"Rest in the Lord" (Ps. x.x.xvii.).
In the old creation the week began with work and ended with Sabbath rest.
The resurrection week begins with the first day-first rest, then labor.
So we must first cease from our own works as G.o.d did from His, and enter into His rest, and then we will work, with rested hearts, His works with effectual power.
But why "labor to enter into rest"? See that ship-how restfully she sails over the waters, her sails swelling with the gale; and borne without an effort! And yet, look at that man at the helm. See how firmly he holds the rudder, bearing against the wind, and holding her steady to her position.
Let him for a moment relax his steady hold and the ship will fall listlessly along the wind. The sails will flap, the waves will toss the vessel at their will, and all rest and power will have gone. It is the fixed helm that brings the steadying power of the wind. And so He has said, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee." The steady will and stayed heart are ours.
The keeping is the Lord"s. So let us labor to enter and abide in His rest.
FEBRUARY 6.
"Praying always for all saints" (Eph. vi. 18).
One good counsel will suffice just now. Stop praying so much for yourself; begin to ask unselfish things, and see if G.o.d won"t give you faith. See how much easier it will be to believe for another than for your own petty self. Try the effect of praying for the world, for definite things, for difficult things, for glorious things, for things that will honor Christ and save mankind, and after you have received a few wonderful answers to prayer in this direction, see if you won"t feel stronger to touch your own little burden with a Divine faith, and then go back again to the high place of unselfish prayer for others.
Have you ever learned the beautiful art of letting G.o.d take care of you, and giving all your thought and strength to pray for others and for the kingdom of G.o.d? It will relieve you of a thousand cares. It will lift you up into a n.o.ble and lofty sphere, and teach you to live and love like G.o.d.
Lord save us from our selfish prayers and give us the faith that worketh by love, and the heart of Christ for a perishing world.
FEBRUARY 7.
"Faithful in that which is least" (Luke xvi. 10).
The man that missed his opportunity and met the doom of the faithless servant was not the man with five talents, or the man with two, but the man who had only one. The people who are in danger of missing life"s great meaning are the people of ordinary capacity and opportunity, and who say to themselves, "There is so little I can do that I will not try to do anything." One of the finest windows in Europe was made from the remnants an apprentice boy collected from the cuttings of his master"s great work.
The sweepings of the British mint are worth millions. The little pivots on which the works of your watch turn are so important that they are actually made of jewels. And so G.o.d places a solemn value and responsibility on the humble workers, the people that try to hide behind their insignificance the trifling opportunities and the single talents; and our littleness will not excuse us in the reckoning day.
"Talk not of talents, what hast thou to do?
Thou hast sufficient, whether five or two.
Talk not of talents; is thy duty done?
This brings the blessing whether ten or one."
FEBRUARY 8.
"We are not sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves"
(II. Cor. iii. 5).
Insufficient, "All sufficient." These two words form the complement of each other and together give the key to an efficient Christian life. The discovery and full conviction of our utter helplessness is the constant condition of spiritual supply. The aim of the Old Testament, therefore, is ever to show man"s failure; that of the New, to reveal Christ"s sufficiency. He has all things for us, but we cannot receive them till we know that we have nothing.
The very essence, therefore, of Christian perfection is the constant renunciation of our own perfection, and the continual acceptance of Christ"s righteousness. And as we receive deeper views of our nothingness and evil, it is but a call to claim more of His rich grace. But it is possible fully to know our insufficiency and yet not take firmly hold of His "all things." This, too, must be done with a faith that will not accept less than ALL. The prophet was angry because the king of Israel had only smitten thrice upon the ground. He should have done it five or six times. He might have had all. So let us meet His greatness and grace.
FEBRUARY 9.
"None of these things move me" (Acts xx. 24).
The best evidence of G.o.d"s presence is the devil"s growl. So wrote good Mr. Spurgeon once in "The Sword and the Trowel," and that little sentence has helped many a tried and tired child Of G.o.d to stand fast and even rejoice under the fiercest attacks of the foe.
We read in the book of Samuel that the moment that David was crowned at Hebron, "All the Philistines came up to seek David." And the moment we get anything from the Lord worth contending for, then the devil comes to seek us.
When the enemy meets us at the threshold of any great work for G.o.d let us accept it as "a token of salvation," and claim double blessing, victory and power. Power is developed by resistance. The cannon carries twice as far because the exploding power has to find its way through resistance.
The way electricity is produced in the power-house yonder is by the sharp friction of the revolving wheels. And so we shall find some day that even Satan has been one of G.o.d"s agencies of blessing.
FEBRUARY 10.
"I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live" (Gal. ii. 20).
Christ life is in harmony with our nature. A lady asked me the other day-a thoughtful, intelligent woman who was not a Christian, but who had the deepest hunger for that which is right: "How can this be so, and we not lose our individuality! This will destroy our personality, and it violates our responsibility as individuals."
I said: "Dear sister, your personality is only half without Christ. Christ was made for you, and you were made for Christ, and until you meet you are not complete, and He needs you as you need Him." I said: "Suppose that gas-jet should say, "If I take this fire in, the gas will lose its individuality." Oh, no; it is only when the fire comes in that the gas fulfils its very purpose of being. Suppose the snowflake should say, "What shall I do? If I drop on the ground I shall lose my individuality." But it falls and is absorbed by the soil, and the snowflakes are seen by-and-by in the primroses and daisies. Let us lose ourselves and rise to a new life in Christ."
FEBRUARY 11.
"Strengthened with all might unto all patience" (Col. i. 11).
The apostle prays for the Colossians, that they may be "strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness." It is one thing to endure and show the strain on every muscle of your face, and seem to say with every wrinkle, "Why does not somebody sympathize with me?" It is another to endure the cross, "despising the shame" for the joy set before us.
There are some trees in the garden of the Lord which "shall not see when heat cometh"; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, nor cease from yielding fruit. Let us set our faces toward the sunrising and use the clouds that come, to make rainbows. Not much longer shall we have the glorious opportunity to rejoice in tribulation, and learn patience. In heaven we shall have nothing to teach long-suffering. If we do not learn it here, we shall be without our brightest crown forever, and wish ourselves back for a little while, in the very circ.u.mstances of which we are now trying so hard to get rid.