we cannot see the
brilliancy of these. Like the sun at noon, hiding out the stars
from sight, they are indiscernible; but when night overtakes,
the deep, dark night of sorrow, out come these clustering
stars--blessed constellations of Bible hope and promise of
consolation.
Like Jacob at Jabbok, it is when our earthly sun goes down that
the Divine Angel comes forth, and we wrestle with Him and
prevail.
It was at night, "in the evening," Aaron lit the sanctuary
lamps. It is in the night of trouble the brightest lamps of the
believer are often kindled.
It was in his loneliness and exile John had the glorious vision
of his Redeemer. There is many a Patmos still in the world,
whose brightest remembrances are those of God's presence and
upholding grace and love in solitude and sadness.
How many pilgrims, still passing through these Red Seas and
Jordans of earthly affliction, will be enabled in the retrospect
of eternity to say--full of the memories of God's great
goodness--"We went through the flood on foot, there--there, in
these dark experiences, with the surging waves on every side,
deep calling to deep, Jordan, as when Israel crossed it, in 'the
time of the overflowing' (flood), yet, 'there did we rejoice in
Him!'" --Dr. Macduff
"And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the door of
trouble for a door of hope: and she shall sing THERE" (Hosea
2:15).
February 7
Cast Down
"Why art thou cast down, O my soul" (Ps. 43:5).
Is there ever any ground to be cast down? There are two reasons,
but only two. If we are as yet unconverted, we have ground to be
cast down; or if we have been converted and live in sin, then we
are rightly cast down.
But except for these two things there is no ground to be cast
down, for all else may be brought before God in prayer with
supplication and thanksgiving. And regarding all our
necessities, all our difficulties, all our trials, we may
exercise faith in the power of God, and in the love of God.
"Hope thou in God." Oh, remember this: There is never a time
when we may not hope in God. Whatever our necessities, however
great our difficulties, and though to all appearance help is
impossible, yet our business is to hope in God, and it will be
found that it is not in vain. In the Lord's own time help will
come.
Oh, the hundreds, yea, the thousands of times that I have found
it thus within the past seventy years and four months!
When it seemed impossible that help could come, help did come;
for God has His own resources. He is not confined. In ten
thousand different ways, and at ten thousand different times God
may help us.
Our business is to spread our cases before the Lord, in
childlike simplicity to pour out all our heart before God,
saying,
"I do not deserve that Thou shouldst hear me and answer my
requests, but for the sake of my precious Lord Jesus; for His
sake answer my prayer, and give me grace quietly to wait till it
please Thee to answer my prayer. For I believe Thou wilt do it
in Thine own time and way."
"For I shall yet praise him." More prayer, more exercise of
faith, more patient waiting, and the result will be blessing,
abundant blessing. Thus I have found it many hundreds of times,
and therefore I continually say to myself, "Hope thou in God."
--George Mueller
February 8
Hope vs. Fear
"Lo, I am with you all the appointed days" (Matt. 28:20,
Variorum Version).
Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in
fear. Rather look at them with full hope that, as they arise,
God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. He has kept
you hitherto; do you but hold fast to His dear hand, and He will
lead you safely through all things; and when you cannot stand,
He will bear you in His arms.
Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow. The same
everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you
tomorrow, and every day. Either He will shield you from
suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be
at peace, then, put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.
--Frances do Sales
"The Lord is my shepherd."
Not was, not may be, nor will be. "The Lord is my shepherd," is
on Sunday, is on Monday, and is through every day of the week;
is in February, is in December, and every month of the year; is
at home, and is in China; is in peace, and, is in war; in
abundance, and in penury.
--J. Hudson Taylor
HE will silently plan for thee,
Object thou of omniscient care;
God Himself undertakes to be
Thy Pilot through each subtle snare.
He WILL silently plan for thee,
So certainly, He cannot fail!
Rest on the faithfulness of God,
In Him thou surely shalt prevail.
He will SILENTLY plan for thee
Some wonderful surprise of love.
Eye hath not seen, nor ear hath heard,
But it is kept for thee above.
He will silently PLAN for thee,
His purposes shall all unfold;
The tangled skein shall shine at last,
A masterpiece of skill untold.
He will silently plan FOR THEE,
Happy child of a Father's care,
As though no other claimed His love,
But thou alone to Him wert dear.
--E. Mary Grimes
Whatever our faith says God is, He will be.
February 9
Trust Amid the Silence
"He answered her not a word" (Matt. 15:23).
"He will be silent in his love" (Zeph. 3:17).
It may be a child of God is reading these words who has had some
great crushing sorrow, some bitter disappointment, some
heart-breaking blow from a totally unexpected quarter. You are
longing for your Master's voice bidding you "Be of good cheer,"
but only silence and a sense of mystery and misery meet you
--"He answered her not a word."
God's tender heart must often ache listening to all the sad,
complaining cries which arise from our weak, impatient hearts,
because we do not see that for our own sakes He answers not at
all or otherwise than seems best to our tear-blinded,
short-sighted eyes.
The silences of Jesus are as eloquent as His speech and may be a
sign, not of His disapproval, but of His approval and of a deep
purpose of blessing for you.
"Why art thou cast down, O?soul?" Thou shalt yet praise Him,
yes, even for His silence. Listen to an old and beautiful story
of how one Christian dreamed that she saw three others at
prayer. As they knelt the Master drew near to them.
As He approached the first of the three, He bent over her in
tenderness and grace, with smiles full of radiant love and spoke
to her in accents of purest, sweetest music.
Leaving her, He came to the next, but only placed His hand upon
her bowed bead, and gave her one look of loving approval.
