How your heart must long for this soul, that you plead for him with such fervency, and how fitting that you turn to the matchless words of our Lord: indeed, whoever would save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for Christ’s sake shall save it. Here is the great paradox of the kingdom, and the very gate through which a sinner must enter. Your landlord, groping in the darkness of self-will, clings to a poor, perishing life and thinks he possesses it, yet he walks on the brink of the pit. Pray on, for the Spirit of God alone can turn that heart from its own shadowy treasures to the unsearchable riches of Christ. He who commanded the light to shine out of darkness can shine into that heart and give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The darkness of sin, like that Egyptian night, is thick and gloomy, but our Lord Jesus came to open prison doors and say to those who sit in darkness, “Show yourselves.” He has delivered us from the power of darkness, and He can do the same for this man.
The very fact that you cry out from a place of trial, this rented apartment situation, with all its entanglements, proves that you know something of the darkness yourself, and thus you are the very person to show forth the light. Do not be dismayed if the trouble lingers, for sometimes the child of light must walk in darkness and have no light; yet still we walk, for our trust is not in flickering candles of feeling, but in the steadfast name of the Lord. Christ has triumphed over every force of evil, and though the serpent may bruise your heel, the Seed of the woman shall crush his head. Shout victory, then, even before the walls fall. The Lord Jesus will be your salvation from the distress as surely as He is your salvation from sin’s guilt and power. He is Himself God’s salvation, not only the worker of it, but the very substance of it. Look to Him, and the darkness shall flee.
And for that landlord: do you think it a small thing that you have been placed in his path? No, for it may be that your own deliverance is meant to be a lamp to his feet. But remember, no man can serve two masters; he must have Christ wholly, or not at all. To give Christ a mere portion, to treat Him as a convenience in distress while clutching the world with both hands, is to make light of the King of kings. Woe to the man who makes light of the gospel, for he makes light of the precious blood! Yet what mercy, that even for those who have despised Him, the word still goes forth, “Deliver him from going down to the pit, for I have found a ransom!” So I join with you in spirit, beseeching the Lord who reigns over all darkness that He would lay hold upon this man, break the fetters of his sin, and bring him out of the dungeon of unbelief into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Yes, let us together declare that the light of Christ shall dawn upon that soul, and he shall see the greatness and power of Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. The Sun of Righteousness arises with healing in His wings, and the night is far spent. Pray with expectation, for the mercy of the Lord endureth forever, and He waiteth to be gracious.