KEPT THROUGH FAITH And now the other side-Believing. Kept by the power of God through faith. How must we look at this faith? 4) Faith Implies Helplessness Let me say, first of all, that this faith means utter inability and helplessness before God. At the bottom of all faith there is a feeling of helplessness. If I have a bit of business to transact, perhaps to buy a house, the lawyer must do the work of getting the transfer of the property in my name. He must make all the arrangements. I cannot do that work, and, in trusting that agent, I confess I cannot do it. And so faith always means helplessness. In many cases it means: I can do it with a great deal of trouble, but another can do it better. But in most cases it is utter helplessness: another must do it for me. And that is the secret of the spiritual life. A man must learn to say: I give up everything. I have tried and longed and thought and prayed, but failure has come. God has blessed me and helped me, but still, in the long run, there has been so much sin and sadness. What a change comes when a man is thus broken down into utter helplessness and selfdespair, and says, I can do nothing! Remember Paul. He was living a blessed life, and he had been taken up into the third heaven. Then the thorn in the flesh came, a messenger of Satan to buffet me (2 Corinthians 12:7). And what happened? Paul could not understand it, and three times he prayed to the Lord to take it away. But the Lord said, in effect: No, it is possible that you might exalt yourself. Therefore, I have sent you this trial to keep you weak and humble. And Paul then learned a lesson that he never forgot-to rejoice in his infirmities. He said that the weaker he was the better it was for him. For when he was weak, he was strong in his Lord Christ. Do you want to enter what people call the higher life? Then go a step lower down. I remember Dr. Boardman telling how once he was invited by a gentleman to go to a factory where they made fine shot. I believe the workmen did so by pouring down molten lead from a great height. This gentleman wanted to take Dr. Boardman up to the top of the tower to see how the work was done. The doctor came to the tower, he entered by the door, and began going upstairs. But when he had gone a few steps, the gentleman called out: That is the wrong way. You must come down this way. That stair is locked up. The gentleman took him downstairs a good many steps, and there an elevator was ready to take him to the top. He said: I have learned a lesson that going down is often the best way to get up. Ah, yes, God will have to bring us down very low. A sense of emptiness and despair and nothingness will have to come upon us. It is when we sink down in utter helplessness that the everlasting God will reveal Himself in His power. Then our hearts will learn to trust God alone. What is it that keeps us from trusting Him perfectly? Many say: I believe what you say, but there is one difficulty. If my trust were perfect and always abiding, all would come right, for I know God will honor trust. But how am I to get that trust? My answer is: By the death of self. The great hindrance to trust is self-effort. So long as you have got your own wisdom and thoughts and strength, You cannot fully trust God. But when God breaks you down, when everything begins to grow dim before your eyes and you see that you understand nothing, then God is coming near. If you will bow down in nothingness and wait on God, He will become all. As long as we are something, God cannot be all. His omnipotence cannot do its full work. That is the beginning of faith-utter despair of self, a ceasing from man and everything on earth and finding our hope in God alone.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 16:53:39 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015