It is very hard to live a lifetime at once, or even a year, but it is delightfully easy to live a day at a time. Day by day the manna fell, so day by day we may live upon the heavenly bread, and live out our life for Him. Let us, breath by breath, moment by moment, step by step, abide in Him, and, just as we take care of the days, He will take care of the years.
G.o.d has given two precious promises for the days. "As thy days so shall thy strength be," is His ancient covenant, and the literal translation of our Master"s parting words to His disciples is, "Lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the end of the age."
Like the little water spider that goes down beneath the waters of the pool enclosed in a bubble of air, and there builds its nest and rears its young, and lives its little life in that bright sphere down beneath the slimy pool, so let us in this dark world shut ourselves in with Christ in the little circle of each returning day, and so abide in Him, breathing the air of heaven and living in His love.
DECEMBER 22.
"My tongue also shall talk of Thy righteousness all the day long" (Ps.
lxxi. 24).
It is a simple law of nature, that air always comes in to fill a vacuum.
You can produce a draught at any time, by heating the air until it ascends, and then the cold air rushes in to supply its place. And so we can always be filled with the Holy Spirit by providing a vacuum. This breath is dependent upon exhausting the previous breath before you can inhale a fresh one. And so we must empty our hearts of the last breath of the Holy Spirit that we have received, for it becomes exhausted the moment we have received it, and we need a new supply, to prevent spiritual asphyxia.
We must learn the secret of breathing out, as well as breathing in. Now, the breathing in will continue if the other part is rightly done. One of the best ways to make room for the Holy Spirit is to recognize the needs that come into the life as vacuums for Him to fill, and we shall find plenty of needs all around us to be filled, and as we pour out our lives in holy service, He will pour His in-in full measure.
Jesus, empty me and fill me With Thy fulness to the brim.
DECEMBER 23.
"Out of the spoils won in battles, did they dedicate to maintain the house of the Lord" (I. Chron. xxvi. 27).
Physical force is stored in the bowels of the earth, in the coal mines, which came from the fiery heat that burned up great forests in ancient ages. And so spiritual force is stored in the depths of our being, through the very sufferings which we cannot understand. Some day we shall find that the deliverance we have won from these trials were preparing us to become true "Great Hearts" in life"s Pilgrim"s Progress, and to lead our fellow pilgrims triumphantly through trial to the city of the King.
But let us never forget that the source of helping other people must be victorious suffering. The whining, murmuring pang never does anybody any good. Paul did not carry a cemetery with him, but a chorus choir of victorious praise, and the harder the trial, the more he trusted and rejoiced, shouting from the very altar of sacrifice, "Yea, and if I be offered upon the service and sacrifice of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all."
Lord, help me this day to draw strength from all that comes to me.
DECEMBER 24.
"And seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not; for behold I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord; but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest" (Jer. xlv. 5).
A promise given for hard places, and a promise of safety and life in the midst of tremendous pressure, a life for a prey.
It may well adjust itself to our own times, which are growing harder as we near the end of the age, and the tribulation times.
What is the meaning of "a life for a prey"? It means a life s.n.a.t.c.hed out of the jaws of the destroyer, as David s.n.a.t.c.hed the lamb from the lion. It means not a place of security, or of removal from the noise of the battle, and the presence of our foes, but it means a table in the midst of our enemies, a shelter from the storm, a fortress amid the foe, a life preserved in the face of continual pressure, Paul"s healing when pressed out of measure so that he despaired even of life, Paul"s Divine help when the thorn remained, but the power of Christ rested upon him and the grace of Christ was sufficient.
Lord, give me my life for a prey, and in the hardest places help me to-day to be victorious.
DECEMBER 25.
"I bring you glad tidings" (Luke ii. 10).
A Christmas spirit should be a spirit of humanity. Beside that beautiful object lesson on the Manger, the Cradle, and the lowly little child, what Christian heart can ever wish to be proud? It is a spirit of joy. It is right that these should be glad tidings, for, "Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy which shall be to all people."
It is a spirit of love. It should be the joy that comes from giving joy to others. The central fact of Christmas is the Christ who loved us, and came to live among us and die for us, and he or she has no right to share its joys who is living for himself or herself alone.
Love is always sacrificial, and so the Christmas spirit will call us to a glad and full surrender, first to G.o.d, and then the joyful sacrifice of what we call our own for His glory and the good of others.
The Christmas spirit is a spirit of worship. It finds the Magi at His feet with their gold and frankincense and myrrh. Let it find us there, too.
The Christmas spirit is a spirit of missions. Its glad tidings are for all people.
DECEMBER 26.
"The Spirit that dwelleth in us l.u.s.teth to envy" (James iv. 5).
This beautiful pa.s.sage has been unhappily translated in our Revised Version: "The Spirit that dwelleth in us l.u.s.teth to envy." It ought to be, "The Spirit that dwelleth in us loveth us to jealousy." It is the figure of a love that suffers because of its intense regard for the loved object.
The Holy Ghost is so anxious to accomplish in us and for us the highest will of G.o.d, and to receive from us the truest love for Christ, our Divine Husband, that He becomes jealous when in any way we disappoint Him, or divide His love with others.
Therefore, it is said in the preceding pa.s.sage, "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with G.o.d?"
Oh, shall we grieve so kind a Friend? Shall we disappoint so loving a Husband? Shall we not meet the blessed Holy Spirit with the love He brings us, and give in return our undivided and unbounded affection?
Was there ever a Bridegroom so loving seeking our heart to gain?
DECEMBER 27.