The third woman He passed almost abruptly without stopping for a
word or glance. The woman in her dream said to herself, "How
greatly He must love the first one, to the second He gave His
approval, but none of the special demonstrations of love He gave
the first; and the third must have grieved Him deeply, for He
gave her no word at all and not even a passing look.
"I wonder what she has done, and why He made so much difference
between them?" As she tried to account for the action of her
Lord, He Himself stood by her and said: "O woman! how wrongly
hast thou interpreted Me. The first kneeling woman needs all the
weight of My tenderness and care to keep her feet in My narrow
way. She needs My love, thought and help every moment of the
day. Without it she would fail and fall.
"The second has stronger faith and deeper love, and I can trust
her to trust Me however things may go and whatever people do.
"The third, whom I seemed not to notice, and even to neglect,
has faith and love of the finest quality, and her I am training
by quick and drastic processes for the highest and holiest
service.
"She knows Me so intimately, and trusts Me so utterly, that she
is independent of words or looks or any outward intimation of My
approval. She is not dismayed nor discouraged by any
circumstances through which I arrange that she shall pass; she
trusts Me when sense and reason and every finer instinct of the
natural heart would rebel;--because she knows that I am working
in her for eternity, and that what I do, though she knows not
the explanation now, she will understand hereafter.
"I am silent in My love because I love beyond the power of words
to express, or of human hearts to understand, and also for your
sakes that you may learn to love and trust Me in Spirit-taught,
spontaneous response to My love, without the spur of anything
outward to call it forth."
He "will do marvels" if you will learn the mystery of His
silence, and praise Him, for every time He withdraws His gifts
that you may better know and love the Giver. --Selected
February 10
Strong Composure
"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves" (Rom. 12:19).
There are seasons when to be still demands immeasurably higher
strength than to act. Composure is often the highest result of
power. To the vilest and most deadly charges Jesus responded
with deep, unbroken silence, such as excited the wonder of the
judge and the spectators. To the grossest insults, the most
violent ill-treatment and mockery that might well bring
indignation into the feeblest heart, He responded with voiceless
complacent calmness. Those who are unjustly accused, and
causelessly ill-treated know what tremendous strength is
necessary to keep silence to God.
"Men may misjudge thy aim,
Think they have cause to blame,
Say, thou art wrong;
Keep on thy quiet way,
Christ is the Judge, not they,
Fear not, be strong."
St. Paul said, "None of these things move me."
He did not say, none of these things hurt me. It is one thing to
be hurt, and quite another to be moved. St. Paul had a very
tender heart. We do not read of any apostle who cried as St.
Paul did. It takes a strong man to cry. Jesus wept, and He was
the manliest Man that ever lived. So it does not say, none of
these things hurt me. But the apostle had determined not to move
from what he believed was right. He did not count as we are apt
to count; he did not care for ease; he did not care for this
mortal life. He cared for only one thing, and that was to be
loyal to Christ, to have His smile. To St. Paul, more than to
any other man, His work was wages, His smile was Heaven.
--Margaret Bottome
February 11
Go Forward
"As soon as the soles of the feet of the priests...shall rest in
the waters?the waters shall be cut off" (Joshua 3:13).
The people were not to wait in their camps until the way was
opened, they were to walk by faith. They were to break camp,
pack up their goods, form in line to march, and move down to the
very banks before the river would be opened.
If they had come down to the edge of the river and then had
stopped for the stream to divide before they stepped into it,
they would have waited in vain. They must take one step into the
water before the river would be cut off.
We must learn to take God at His Word, and go straight on in
duty, although we see no way in which we can go forward. The
reason we are so often balked by difficulties is that we expect
to see them removed before we try to pass through them.
If we would move straight on in faith, the path would be opened
for us. We stand still, waiting for the obstacle to be removed,
when we ought to go forward as if there were no obstacles.
--Evening Thoughts
What a lesson Columbus gave to the world of perseverance in the
face of tremendous difficulties!
Behind him lay the gray Azores,
Behind the gates of Hercules;
Before him not the ghost of shores,
Before him only shoreless seas.
The good Mate said: "Now we must pray,
For lo! the very stars are gone.
Brave Admiral, speak, what shall I say?"
"Why, say, 'Sail on! sail on! and on!'"
"My men grow mutinous day by day;
My men grow ghastly wan and weak!"
The stout Mate thought of home; a spray
Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek.
"What shall I say, brave Admiral, say,
If we sight naught but seas at dawn?"
"Why, you shall say at break of day,
'Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!'"
They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the Mate:
"This mad sea shows its teeth tonight.
He curls his lip, he lies in wait,
With lifted teeth, as if to bite!
Brave Admiral, say but one good word;
What shall we do when hope is gone?"
The words leapt like a leaping sword:
"Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!"
Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck
And peered through darkness. Ah! that night
Of all dark nights! And then a speck--
A light! A light! A light! A light!
It grew, a starlit flag unfurled!
It grew to be Time's burst of dawn.
He gained a world; he gave that world
Its grandest lesson: "On! sail on!"
--Joaquin Miller
Faith that goes forward triumphs.
February 12
The Father's Hand
"Your heavenly Father knoweth" (Matt. 6:32).
A visitor at a school for the deaf and dumb was writing
questions on the blackboard for the children. By and by he wrote
this sentence: "Why has God made me to hear and speak, and made
you deaf and dumb?"
The awful sentence fell upon the little ones like a fierce blow
in the face. They sat palsied before that dreadful "Why?" And
then a little girl arose.
Her lip was trembling. Her eyes were swimming with tears.
