USE COMFORTS WISELY

“Do not grow lax when you are being comforted. Rather, use this time of blessing to work harder than ever for the Lord.

Do not measure your grace by your comfort. God does not necessarily send you an extra measure of comfort as a reward for being good. Such discoveries of His love do indeed bear witness to the truth of His grace in you, but they say nothing about the degree and measure of your inherent grace. The weak child may be-- in fact, generally is-- oftener in his parent's lap than the strong one.

Do not grow lax when you are being comforted. Rather, use this time of blessing to work harder than ever for the Lord. The manifestations of God's love are to fit us for our work. Basking in the light of His comfort is one thing; going forth in the power of the Spirit's comfort is quite another. How foolish is the man who spends all his time counting his money but never invests it; how wise is the one who puts his money to work for him and earns dividends. Spiritually speaking, the one who hoards his comforts will lose what he has, while the one who puts his comforts to work for Christ will increase his stock five, ten, even a hundredfold.

Do not think you are the source of your own comfort. Remember that you depend on God for your continued peace and joy. The smiles you had yesterday will not make you happy today, any more than the bread you ate then will keep you satisfied if you do not eat it again. You will need new drafts of God's love every day to keep you satisfied. Let God hide His face just for a moment, and you will quickly forget the taste and lose sight of the comfort you had just a short time earlier.

How we would ridicule the man who, when the sun shines in at his window, tries to trap the sunbeams indoors by closing the shutters. But we are just as foolish to take our present joy, then turn away from God's presence, supposing that we have all we need. You can feel the heat from the sun only when you stand beneath its rays; you can feel God's comfort only as you keep your face turned toward Him.”

Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete Armour Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S Bell. http://www.moodypublishers.com/pub_productDetail.aspx?id=41823&pid=53617