THE HARDEST TIME If you were varnishing or painting the floor of a room in your house, when would you experience the hardest, most difficult time doing your work? It probably wouldn’t be at the beginning, or at the end, but undoubtedly would be when you were somewhere in the middle. And it’s also true that the most difficult part of our pilgrim life here on earth is not when we begin, or when we end, but on the road between the two. The beginning is usually accompanied by a wave of exultant joy, like Columbus beginning his voyage. The end, though weary, is attended by the joys of accomplishment. But the road between has neither; therefore, I must be certain not to give up or withdraw. Most of the warnings of the Bible are addressed to us in that middle, vulnerable stage. “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31); “Let us run with patience the race before us” (Hebrews 12:1); “Press toward the mark” (Philippians 3:14); “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end” (Matthew 28:20). The Apostle Paul feared being a “castaway,” not at the beginning or at the end of his ministry and career, but in the red-hot fight of the road between (I Corinthians 9:27). And Jesus had a strong word for the disciple who “put his hand to the plough” and turned back (Luke 9:62). The difficulty of the middle part of the road is the absence of a cheering section. When you made your initial decision to trust Christ as your Saviour and to follow Him, there were undoubtedly cheers from loved ones and friends! When you shall come within sight of the celestial city, what a rousing welcome awaits you from those who went before you! But probably relatively very few stand in the heat and dust of the road between to cheer you on. Your comforts diminish, your friends are busy with their own journeys, etc. You must live trusting the naked Word of God without “feelable” assurance. You must endure “as seeing Him who is invisible” (Heb. 11:27). The Christian life and following Christ is not an easy life. In fact, it is a hard, hard life; yet the same God who called you will surely stand by you until He rings you on to the final stage of the journey, and to the welcome shouts of the heavenly Zion! Hallelujah! “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). THE WORD OF GOD—A FIRE AND HAMMER! Preaching today has become more and more sugarcoated, much to the delight of the masses. But we must understand that the Bible is not only our source of comfort, but our source of bruising. “’Is not My word like fire?’ declares the Lord, ‘and like a hammer which shatters a rock?’” (Jeremiah 23:29). If I have never felt the scorching of the Bible’s heat or the shattering of the Bible’s blow, I am not making much progress as a disciple. The Bible is a sharp instrument; it pierces, divides, discerns, and reaches into the depths of my personality, down to the very thoughts and motives of my nature (Hebrews 4:12). Paul wrote in II Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” I must beware the man who preaches a sugarcoated faith. Faith in the Lord is not an Aladdin’s lamp that grants my every wish! It is not something to be used like a good-luck charm to help us in time of need such as the Israelites tried to do when fighting the Philistines and suddenly shouting, “Fetch the Ark! Go fetch the Ark” (I Samuel 4:3). I must avoid, as I would the plague, the man who preaches, “Peace, peace, prosperity” continually. There are times when the Bible will not give me peace, times when to comfort and assure me would be absolutely damaging to me. How, for example, can I sin and not feel the burning fire of the Word? The false teacher is easily discovered. He is the man who offers nothing but honey, peace, security, joy, and prosperity. He does that, of course, because it is what the natural man and flesh crave; it provides him a ready audience, a guarantee of success. A counselor who offers me a rosy goal but never mentions the painful, torturous road to it is not my friend. The Lord Jesus Christ is my true Friend. He offers me a rewarding future, but honestly reminds me that it comes “with persecutions” (Mark 10:29-30). He wants to deliver me safe, sound, and holy. That is why His Word must sometimes make me ache with soreness! He knows where it all is leading! And I need to respond as Mary did with sincere humility: “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to Your word,” for “my soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour” (Luke 1:38, 46-47). “Therefore I love Thy commandments above gold, yes, above fine gold. Therefore I esteem right all Thy precepts concerning everything. I hate every false way” (Psalm 119:127-128). MORE TOMORROW! STAY TUNED!
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 22:24:48 +0000
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