0508 信心的忍耐
你既遵守了我忍耐的道…《啟示錄3:10》
堅持不懈意味着不僅僅是忍受，也不僅僅是簡單地堅持到最後。聖徒的生命在神的手中，就像弓箭在弓箭手的手中一樣；神正在瞄準聖徒看不見的東西，但我們的主繼續用力拉弓，偶爾時不時聖徒說：「我再也受不了了。」然而神卻不理會；祂繼續拉緊，直到祂的目的在望，然後祂鬆手把箭射出。將自己交託在神的手中；你現在的生活中有什麼事情是需要堅持不懈的？通過堅持信仰來維持與耶穌基督的親密關係；像約伯那樣的宣告：「祂必殺我，我還要信靠祂…」（見約伯記 13:15直譯）。
信心不是某種軟弱可憐的情感，而是建立在神聖潔之愛事實上的強而有力的信心。即使你現在無法看見祂，也不明白祂在做什麼，但你認識祂。當你缺乏來自於將自己建立在神聖潔之愛的永恆真理上精神鎮定時，你的生活就會發生災難。信心是你人生中最高的努力——不顧一切把自己交託給神，完全信靠祂。
神冒險一切在耶穌基督里來拯救我們，現在祂要我們不惜一切、完全捨棄一切信靠祂。我們生活中有些領域是信心尚未在我們裡面發揮作用——那些地方還沒有被神的生命所觸摸；耶穌基督的生命中沒有那些地方，我們的生命中也不該有。耶穌禱告說：「認識你…，這就是永生。」（約翰福音 17:3）。永生的真正意義是一種能夠面對任何必須面對的事情而不動搖的生命。如果我們持這種觀點，人生將會成為一場偉大的浪漫——一個一直都能看到美好事物的榮耀機會。神正在訓練我們，要把我們帶入這個力量的中心位置。
來自章伯斯的智慧
神設計環境要看我們如何行事。我們會成為天父的孩子？或會再次回到卑鄙、常識的態度？我們會冒一切風險並忠於祂嗎？「你要至死忠心，我就賜給你生命的冠冕。」生命的冠冕意味着我將看到我的主最終獲得了勝利，甚至在我身上也是。《至善—朝聖者歌集》
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