Straight to the board she walked, and, picking up the crayon,
wrote with firm hand these precious words: "Even so, Father, for
so it seemed good in thy sight!" What a reply! It reaches up and
lays hold of an eternal truth upon which the maturest believer
as well as the youngest child of God may alike securely
rest--the truth that God is your Father.
Do you mean that? Do you really and fully believe that? When you
do, then your dove of faith will no longer wander in weary
unrest, but will settle down forever in its eternal resting
place of peace. "Your Father!"
I can still believe that a day comes for all of us, however far
off it may be, when we shall understand; when these tragedies,
that now blacken and darken the very air of heaven for us, will
sink into their places in a scheme so august, so magnificent, so
joyful, that we shall laugh for wonder and delight. --Arthur
Christopher Bacon
No chance hath brought this ill to me;
'Tis God's own hand, so let it be,
He seeth what I cannot see.
There is a need-be for each pain,
And He one day will make it plain
That earthly loss is heavenly gain.
Like as a piece of tapestry
Viewed from the back appears to be
Naught but threads tangled hopelessly;
But in the front a picture f air
Rewards the worker for his care,
Proving his skill and patience rare.
Thou art the Workman, I the frame.
Lord, for the glory of Thy Name,
Perfect Thine image on the same.
--Selected
February 13
Specialize in the Impossible
"The hill country shall be thine" (Josh. 17:18, RV).
There is always room higher up. When the valleys are full of
Canaanites, whose iron chariots withstand your progress, get up
into the hills, occupy the upper spaces. If you can no longer
work for God, pray for those who can. If you cannot move earth
by your speech, you may move Heaven. If the development of life
on the lower slopes is impossible, through limitations of
service, the necessity of maintaining others, and such-like
restrictions, let it break out toward the unseen, the eternal,
the Divine.
Faith can fell forests. Even if the tribes had realized what
treasures lay above them, they would hardly have dared to
suppose it possible to rid the hills of their dense
forest-growth. But as God indicated their task, He reminded them
that they had power enough. The visions of things that seem
impossible are presented to us, like these forest-covered
steeps, not to mock us, but to incite us to spiritual exploits
which would be impossible unless God had stored within us the
great strength of His own indwelling.
Difficulty is sent to reveal to us what God can do in answer to
the faith that prays and works. Are you straitened in the
valleys? Get away to the hills, live there; get honey out of the
rock, and wealth out of the terraced slopes now hidden by
forest. --Daily Devotional Commentary
Got any rivers they say are uncrossable,
Got any mountains they say 'can't tunnel through'?
We specialize in the wholly impossible,
Doing the things they say you can't do.
--Song of the Panama builders
February 14
Rejoice Evermore
"And again I say, Rejoice" (Phil. 4:4).
It is a good thing to rejoice in the Lord. Perhaps you have
tried this, and the first time seemed to fail. Never mind, keep
right on and when you cannot feel any joy, when there is no
spring, and no seeming comfort and encouragement, still rejoice,
and count it all joy. Even when you fall into divers
temptations, reckon it joy and delight and God will make your
reckoning good. Do you suppose your Father will let you carry
the banner of His victory and His gladness on to the front of
the battle, and then coolly stand back and see you captured or
beaten back by the enemy? NEVER! The Holy Spirit will sustain
you in your bold advance, and fill your heart with gladness and
praise, and you will find your heart all exhilarated and
refreshed by the fullness within. Lord teach me to rejoice in
Thee, and to "rejoice evermore." --Selected
"The weakest saint may Satan rout,
Who meets him with a praiseful shout."
"Be filled with the Spirit...singing and making melody in your
heart to the Lord" (Eph. 5:18-19).
Here the Apostle urges the use of singing as one of the
inspiring helps in the spiritual life. He counsels his readers
not to seek their stimulus through the body, but through the
spirit; not by the quickening of the flesh, but by the
exaltation of the soul.
"Sometimes a light surprises
The Christian while he sings."
Let us sing even when we do not feel like it, for thus we may
give wings to leaden feet and turn weariness into strength. --J.
H. Jowett
"At midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God:
and the prisoners heard them" (Acts 16:25).
Oh, Paul, thou wondrous example to the flock, who could thus
glory, bearing in the body as thou didst "the marks of the Lord
Jesus"! Marks from stoning almost to the death, from thrice
beating with rods, from those hundred and ninety-five stripes
laid on thee by the Jews, and from stripes received in that
Philippian jail, which had they not drawn blood would not have
called for washing! Surely the grace which enabled thee to sing
praises under such suffering is all-sufficient grace. --J. Roach
"Oh, let us rejoice in the Lord, evermore,
When darts of the tempter are flying,
For Satan still dreads, as he oft did of yore,
Our singing much more than our sighing."
February 15
Fret Not Over Evil-doers
"Fret not thyself" (Ps. 37:1).
Do not get into a perilous heat about things. If ever heat were
justified, it was surely justified in the circumstances outlined
in the Psalm. Evil-doers were moving about clothed in purple and
fine linen, and faring sumptuously every day. "Workers of
iniquity" were climbing into the supreme places of power, and
were tyrannizing their less fortunate brethren. Sinful men and
women were stalking through the land in the pride of life and
basking in the light and comfort of great prosperity, and good
men were becoming heated and fretful.
"Fret not thyself." Do not get unduly heated! Keep cool! Even in
a good cause, fretfulness is not a wise help-meet. Fretting only
heats the bearings; it does not generate the steam. It is no
help to a train for the axles to get hot; their heat is only a
hindrance. When the axles get heated, it is because of
unnecessary friction; dry surfaces are grinding together, which
ought to be kept in smooth co-operation by a delicate cushion of
oil.
