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Dear friends, Let these words encourage as much as they encouraged me. I know we are all going through some tough times and it may be easy to get anxious about these things. I know it is for me, but read the following: No anxiety ought to be found in a believer. Great, many, and varied may be our trials, our afflictions, our difficulties, and yet there should be no anxiety under any circumstances, because we have a Father in heaven who is almighty, who loves His children as He loves His only begotten Son, and whose very joy and delight it is to succor and help them at all times and under all circumstances. We should attend to the Word, "In nothing be anxious, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." "In everything," that is not merely when the house in on fire, not merely when the beloved wife and children are on the brink of the grave, but in the smallest matters of life, bring everything before God, the little things, the very little things, what the world calls trifling things--everything--living in holy communion with our heavenly Father, and with our precious Lord Jesus all the day long. And when we awake at night, by a kind of spiritual instinct again turning to Him, and speaking to Him, bringing our various little matters before Him in the sleepless night, the difficulties in connection with the family, our trade, our profession. Whatever tries us in any way, speak to the Lord about it. "By prayer and supplication", taking the place of beggars, with earnestness, with perseverance, going on and waiting, waiting, waiting on God. "With thanksgiving" We should at all times lay a good foundation with thanksgiving. If everything else were wanting, this is always present, that He has saved us from hell. Then, that He has given us His Holy Word--His Son, His choicest gift--and the Holy Spirit. Therefore we have abundant reason for thanksgiving. O let us aim at this! "And the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" And this is so great a blessing, so real a blessing, so precious a blessing, that it must be known experimentally to be entered into, for it passeth understanding. O, let us lay these things to heart, and the result will be, if we habitually walk in this spirit, we shall far more abundantly glorify God, than as yet we have done. From George Mueller, in Life of Trust Twice or thrice a day, look to see if your heart is not disquieted about something; and if you find that it is, take care forthwith to restore it to calm. Francis De Sales "The angel of the Lord came upon him (Peter) and a light shined in the prison; and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off." Acts 12:7 "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God...And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and every one's bands were loosed." Acts 16:25-26 This is God's way. In the darkest hour of the night, His tread draws near across the billows. As the day of execution is breaking, the angel comes to Peter's cell. When the scaffold for Mordecai is complete, the royal sleeplessness leads to a reaction in favor of the favored race. Ah, soul, it may have to come to the worst with you before you are delivered; but you will be delivered. God may keep you waiting, but He will ever be mindful of His covenant, and will appear to fulfill His inviolable Word. --F.B. Meyer There's a simplicity about God in working out His plans, yet a resourcefulness equal to any difficulty, and an unswerving faithfulness to His trusting child, and an unforgetting steadiness in holding to His purpose. Through a fellow-prisoner, then a dream. He lifts Joseph from a prison to a premiership. And the length of stay in the prison prevents the dizziness in the premier. It's safe to trust God's methods and to go by His clock. --S. D. Gordon Providence hath a thousand keys to open a thousand sundry doors for the deliverance of His own, when it is even come to a desperate case. Let us be faithful; and care for our own part which is to suffer for Him, and lay Christ's part on Himself, and leave it there. George MacDonald Difficulty is the very atmosphere of miracle--it is a miracle in its first stage. If it is to be a great miracle, the condition is not difficulty but impossibility. The clinging hand of His child makes a desperate situation a delight to Him. May these words encourage you, Zane Williams |