0508 信心的忍耐
你既遵守了我忍耐的道…《启示录3:10》
坚持不懈意味着不仅仅是忍受，也不仅仅是简单地坚持到最后。圣徒的生命在神的手中，就像弓箭在弓箭手的手中一样；神正在瞄准圣徒看不见的东西，但我们的主继续用力拉弓，偶尔时不时圣徒说：「我再也受不了了。」然而神却不理会；祂继续拉紧，直到祂的目的在望，然后祂松手把箭射出。将自己交托在神的手中；你现在的生活中有什么事情是需要坚持不懈的？通过坚持信仰来维持与耶稣基督的亲密关系；像约伯那样的宣告：「祂必杀我，我还要信靠祂…」（见约伯记 13:15直译）。
信心不是某种软弱可怜的情感，而是建立在神圣洁之爱事实上的强而有力的信心。即使你现在无法看见祂，也不明白祂在做什么，但你认识祂。当你缺乏来自于将自己建立在神圣洁之爱的永恒真理上精神镇定时，你的生活就会发生灾难。信心是你人生中最高的努力——不顾一切把自己交托给神，完全信靠祂。
神冒险一切在耶稣基督里来拯救我们，现在祂要我们不惜一切、完全舍弃一切信靠祂。我们生活中有些领域是信心尚未在我们里面发挥作用——那些地方还没有被神的生命所触摸；耶稣基督的生命中没有那些地方，我们的生命中也不该有。耶稣祷告说：「认识你…，这就是永生。」（约翰福音 17:3）。永生的真正意义是一种能够面对任何必须面对的事情而不动摇的生命。如果我们持这种观点，人生将会成为一场伟大的浪漫——一个一直都能看到美好事物的荣耀机会。神正在训练我们，要把我们带入这个力量的中心位置。
来自章伯斯的智慧
神设计环境要看我们如何行事。我们会成为天父的孩子？或会再次回到卑鄙、常识的态度？我们会冒一切风险并忠于祂吗？「你要至死忠心，我就赐给你生命的冠冕。」生命的冠冕意味着我将看到我的主最终获得了胜利，甚至在我身上也是。《至善—朝圣者歌集》
0508 The Faith to Persevere
Because you have kept My command to persevere… —Revelation 3:10
Perseverance means more than endurance— more than simply holding on until the end. A saint’s life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, but our Lord continues to stretch and strain, and every once in a while the saint says, “I can’t take any more.” Yet God pays no attention; He goes on stretching until His purpose is in sight, and then He lets the arrow fly. Entrust yourself to God’s hands. Is there something in your life for which you need perseverance right now? Maintain your intimate relationship with Jesus Christ through the perseverance of faith. Proclaim as Job did, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15).
Faith is not some weak and pitiful emotion, but is strong and vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love. And even though you cannot see Him right now and cannot understand what He is doing, you know Him. Disaster occurs in your life when you lack the mental composure that comes from establishing yourself on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Faith is the supreme effort of your life— throwing yourself with abandon and total confidence upon God.
God ventured His all in Jesus Christ to save us, and now He wants us to venture our all with total abandoned confidence in Him. There are areas in our lives where that faith has not worked in us as yet— places still untouched by the life of God. There were none of those places in Jesus Christ’s life, and there are to be none in ours. Jesus prayed, “This is eternal life, that they may know You…” (John 17:3). The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we will take this view, life will become one great romance— a glorious opportunity of seeing wonderful things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
God engineers circumstances to see what we will do. Will we be the children of our Father in heaven, or will we go back again to the meaner, common-sense attitude? Will we stake all and stand true to Him? “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” The crown of life means I shall see that my Lord has got the victory after all, even in me. –The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 530 L