March 8
Morning
"We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of
God." — Act_14:22
God's people have their trials. It was never designed by God, when he
chose his people, that they should be an untried people. They were chosen in
the furnace of affliction; they were never chosen to worldly peace and earthly
joy. Freedom from sickness and the pains of mortality was never promised them;
but when their Lord drew up the charter of privileges, he included
chastisements amongst the things to which they should inevitably be heirs.
Trials are a part of our lot; they were predestinated for us in Christ's last
legacy. So surely as the stars are fashioned by his hands, and their orbits
fixed by him, so surely are our trials allotted to us: he has ordained their
season and their place, their intensity and the effect they shall have upon us.
Good men must never expect to escape troubles; if they do, they will be
disappointed, for none of their predecessors have been without them. Mark the
patience of Job; remember Abraham, for he had his trials, and by his faith
under them, he became the "Father of the faithful." Note well the biographies
of all the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and you shall discover
none of those whom God made vessels of mercy, who were not made to pass through
the fire of affliction. It is ordained of old that the cross of trouble should
be engraved on every vessel of mercy, as the royal mark whereby the King's
vessels of honour are distinguished. But although tribulation is thus the path
of God's children, they have the comfort of knowing that their Master has
traversed it before them; they have his presence and sympathy to cheer them,
his grace to support them, and his example to teach them how to endure; and
when they reach "the kingdom," it will more than make amends for the
"much tribulation" through which they passed to enter it.
Reference
Verses
Mark 11:22
Have: Mar_9:23;
2Ch_20:20; Psa_62:8; Isa_7:9;
Joh_14:1; Tit_1:1
faith in God: or, the faith of God, Col_2:12
Daily Devotions.
Extract from
e-Sword- the sword of the LORD with an electronic edge.
Through the Bible Day by Day.(F.B Meyer)
Evening
"She called his name Benoni (son of sorrow), but his father called
him Benjamin (son of my right hand)." —
Gen_35:18
To every matter there is a bright as well as a dark side. Rachel was
overwhelmed with the sorrow of her own travail and death; Jacob, though weeping
the mother's loss, could see the mercy of the child's birth. It is well for us
if, while the flesh mourns over trials, our faith triumphs in divine
faithfulness. Samson's lion yielded honey, and so will our adversities, if
rightly considered. The stormy sea feeds multitudes with its fishes; the wild
wood blooms with beauteous florets; the stormy wind sweeps away the pestilence,
and the biting frost loosens the soil. Dark clouds distil bright drops, and
black earth grows gay flowers. A vein of good is to be found in every mine of
evil. Sad hearts have peculiar skill in discovering the most disadvantageous
point of view from which to gaze upon a trial; if there were only one slough in
the world, they would soon be up to their necks in it, and if there were only one
lion in the desert they would hear it roar. About us all there is a tinge of
this wretched folly, and we are apt, at times, like Jacob, to cry, "All
these things are against me." Faith's way of walking is to cast all care
upon the Lord, and then to anticipate good results from the worst calamities.
Like Gideon's men, she does not fret over the broken pitcher, but rejoices that
the lamp blazes forth the more. Out of the rough oyster-shell of difficulty she
extracts the rare pearl of honour, and from the deep ocean-caves of distress
she uplifts the priceless coral of experience. When her flood of prosperity
ebbs, she finds treasures hid in the sands; and when her sun of delight goes
down, she turns her telescope of hope to the starry promises of heaven. When death
itself appears, faith points to the light of resurrection beyond the grave,
thus making our dying Benoni to be our living Benjamin.
Reference
Verses
Psalms 118:8
Psa_40:4, Psa_62:8-9;
Jer_17:5-7; Mic_7:5-7
Daily Devotions.
Extract from
e-Sword- the sword of the LORD with an electronic edge.
Through the Bible Day by Day.(F.B Meyer)
Comments
Post a Comment