July
23, 2003
HAVE
MERCY ON ME
"Turn
Yourself to me and have mercy on me, for I am desolate and
afflicted. The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Bring me
out of my distresses! Look on my affliction and my pain, and
forgive all my sins" (Psalm 25:16-18, NKJV).
"When
perplexities arise, and difficulties confront you, look not
for help to humanity. Trust all with God. The practice of
telling our difficulties to others only makes us weak, and
brings no strength to them. It lays upon them the burden of
our spiritual infirmities, which they cannot relieve. We seek
the strength of erring, finite man, when we might have the
strength of the unerring, infinite God.
"You
need not go to the ends of the earth for wisdom, for God is
near. It is not the capabilities you now possess or ever will
have that will give you success. It is that which the Lord
can do for you. We need to have far less confidence in what
man can do and far more confidence in what God can do for
every believing soul. He longs to have you reach after Him
by faith. He longs to have you expect great things from Him.
He longs to give you understanding in temporal as well as
in spiritual matters. He can sharpen the intellect. He can
give tact and skill. Put your talents into the work, ask God
for wisdom, and it will be given you.
"Take
the word of Christ as your assurance. Has He not invited you
to come to Him? Never allow yourself to talk in a hopeless,
discourage way. If you do you will lose much. By looking at
appearances and complaining when difficulties and pressure
come, you give evidence of a sickly, enfeebled faith. Talk
and act as if your faith was invincible. The Lord is rich
in resources; He owns the world. Look heavenward in faith.
Look to Him who has light and power and efficiency.
"There
is in genuine faith a buoyancy, a steadfastness of principle,
and a fixedness of purpose that neither time nor toil can
weaken. 'Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the
young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait on the Lord
shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings
as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall
walk, and not faint' (Isaiah 40:30, 31)...
"When
with earnestness and intensity we breath a prayer in the name
of Christ, there is in that very intensity a pledge from God
that He is about to answer our prayer 'exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think' (Ephesians 3:20)."--Christ's
Object Lessons, pp., 146, 147.
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