And is it not a suggestive fact that this word "fret" is closely
akin to the word "friction," and is an indication of absence of
the anointing oil of the grace of God?
In fretfulness, a little bit of grit gets into the
bearings--some slight disappointment, some ingratitude, some
discourtesy--and the smooth working of the life is checked.
Friction begets heat; and with the heat, most dangerous
conditions are created.
Do not let thy bearings get hot. Let the oil of the Lord keep
thee cool, lest by reason of an unholy heat thou be reckoned
among the evil-doers. --The Silver Lining
Dear restless heart, be still; don't fret and worry so;
God has a thousand ways His love and help to show;
Just trust, and trust, and trust, until His will you know.
Dear restless heart, be still, for peace is God's own smile,
His love can every wrong and sorrow reconcile;
Just love, and love, and love, and calmly wait awhile.
Dear restless heart, be brave; don't moan and sorrow so,
He hath a meaning kind in chilly winds that blow;
Just hope, and hope, and hope, until you braver grow.
Dear restless heart, repose upon His breast this hour,
His grace is strength and life, His love is bloom and flower;
Just rest, and rest, and rest, within His tender power.
Dear restless heart, be still! Don't struggle to be free;
God's life is in your life, from Him you may not flee;
Just pray, and pray, and pray, till you have faith to see.
--Edith Willis Linn
February 16
Weeping May Last For a Night
"Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more"
(Nah. 1:12).
There is a limit to affliction. God sends it, and removes it. Do
you sigh and say, "When will the end be?" Let us quietly wait
and patiently endure the will of the Lord till He cometh. Our
Father takes away the rod when His design in using it is fully
served.
If the affliction is sent for testing us, that our graces may
glorify God, it will end when the Lord has made us bear witness
to His praise.
We would not wish the affliction to depart until God has gotten
out of us all the honor which we can possibly yield Him.
There may be today "a great calm." Who knows how soon those
raging billows will give place to a sea of glass, and the sea
birds sit on the gentle waves?
After long tribulation, the flail is hung up, and the wheat
rests in the garner. We may, before many hours are past, be just
as happy as now we are sorrowful.
It is not hard for the Lord to turn night into day. He that
sends the clouds can as easily clear the skies. Let us be of
good cheer. It is better farther on. Let us sing Hallelujah by
anticipation.
--C. H. Spurgeon.
The great Husbandman is not always threshing. Trial is only for
a season. The showers soon pass. Weeping may tarry only for the
few hours of the short summer night; it must be gone at
daybreak. Our light affliction is but for a moment. Trial is for
a purpose, "If needs be."
The very fact of trial proves that there is something in us very
precious to our Lord; else He would not spend so much pains and
time on us. Christ would not test us if He did not see the
precious ore of faith mingled in the rocky matrix of our nature;
and it is to bring this out into purity and beauty that He
forces us through the fiery ordeal.
Be patient, O sufferer! The result will more than compensate for
all our trials, when we see how they wrought out the far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory. To have one word of God's
commendation; to be honored before the holy angels; to be
glorified in Christ, so as to be better able to flash His glory
on Himself--ah! that will more than repay for all. --Tried by
Fire
As the weights of the clock, or the ballast in the vessel, are
necessary for their right ordering, so is trouble in the
soul-life. The sweetest scents are only obtained by tremendous
pressure; the fairest flowers grow amid Alpine snow-solitudes;
the fairest gems have suffered longest from the lapidary's
wheel; the noblest statues have borne most blows of the chisel.
All, however, are under law. Nothing happens that has not been
appointed with consummate care and foresight. --Daily Devotional
Commentary
February 17
Believing Before Seeing
"The land which I do give them, even the children of Israel"
(Joshua 1:2).
God here speaks in the immediate present. It is not something He
is going to do, but something He does do, this moment. So faith
ever speaks. So God ever gives. So He is meeting you today, in
the present moment. This is the test of faith. So long as you
are waiting for a thing, hoping for it, looking for it, you are
not believing. It may be hope, it may be earnest desire, but it
is not faith; for "faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen." The command in regard to
believing prayer is the present tense. "When ye pray, believe
that ye receive the things that ye desire, and ye shall have
them." Have we come to that moment? Have we met God in His
everlasting NOW? --Joshua, by Simpson
True faith counts on God, and believes before it sees.
Naturally, we want some evidence that our petition is granted
before we believe; but when we walk by faith we need no other
evidence than God's Word. He has spoken, and according to our
faith it shall be done unto us. We shall see because we have
believed, and this faith sustains us in the most trying places,
when everything around us seems to contradict God's Word.
The Psalmist says, "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see
the goodness of the Lord in the land of living" (Ps. 27:13). He
did not see as yet the Lord's answer to his prayers, but he
believed to see; and this kept him from fainting.
If we have the faith that believes to see, it will keep us from
growing discouraged. We shall "laugh at impossibilities," we
shall watch with delight to see how God is going to open up a
path through the Red Sea when there is no human way out of our
difficulty. It is just in such places of severe testing that our
faith grows and strengthens.
Have you been waiting upon God, dear troubled one, during long
nights and weary days, and have feared that you were forgotten?
Nay, lift up your head, and begin to praise Him even now for the
deliverance which is on its way to you. --Life of Praise
February 18
Faith Becomes Sight
"Have faith that whatever you ask for in prayer is already
granted you, and you will find that it will be" (Mark 11:24).
