“There is no
peace, says my God, to the wicked" Isaiah 57:21.
You might own all
the empires of the world, and have nations creeping to your feet, as the
animals came to Adam; and your lease on life might be twice as long as
Methuselah's span to enjoy all this, without one cloud of trouble. But if you
lack peace, I would rather be the worm under your shoe or the toad in the ditch
than you in your palace. Just one small thought of approaching death and the
torment waiting for you can immediately destroy all your present happiness.
This refusal to
accept God's peace on Gospel terms makes the great leaders of the world-- in
fact, all unreconciled sinners, high and low-- go to their graves as bears go
down a hill-- backwards. One glance forward might cause them to die of fright
as they see where they are going. They are headed there without a breastplate,
the persuasion of peace with God.
What should you do
next then? Shut yourself up as a condemned sinner, apart from flattering
friends who would lullaby your soul into senseless security-- the cradle which
the devil rocks souls in, to their utter destruction. Instead, send for those
who dare to be faithful, like Samuel, to tell you every word God has against you,
hiding nothing.
Read your own
sentence with your eyes on the Word; take your condemnation from God's mouth,
not from man's. "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked"
Isaiah 57:21. Meditate on that Scripture until it cleaves to your soul like a
plaster to a sore and draws out the core of pride and carnal confidence which
have hardened your heart. By this time the anguish of your own spirit will
prompt you to want peace with God more than anything else in the world. This is
what God has been waiting to hear from you.”
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
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