"My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing, yea, I will sing praises." - Psalm 57:7
Our problems in life are in general of two kinds. The first kind is circumstantial, arising from the turn of events. This may be met and overcome by prayer. The other kind is more personal, the suffering of being hurt or humiliated by others. For such affronts and misunderstandings prayer does not seem to avail. I myself had prayed, and I know. It is futile to wrestle with such problems and to strive in prayer about them. I want to suggest that you should turn instead to praise.
You should bow your head and say to the Lord, 'Lord, I thank you. I receive this bad treatment as from Your hands and I praise you for it all.' By so doing you will find that everything is transcended. What the Lord has permitted to come to you cannot be wrong. Everything that He does is perfect. As you thus praise God, your spirit rises victorious over your problems and God Himself takes care of your hurt feelings.
The Joyful Heart (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Psalm 57
Showing posts with label victory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label victory. Show all posts
Monday, September 24, 2007
Monday, June 04, 2007
Abiding in Christ
"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." - Psalm 91:1
The object of temptation is always to get us to do something. During the early months of the Japanese war in China we lost a great many tanks, and so were unable to deal with the Japanese armour, until the following scheme was devised. A single shot would be fired at a Japanese tank by one of our snipers in ambush. After a considerable lapse of time the first shot would be followed by a second; then, after a further silence, by another shot; until the tank driver, eager to locate the source of the annoyance, would pop his head out to look around. The next shot, carefully aimed, would put an end to him. As long as he remained under cover he was perfectly safe. The whole scheme was devised to bring him out into the open.
In the same way, Satan's temptations are designed to entice us to expose ourselves. He knows well that as soon as we step out of our Hiding Place, as soon as we move from the cover of Christ and act in self-dependence, he has scored a victory.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Psalm 91
The object of temptation is always to get us to do something. During the early months of the Japanese war in China we lost a great many tanks, and so were unable to deal with the Japanese armour, until the following scheme was devised. A single shot would be fired at a Japanese tank by one of our snipers in ambush. After a considerable lapse of time the first shot would be followed by a second; then, after a further silence, by another shot; until the tank driver, eager to locate the source of the annoyance, would pop his head out to look around. The next shot, carefully aimed, would put an end to him. As long as he remained under cover he was perfectly safe. The whole scheme was devised to bring him out into the open.
In the same way, Satan's temptations are designed to entice us to expose ourselves. He knows well that as soon as we step out of our Hiding Place, as soon as we move from the cover of Christ and act in self-dependence, he has scored a victory.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Psalm 91
Monday, May 21, 2007
Meet the Enemy in Secret
"The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine." - 1 Samuel 17:37
David was anointed king at Bethlehem, but immediately he returned to his ordinary sphere of life to prove the Lord there. He went back to his flock, not to some special royal training-school. It was 'with the sheep' that Saul's messengers found him; and when his turn came to confront Goliath, the weapons he used against him were those tested there. Of Saul's helmet and sword and mail he said, 'I have not proved them,' and he put them off him again. Instead he chose his shepherd's sling and the stones from the brook, 'that all this assembly may know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear.'
There is no virtue in office alone. Mere status carries with it no spiritual power. You need to meet the enemy in secret before you can meet him in public. You need to be in tune with the Spirit of God at home before you can reign abroad. But this is a training-school open to every one of us.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: 1 Samuel 17
David was anointed king at Bethlehem, but immediately he returned to his ordinary sphere of life to prove the Lord there. He went back to his flock, not to some special royal training-school. It was 'with the sheep' that Saul's messengers found him; and when his turn came to confront Goliath, the weapons he used against him were those tested there. Of Saul's helmet and sword and mail he said, 'I have not proved them,' and he put them off him again. Instead he chose his shepherd's sling and the stones from the brook, 'that all this assembly may know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear.'
There is no virtue in office alone. Mere status carries with it no spiritual power. You need to meet the enemy in secret before you can meet him in public. You need to be in tune with the Spirit of God at home before you can reign abroad. But this is a training-school open to every one of us.
A Table In The Wilderness (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: 1 Samuel 17
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sacrifice of Praise
"Through Him then let us offer a sacrifice of praise to God continually." - Hebrews 13:15
Praise of God is Satan's target. I do not say he does not oppose prayer; for you only have to start praying to God and sure enough, he intervenes. Yet even more does he assault the praises of God's children. He would gladly exert all his strength to prevent God receiving one word of praise, for if prayer is frequently a battle, praise is victory. At the sound of it Satan flees. I discovered this during the first two years of my Christian life, and have not ceased to rejoice in the peace of heart it has brought me.
Let us not, however, make the mistake of equating praise with joyfulness. Look at the Scriptures. It was out of the pressure upon his people that God drew forth so many of the songs that there delight us. He does not measure praise merely by its exuberance. For in its nature praise is sacrifice. Not only must we exalt His name when we stand on the summit and view the promised land; we must learn also to compose psalms of confidence in Him when we walk through the valley of the shadow. This is praise in truth.
The Joyful Heart (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Hebrews 13
Praise of God is Satan's target. I do not say he does not oppose prayer; for you only have to start praying to God and sure enough, he intervenes. Yet even more does he assault the praises of God's children. He would gladly exert all his strength to prevent God receiving one word of praise, for if prayer is frequently a battle, praise is victory. At the sound of it Satan flees. I discovered this during the first two years of my Christian life, and have not ceased to rejoice in the peace of heart it has brought me.
Let us not, however, make the mistake of equating praise with joyfulness. Look at the Scriptures. It was out of the pressure upon his people that God drew forth so many of the songs that there delight us. He does not measure praise merely by its exuberance. For in its nature praise is sacrifice. Not only must we exalt His name when we stand on the summit and view the promised land; we must learn also to compose psalms of confidence in Him when we walk through the valley of the shadow. This is praise in truth.
The Joyful Heart (Watchman Nee 主僕倪柝聲弟兄)
Read the Scriptures: Hebrews 13
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