![]() Don’t let me follow evil ways, but lead me in the way that time has proven true.” Psalm 139:23-24 (CEV) “Look deep into my heart, God, and find out everything I am thinking. The more burdens we put on his shoulders, the more precious will he be to us.The Surprising Benefit of Getting Ruthlessly Honest With God ![]() Thou art poor, but then thou hast "a kinsman, a mighty man of wealth." What! wilt thou not go to him, and ask him to give thee of his abundance, when he has given thee this promise, that thou shalt be joint heir with him, and has made over all that he is and all that he has to be thine? There is nothing Christ dislikes more than for his people to make a show-thing of him, and not to use him. Dost thou feel thyself sick? Pull the night-bell of prayer, and call up the Beloved Physician! He will give the cordial that will revive thee. Strip off thine own righteousness, and thine own fears too: put on the fair white linen, for it was meant to wear. Dost thou deplore thy weakness? He is thy strength: why not lean upon him? Dost thou feel naked? Come hither, soul put on the robe of Jesus' righteousness. Has a sense of guilt returned upon thee? The pardoning grace of Jesus may be proved again and again. Art thou burdened with this day's sins? Here is a fountain filled with blood: use it, saint, use it. When thou art in trouble, why dost thou not tell him all thy grief? Has he not a sympathizing heart, and can he not comfort and relieve thee? No, thou art going about to all thy friends, save thy best Friend, and telling thy tale everywhere except into the bosom of thy Lord. Believer, thou dost not make use of Christ as thou oughtest to do. Even our Lord Jesus is given to us for our present use. He hath said, "I will be with thee in trouble I will deliver thee and honour thee." EveningĬovenant blessings are not meant to be looked at only, but to be appropriated. Ah! if thou hadst no devil to tempt thee, no enemies to fight thee, and no world to ensnare thee, thou wouldst still find in thyself evil enough to be a sore trouble to thee, for "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Expect trouble then, but despond not on account of it, for God is with thee to help and to strengthen thee. Lastly, look within thee, into thine own heart and observe what is there. As mosquitoes are said to bite strangers more than natives, so will the trials of earth be sharpest to you. When thou sleepest, think that thou art resting on the battlefield when thou walkest, suspect an ambush in every hedge. Be assured that thou shalt find foe-men everywhere. If it be, then thou art not God's friend, for he who is the friend of the world is the enemy of God. Where art thou? Thou art in an enemy's country, a stranger and a sojourner. Dost thou think that Satan will let thee alone? No, he will be always at thee, for he "goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." Expect trouble, therefore, Christian, when thou lookest beneath thee. Dost thou know what foes thou hast beneath thy feet? Thou wast once a servant of Satan, and no king will willingly lose his subjects. Dost thou know that thou art one day to be like him? Wilt thou easily be conformed to his image? Wilt thou not require much refining in the furnace of affliction to purify thee? Will it be an easy thing to get rid of thy corruptions, and make thee perfect even as thy Father which is in heaven is perfect? Next, Christian, turn thine eye downward. "In the world ye shall have tribulation."Īrt thou asking the reason of this, believer? Look upward to thy heavenly Father, and behold him pure and holy.
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