Trials are not sent to destroy the servant of God, but to drive him to the source of all power. The repeated loss of employment and the crushing weight of debt are not signs of the Lord’s forsaking, but of His calling. He is emptying the vessel that He may fill it with Himself. It is a profound mercy when our derived, measurable strength fails utterly, for then we are forced to fly to the eternal deep that couches beneath. When there remains no strength in you, nor any ability of any kind, then fling yourself upon the Divine strength, for if God has said, “I will strengthen them,” then assuredly you will be strengthened.
The Lord’s promise, “As thy days, so shall thy strength be,” is a measured cordial. It is not as our desires, which are boundless, nor as our fears, which are fathomless, but as our days, each hour’s trouble receiving its precise hour’s grace. The debt, the closed door of employment, the bewilderment of the path, each constitutes a day. And for each such day, strength is allotted. It is strength enough to bear the suffering and do the duty, but no extra strength to lay by for the pride of self-sufficiency. The robbers in the wood, the lions in the way, the rivers to be swum, for all these, the promise stands as shield and antidote. The anointing that breaks the yoke is not a reservoir of personal power, but the constant, fresh infusion of Divine might. Therefore, let him not look at the mountain of debt or the barrenness of his circumstances, but at the command of Him who gives power to the faint.
This guidance he seeks is found in the same place, waiting upon the Lord. The Grace of God dethrones our natural obstinacy and gives, in its place, a holy acquiescence in the Divine will. Bowing with submission to the will of God provides unerring guidance. Great principles are infused into the man who takes God for his Guide: a principle to avoid every appearance of evil, a restraint upon the haste that authors so much mischief. Let our brother understand that the Lord’s gentleness has made him great in the past, and that same gentleness will guide him now. That first action of the Holy Spirit, that rapture all Divine when Christ showed him His hands and His feet, is the pledge of continued tenderness. The same love that dealt with his foolishness will order his steps now.
It is for his honor and safety that he must be strong in faith. When a duty is to be performed that is clearly beyond nature, it drives us to the Lord. If ever the leap is too wide, draw back, take a breath, ask for strength, and then in the name of Him that will surely bear you over it, take the leap. The glory of his strength must never lie in his office as an evangelist, nor in any gift, but in God alone. Then he will glory in the Cross, which is the main strength of the Gospel. He is weakness itself, but being united to Divine strength by faith, he is infinitely strong. The dead cannot gather strength, but Christ died for the ungodly, and from that death flows life and power for every day of trouble.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, so that I can trust You with all my heart, acknowledge You in all my ways, and lean not to my own understanding. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do. 
be-an-encourager.blogspot.com