When my little son was about ten years of age, his grandmother
promised him a stamp album for Christmas. Christmas came, but no
stamp album, and no word from grandmother. The matter, however,
was not mentioned; but when his playmates came to see his
Christmas presents, I was astonished, after he had named over
this and that as gifts received, to hear him add,
"And a stamp album from grandmother."
I had heard it several times, when I called him to me, and said,
"But, Georgie, you did not get an album from your grandmother.
Why do you say so?"
There was a wondering look on his face, as if he thought it
strange that I should ask such a question, and he replied,
"Well, mamma, grandma said, so it is the same as." I could not
say a word to check his faith.
A month went by, and nothing was heard from the album. Finally,
one day, I said, to test his faith, and really wondering in my
heart why the album had not been sent,
"Well, Georgie, I think grandma has forgotten her promise."
"Oh, no, mamma," he quickly and firmly said, "she hasn't."
I watched the dear, trusting face, which, for a while, looked
very sober, as if debating the possibilities I had suggested.
Finally a bright light passed over it, and he said,
"Mamma, do you think it would do any good if I should write to
her thanking her for the album?"
"I do not know," I said, "but you might try it."
A rich spiritual truth began to dawn upon me. In a few minutes a
letter was prepared and committed to the mail, and he went off
whistling his confidence in his grandma. In just a short time a
letter came, saying:
"My dear Georgie: I have not forgotten my promise to you, of an
album. I tried to get such a book as you desired, but could not
get the sort you wanted; so I sent on to New York. It did not
get here till after Christmas, and it was still not right, so I
sent for another, and as it has not come as yet, I send you
three dollars to get one in Chicago. Your loving grandma."
"As he read the letter, his face was the face of a victor. "Now,
mamma, didn't I tell you?" came from the depths of a heart that
never doubted, that, "against hope, believed in hope" that the
stamp album would come. While he was trusting, grandma was
working, and in due season faith became sight.
It is so human to want sight when we step out on the promises of
God, but our Savior said to Thomas, and to the long roll of
doubters who have ever since followed him: "Blessed are they who
have not seen, and yet have believed." --Mrs. Rounds
February 19
Pruned to Yield Fruit
"And every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it, that it may
bring forth more fruit"
(John 15:2).
A child of God was dazed by the variety of afflictions which
seemed to make her their target. Walking past a vineyard in the
rich autumnal glow she noticed the untrimmed appearance and the
luxuriant wealth of leaves on the vines, that the ground was
given over to a tangle of weeds and grass, and that the whole
place looked utterly uncared for; and as she pondered, the
Heavenly Gardener whispered so precious a message that she would
fain pass it on:
"My dear child, are you wondering at the sequence of trials in
your life? Behold that vineyard and learn of it. The gardener
ceases to prune, to trim, to harrow, or to pluck the ripe fruit
only when he expects nothing more from the vine during that
season. It is left to itself, because the season of fruit is
past and further effort for the present would yield no profit.
Comparative uselessness is the condition of freedom from
suffering. Do you then wish me to cease pruning your life? Shall
I leave you alone?" And the comforted heart cried, "No!"
--Homera Homer-Dixon
It is the branch that bears the fruit,
That feels the knife,
To prune it for a larger growth,
A fuller life.
Though every budding twig be lopped,
And every grace
Of swaying tendril, springing leaf,
Be lost a space.
O thou whose life of joy seems reft,
Of beauty shorn;
Whose aspirations lie in dust,
All bruised and torn,
Rejoice, tho' each desire, each dream,
Each hope of thine
Shall fall and fade; it is the hand
Of Love Divine
That holds the knife, that cuts and breaks
With tenderest touch,
That thou, whose life has borne some fruit
May'st now bear much.
--Annie Johnson Flint
February 20
Victorious Living is Possible
"Nothing shall be impossible unto you" (Matt. 17:20).
It is possible, for those who really are willing to reckon on
the power of the Lord for keeping and victory, to lead a life in
which His promises are taken as they stand and are found to be
true.
It is possible to cast all our care upon Him daily and to enjoy
deep peace in doing it.
It is possible to have the thoughts and imaginations of our
hearts purified, in the deepest meaning of the word.
It is possible to see the will of God in everything, and to
receive it, not with sighing, but with singing.
It is possible by taking complete refuge in Divine power to
become strong through and through; and, where previously our
greatest weakness lay, to find that things which formerly upset
all our resolves to be patient, or pure, or humble, furnish
today an opportunity--through Him who loved us, and works in us
an agreement with His will and a blessed sense of His presence
and His power--to make sin powerless over us.
These things are DIVINE POSSIBILITIES, and because they are His
work, the true experience of them will always cause us to bow
lower at His feet and to learn to thirst and long for more.
We cannot possibly be satisfied with anything less--each day,
each hour, each moment, in Christ, through the power of the Holy
Spirit--than to WALK WITH GOD. --H. C. G. Moule
We may have as much of God as we will. Christ puts the key of
the treasure-chamber into our hand, and bids us take all that we
want. If a man is admitted into the bullion vault of a bank, and
told to help himself, and comes out with one cent, whose fault
is it that he is poor? Whose fault is it that Christian people
generally have such scanty portions of the free riches of God?
--McLaren.
February 21
Wait With Patience
"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him" (Ps. 37:7).
Have you prayed and prayed and waited and waited, and still
there is no manifestation?
Are you tired of seeing nothing move? Are you just at the point
of giving it all up? Perhaps you have not waited in the right
way? This would take you out of the right place the place where
He can meet you.
"With patience wait" (Rom. 8:25). Patience takes away worry. He
said He would come, and His promise is equal to His presence.
Patience takes away your weeping. Why feel sad and despondent?
