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TOPIC: MacDuff, John - The Christians Pathway (31 days) (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: Day 2
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"Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand." Isa_41:10
The Divine presence is the believer's strength in weakness—his support in suffering—his consolation in the hour of death. The blessed assurance, "I am with you," is sufficient to enliven every scene and sweeten every condition. Its realization opens springs of joy in the cheerless waste of this desert world; it dissipates the thickest darkness, soothes the anguish of the keenest affliction, and lightens the heaviest load of poverty and distress.
One of the last promises which the Savior gave to His disciples was, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." He had just given them the great commission to go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature—an enterprise difficult and dangerous in the extreme. The whole world frowned upon them; they had to encounter the combined prejudices of the Jew and Greek, of the savage and civilized. But it soon became evident that greater was He who was with them, than all those who were against them. Through Him who had spoiled principalities and triumphed over them, they waxed valiant in fight, and went forth conquering and to conquer. O what a spirit did they manifest, and what wonders did they perform! All opposition they trampled under their feet. All secular power and policy they defeated. All the wit, and learning, and eloquence which stood in their way, was baffled by them. In persecutions, and reproaches, and necessities, they took pleasure. To forsake and forfeit all they had, they regarded as gain. To be in constant labor and travail was their ease. To incur disgrace was their highest glory. Prisons were converted by them into palaces in which they sang, even in the dead of night, the high praises of their God and Savior. And whence this superiority to suffering? whence this moral elevation above all the ills of life? whence this triumphing in tribulation, and rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God? It was derived from the presence of their adorable Lord and Master! Having Him by their side they were strangers to fear, and they went forth, unarmed, unpatronized—to upset the kingdom of darkness, and subdue the world to the obedience of Christ!
And to all His people now, especially when they have any arduous duties to discharge, the same promise is given. When entering upon any responsible undertaking, the believer, deeply conscious of his own incompetency, is often filled with trembling. But listen, Christian, to what the voice from the excellent glory proclaims—"Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with My victorious right hand." Should you not then "thank God, and take courage!"
The Divine presence is the believer's strength in weakness—his support in suffering—his consolation in the hour of death. The blessed assurance, "I am with you," is sufficient to enliven every scene and sweeten every condition. Its realization opens springs of joy in the cheerless waste of this desert world; it dissipates the thickest darkness, soothes the anguish of the keenest affliction, and lightens the heaviest load of poverty and distress.
One of the last promises which the Savior gave to His disciples was, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." He had just given them the great commission to go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature—an enterprise difficult and dangerous in the extreme. The whole world frowned upon them; they had to encounter the combined prejudices of the Jew and Greek, of the savage and civilized. But it soon became evident that greater was He who was with them, than all those who were against them. Through Him who had spoiled principalities and triumphed over them, they waxed valiant in fight, and went forth conquering and to conquer. O what a spirit did they manifest, and what wonders did they perform! All opposition they trampled under their feet. All secular power and policy they defeated. All the wit, and learning, and eloquence which stood in their way, was baffled by them. In persecutions, and reproaches, and necessities, they took pleasure. To forsake and forfeit all they had, they regarded as gain. To be in constant labor and travail was their ease. To incur disgrace was their highest glory. Prisons were converted by them into palaces in which they sang, even in the dead of night, the high praises of their God and Savior. And whence this superiority to suffering? whence this moral elevation above all the ills of life? whence this triumphing in tribulation, and rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God? It was derived from the presence of their adorable Lord and Master! Having Him by their side they were strangers to fear, and they went forth, unarmed, unpatronized—to upset the kingdom of darkness, and subdue the world to the obedience of Christ!
And to all His people now, especially when they have any arduous duties to discharge, the same promise is given. When entering upon any responsible undertaking, the believer, deeply conscious of his own incompetency, is often filled with trembling. But listen, Christian, to what the voice from the excellent glory proclaims—"Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with My victorious right hand." Should you not then "thank God, and take courage!"