Pilgrim
Portions
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Weeks
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There is rest in the midst of grief, For grief’s been the proof of love; ‘Tis sweet in that love to find relief, When the sorrows of earth we prove.Christ never
makes a breach except to come in and connect the soul and heart more
with Himself; and it is worth all the sorrow that ever was, and more,
to learn the least atom more of His love and of Himself, and there is
nothing like that, nothing like Him: and it lasts. Everybody is not
passing smoothly through this life, though some may be more so than
others. … But, after all, it is only “for a season” and if “need be.”
Do not make yourself uneasy: the one who holds the reins of the need be
is God. He does not take pleasure in afflicting. If there is the need
for it we go through the trial, but it is only for a moment. We find the
greatest difficulty often in bringing our sorrow to God. How can I do
so, the soul of some may be saying, as my sorrow is the fruit of my
sin? … Can I, in the integrity of my heart towards God, take my sorrows
to Him, knowing I deserve them? Yes; Christ has been to God about them.
This, then, is the ground upon which I can go … God can afford to meet
me in all my sorrow, because Christ’s work has been so perfectly done.
In the main all sorrow is from sin, and all help is grounded upon the
atonement. There is no
position a saint can be in but that he may go to God for help. I have been very
happy during my illness; it has made me feel much more than ever that
heaven and the bosom of God is my home, seeing that I shall be with Him
for ever. Pride and stoical
resistance to sorrow will not do. That does not draw the soul to God,
but effectually … keeps it from Him. … Sorrow, when it is complete and
helpless, gives intimacy with Him who is willing and able to help, and
this is now with God. If we … carried
all our … troubles to God, to go fully through all with Him, our hearts
would be all free and happy to turn round and care for others. When the
believing soul is under trial the recurrence to God as its source and
hope is the natural movement of faith. … Nor is there a sweeter time
for the soul that trusts Him than the time of trial. When we look back
to a past life we have more to be thankful for our trials than for
anything else. He comes down
into all our circumstances, and for a poor trifle of affliction I get
to find (not the thing set aside, but) God Himself taking the place of
our sorrow. The time will
come when all our sorrow will be over, but our Friend will remain. He
is our tried and true Friend. He has entered into the deepest woes of
our heart, and will make us the sharers of His joy for ever. Pilgrim Portions - Meditations for the Day of Rest - Selected from the Writings, Hymns,
Letters, etc., of J. N. Darby SEDIN-Servicio Evangélico |
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