He knows your need better than you do, and His purpose in
waiting is to bring more glory out of it all. Patience takes
away self-works. The work He desires is that you "believe" (John
6:29), and when you believe, you may then know that all is well.
Patience takes away all want. Your desire for the thing you wish
is perhaps stronger than your desire for the will of God to be
fulfilled in its arrival.
Patience takes away all weakening. Instead of having the
delaying time, a time of letting go, know that God is getting a
larger supply ready and must get you ready too. Patience takes
away all wobbling. "Make me stand upon my standing" (Daniel
8:18, margin). God's foundations are steady; and when His
patience is within, we are steady while we wait. Patience gives
worship. A praiseful patience sometimes "long-suffering with
joyfulness" (Col. 1:11) is the best part of it all. "Let (all
these phases of) patience have her perfect work" (James 1:4),
while you wait, and you will find great enrichment. --C. H. P.
Hold steady when the fires burn,
When inner lessons come to learn,
And from this path there seems no turn
"Let patience have her perfect work."
--L.S.P.
February 22
Active Faith
"If thou canst believe, all things are possible. to him that
believeth" (Mark 9:23).
Seldom have we heard a better definition of faith than was given
once in one of our meetings, by a dear old colored woman, as she
answered the question of a young man how to take the Lord for
needed help.
In her characteristic way, pointing her finger toward him, she
said with great emphasis: "You've just got to believe that He's
done it and it's done." The great danger with most of us is
that, after we ask Him to do it, we do not believe that it is
done, but we keep on helping Him, and getting others to help
Him; and waiting to see how He is going to do it.
Faith adds its "Amen" to God's "Yea," and then takes its hands
off, and leaves God to finish His work. Its language is, "Commit
thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him; and he worketh.'
--Days of Heaven upon Earth
"I simply take Him at His word,
I praise Him that my prayer is heard,
And claim my answer from the Lord;
I take, He undertakes."
An active faith can give thanks for a promise, though it be not
as yet performed; knowing that God's bonds are as good as ready
money. --Matthew Henry
Passive faith accepts the word as true
But never moves.
Active faith begins the work to do,
And thereby proves.
Passive faith says, "I believe it! every word of God is true.
Well I know He hath not spoken what He cannot, will not, do.
He hath bidden me, 'Go forward!' but a closed-up way I see,
When the waters are divided, soon in Canaan's land I'll be.
Lo! I hear His voice commanding, 'Rise and walk: take up thy
bed';
And, 'Stretch forth thy withered member!' which for so long has
been dead.
When I am a little stronger, then, I know I'll surely stand:
When there comes a thrill of heating, I will use with ease My
other hand.
Yes, I know that 'God is able' and full willing all to do:
I believe that every promise, sometime, will to me come true."
Active faith says, "I believe it! and the promise now I take,
Knowing well, as I receive it, God, each promise, real will
make.
So I step into the waters, finding there an open way;
Onward press, the land possessing; nothing can my progress stay.
Yea, I rise at His commanding, walk straightway, and joyfully:
This, my hand, so sadly shrivelled, as I reach, restored shall
be.
What beyond His faithful promise, would I wish or do I need?
Looking not for 'signs or wonders,' I'll no contradiction heed.
Well I know that 'God is able,' and full willing all to do:
I believe that every promise, at this moment can come true."
Passive faith but praises in the light,
When sun doth shine.
Active faith will praise in darkest night--
Which faith is thine?
--Selected
February 23
The Blessing of the Lion
"And there came a lion" (1 Sam. 17:34).
It is a source of inspiration and strength to come in touch with
the youthful David, trusting God. Through faith in God he
conquered a lion and a bear, and afterwards overthrew the mighty
Goliath. When that lion came to despoil that flock, it came as a
wondrous opportunity to David. If he had failed or faltered he
would have missed God's opportunity for him and probably would
never have come to be God's chosen king of Israel. "And there
came a lion."
One would not think that a lion was a special blessing from God;
one would think that only an occasion of alarm. The lion was
God's opportunity in disguise. Every difficulty that presents
itself to us, if we receive it in the right way, is God's
opportunity. Every temptation that comes is God's opportunity.
When the "lion" comes, recognize it as God's opportunity no
matter how rough the exterior. The very tabernacle of God was
covered with badgers' skins and goats' hair; one would not think
there would be any glory there. The Shekinah of God was manifest
under that kind of covering. May God open our eyes to see Him,
whether in temptations, trials, dangers, or misfortunes.
--C. H. P.
February 24
Hidden Workers
"John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man
were true" (John 10:41).
You may be very discontented with yourself. You are no genius,
have no brilliant gifts, and are inconspicuous for any special
faculty. Mediocrity is the law of your existence. Your days are
remarkable for nothing but sameness and insipidity. Yet you may
live a great life.
John did no miracle, but Jesus said that among those born of
women there had not appeared a greater than he.
John's main business was to bear witness to the Light, and this
may be yours and mine. John was content to be only a voice, if
men would think of Christ.
Be willing to be only a voice, heard but not seen; a mirror
whose surface is lost to view, because it reflects the dazzling
glory of the sun; a breeze that springs up just before daylight,
and says, "The dawn! the dawn!" and then dies away.
Do the commonest and smallest things as beneath His eye. If you
must live with uncongenial people, set to their conquest by
love. If you have made a great mistake in your life, do not let
it becloud all of it; but, locking the secret in your breast,
compel it to yield strength and sweetness.
