"Sometimes soldiers
do not have as much as an hour's warning before they must take the field. And
so you, too, might be called out to suffer for God or from Him before you
expect it. Abraham, for example, had very little time to deal with his heart
and persuade it to obey God by offering his child. "Take now thy son, your
only son, Isaac, whom thou love"-- not in a year, not a month or week, but
now, Genesis 2:22. This command came during the night and "early in the
morning" he was on his way to the mountain (v. 3).
How could Abraham
have handled such a shock had he not already wrestled with his own willingness
or unwillingness to endeavor to be obedient to God in all things? Thus God
already had His servant's whole heart and all Abraham was left to do was to
obey. Sometimes God makes very sudden changes in our personal lives. For
example, how would you receive a death bulletin like the one God gave Moses? He
did not have the gradual preparation of a lingering illness but heard the
message while he still enjoyed perfect health: "Get thee up... And die in
the mount..."Deuteronomy 32:49. Are we and our feet really ready for a
journey like that?
But God can change
the scene of public affairs as quickly as He can change personal situations.
Maybe authority smiles on the church right now; yet it might frown again soon.
"Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea" Acts 9:31- it was
a blessed time for the saints. But it did not last long: "About that time
Herod the king stretched forth his hand to vex certain of the church" Acts
12:1. In this persecution James the brother of John died by the sword and Peter
was thrown into prison. The entire church was driven into a corner to pray in
the night; and those who had had rest on every side now were threatened by
violent death at every turn.”
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
No comments:
Post a Comment