We are doing more good than we know, sowing seeds, starting
streamlets, giving men true thoughts of Christ, to which they
will refer one day as the first things that started them
thinking of Him; and, of my part, I shall be satisfied if no
great mausoleum is raised over my grave, but that simple souls
shall gather there when I am gone, and say,
"He was a good man; he wrought no miracles, but he spake words
about Christ, which led me to know Him for myself." --George
Matheson
"THY HIDDEN ONES" (Psa. 83:3)
"Thick green leaves from the soft brown earth,
Happy springtime hath called them forth;
First faint promise of summer bloom
Breathes from the fragrant, sweet perfume,
Under the leaves.
"Lift them! what marvelous beauty lies
Hidden beneath, from our thoughtless eyes!
Mayflowers, rosy or purest white,
Lift their cups to the sudden light,
Under the leaves.
"Are there no lives whose holy deeds--
Seen by no eye save His who reads
Motive and action--in silence grow
Into rare beauty, and bud and blow
Under the leaves?
"Fair white flowers of faith and trust,
Springing from spirits bruised and crushed;
Blossoms of love, rose-tinted and bright,
Touched and painted with Heaven's own light
Under the leaves.
"Full fresh clusters of duty borne,
Fairest of all in that shadow grown;
Wondrous the fragrance that sweet and rare
Comes from the flower-cups hidden there
Under the leaves.
"Though unseen by our vision dim,
Bud and blossom are known to Him;
Wait we content for His heavenly ray--
Wait till our Master Himself one day
Lifteth the leaves."
"God calls many of His most valued workers from the unknown
multitude" (Luke 14:23).
February 25
Enter Into Your Inheritance
"Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that
have I given unto you" (Joshua 1:3).
Beside the literal ground, unoccupied for Christ, there is the
unclaimed, untrodden territory of Divine promises. What did God
say to Joshua? "Every place that the sole of your foot shall
tread upon, that have I given unto you," and then He draws the
outlines of the Land of Promise--all theirs on one condition:
that they shall march through the length and breadth of it, and
measure it off with their own feet.
They never did that to more than one-third of the property, and
consequently they never had more than one-third; they had just
what they measured off, and no more.
In 2 Peter, we read of the "land of promise" that is opened up
to us, and it is God's will that we should, as it were, measure
off that territory by the feet of obedient faith and believing
obedience, thus claiming and appropriating it for our own.
How many of us have ever taken possession of the promises of God
in the name of Christ?
Here is a magnificent territory for faith to lay hold on and
march through the length and breadth of, and faith has never
done it yet.
Let us enter into all our inheritance. Let us lift up our eyes
to the north and to the south, to the east and to the west, and
hear Him say, "All the land that thou seest will I give to
thee." --A. T. Pierson
Wherever Judah should set his foot that should be his; wherever
Benjamin should set his foot, that should be his. Each should
get his inheritance by setting his foot upon it. Now, think you
not, when either had set his foot upon a given territory, he did
not instantly and instinctively feel, "This is mine"?
An old colored man, who had a marvelous experience in grace, was
asked: "Daniel, why is it that you have so much peace and joy in
religion?" "O Massa!" he replied, "I just fall flat on the
exceeding great and precious promises, and I have all that is in
them. Glory! Glory!" He who falls flat on the promises feels
that all the riches embraced in them are his. --Faith Papers
The Marquis of Salisbury was criticized for his Colonial
policies and replied: "Gentlemen, get larger maps."
February 26
More Than Sufficient
"My grace is sufficient for thee" (2 Cor. 12:9).
The other evening I was riding home after a heavy day's work. I
felt very wearied, and sore depressed, when swiftly, and
suddenly as a lightning flash, that text came to me, "My grace
is sufficient for thee." I reached home and looked it up in the
original, and at last it came to me in this way, "MY grace is
sufficient for thee"; and I said, "I should think it is, Lord,"
and burst out laughing. I never fully understood what the holy
laughter of Abraham was until then. It seemed to make unbelief
so absurd. It was as though some little fish, being very
thirsty, was troubled about drinking the river dry, and Father
Thames said, "Drink away, little fish, my stream is sufficient
for thee." Or, it seemed after the seven years of plenty, a
mouse feared it might die of famine; and Joseph might say,
"Cheer up, little mouse, my granaries are sufficient for thee."
Again, I imagined a man away up yonder, in a lofty mountain,
saying to himself, "I breathe so many cubic feet of air every
year, I fear I shall exhaust the oxygen in the atmosphere," but
the earth might say, "Breathe away, O man, and fill the lungs
ever, my atmosphere is sufficient for thee." Oh, brethren, be
great believers! Little faith will bring your souls to Heaven,
but great faith will bring Heaven to your souls. --C. H.
Spurgeon
His grace is great enough to meet the great things
The crashing waves that overwhelm the soul,
The roaring winds that leave us stunned and breathless,
The sudden storm beyond our life's control.
His grace is great enough to meet the small things
The little pin-prick troubles that annoy,
The insect worries, buzzing and persistent,
The squeaking wheels that grate upon our joy.
--Annie Johnson Flint
There is always a large balance to our credit in the bank of
Heaven waiting for our exercise of faith in drawing it. Draw
heavily upon His resources.
February 27
Alone With God
"And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him
until the breaking of the day" (Gen. 32:24).
Left alone! What different sensations those words conjure up to
each of us. To some they spell loneliness and desolation, to
others rest and quiet. To be left alone without God, would be
too awful for words, but to be left alone with Him is a
foretaste of Heaven! If His followers spent more time alone with
Him, we should have spiritual giants again.
The Master set us an example. Note how often He went to be alone
with God; and He had a mighty purpose behind the command, "When
thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy
door, pray."
The greatest miracles of Elijah and Elisha took place when they
were alone with God. It was alone with God that Jacob became a
prince; and just there that we, too, may become princes--"men
(aye, and women too!) wondered at" (Zech. 3:8). Joshua was alone
when the Lord came to him. (Josh. 1:1) Gideon and Jephthah were
by themselves when commissioned to save Israel. (Judges 6:11 and
11:29) Moses was by himself at the wilderness bush. (Exodus
3:1-5) Cornelius was praying by himself when the angel came to
him. (Acts 10:2) No one was with Peter on the house top, when he
was instructed to go to the Gentiles. (Acts 10:9) John the
Baptist was alone in the wilderness (Luke 1:90), and John the
Beloved alone in Patmos, when nearest God. (Rev. 1:9)
Covet to get alone with God. If we neglect it, we not only rob
ourselves, but others too, of blessing, since when we are
blessed we are able to pass on blessing to others. It may mean
less outside work; it must mean more depth and power, and the
consequence, too, will be "they saw no man save Jesus only."
To be alone with God in prayer cannot be over-emphasized.
"If chosen men had never been alone,
In deepest silence open-doored to God,
No greatness ever had been dreamed or done."
February 28
Praise in the Midst of Trouble
"Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually" (Heb.
13:15).
A city missionary, stumbling through the dirt of a dark entry,
heard a voice say, "Who's there, Honey?" Striking a match, he
caught a vision of earthly want and suffering, of saintly trust
and peace, "cut in ebony"--calm, appealing eyes set amid the
wrinkles of a pinched, black face that lay on a tattered bed. It
was a bitter night in February, and she had no fire, no fuel, no
light. She had had no supper, no dinner, no breakfast. She
seemed to have nothing at all but rheumatism and faith in God.
One could not well be more completely exiled from all
pleasantness of circumstances, yet the favorite song of this old
creature ran:
"Nobody knows de trouble I see,
Nobody knows but Jesus;
Nobody knows de trouble I see--
Sing Glory Hallelu!
"Sometimes I'm up, sometimes I'm down,
Sometimes I'm level on the groun',
Sometimes the glory shines aroun'
Sing Glory Hallelu!"
And so it went on: "Nobody knows de work I does, Nobody knows de
griefs I has," the constant refrain being the "Glory Hallelu!"
until the last verse rose:
"Nobody knows de joys I has,
Nobody knows but Jesus!"
"Troubled on every side, yet not distressed; perplexed, but not
in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not
destroyed." It takes great Bible words to tell the cheer of that
old negro auntie.
Remember Luther on his sick-bed. Between his groans he managed
to preach on this wise: "These pains and trouble here are like
the type which the printers set; as they look now, we have to
read them backwards, and they seem to have no sense or meaning
in them; but up yonder, when the Lord God prints us off in the
life to come, we shall find they make brave reading." Only we do
not need to wait till then. Remember Paul walking the hurricane
deck amid a boiling sea, bidding the frightened crew "Be of good
cheer," Luther, the old negro auntie--all of them human
sun-flowers. --Wm. G. Garnett
February 29
Into the
Deep
"Launch out into the deep" (Luke 5:4).
How deep He does not say. The depth into which we launch will
depend upon how perfectly we have given up the shore, and the
greatness of our need, and the apprehension of our
possibilities. The fish were to be found in the deep, not in the
shallow water.
So with us; our needs are to be met in the deep things of God.
We are to launch out into the deep of God's Word, which the
Spirit can open up to us in such crystal fathomless meaning that
the same words we have accepted in times past will have an ocean
meaning in them, which renders their first meaning to us very
shallow.
Into the deep of the Atonement, until Christ's precious blood is
so illuminated by the Spirit that it becomes an omnipotent balm,
and food and medicine for the soul and body.
Into the deep of the Father's will, until we apprehend it in its
infinite minuteness and goodness, and its far-sweeping provision
and care for us.
Into the deep of the Holy Spirit, until He becomes a bright,
dazzling, sweet, fathomless summer sea, in which we bathe and
bask and breathe, and lose ourselves and our sorrows in the
calmness and peace of His everlasting presence.
Into the deep of the Holy Spirit, until He becomes a bright,
marvelous answer to prayer, the most careful and tender
guidance, the most thoughtful anticipation of our needs, the
most accurate and supernatural shaping of our events.
Into the deep of God's purposes and coming kingdom, until the
Lord's coming and His millennial reign are opened up to us; and
beyond these the bright entrancing ages on ages unfold
themselves, until the mental eye is dazed with light, and the
heart flutters with inexpressible anticipations of its joy with
Jesus and the glory to be revealed.
Into all these things, Jesus bids us launch. He made us and He
made the deep, and to its fathomless depths He has fitted our
longings and capabilities. --Soul Food
"Its streams the whole creation reach,
So plenteous is the store;
Enough for all, enough for each;
Enough forevermore."
The deep waters of the Holy Spirit are always accessible,
because they are always proceeding. Will you not this day claim
afresh to be immersed and drenched in these waters of life? The
waters in Ezekiel's vision first of all oozed from under the
doors of the temple. Then the man with the measuring line
measured and found the waters to the ankles. Still further
measurement, and they were waters to the knees. Once again they
were measured and the waters were to the loins. Then they became
waters to swim in--a river that could not be passed over. (Read
Ezekiel 47). How far have we advanced into this river of life?
The Holy Spirit would have a complete self effacement. Not
merely ankle-deep, knee-deep, loin-deep, but self-deep. We
ourselves hidden out of sight and bathed in this life-giving
stream. Let go the shore-lines and launch out into the deep.
Never forget, the Man with the measuring line is with us today.
--J.G.M.
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