The Resources of Heaven Are at Work

February 23

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. Winston Churchill

This word from one of the greatest statesmen in history is certainly appropriate to our daily lives as well as to nations. It is somewhat comparable to Teddy Roosevelt's, "Walk softly, but carry a big stick."

Life requires us to be ever vigilant because there is a foe whose object is to "steal, kill, and destroy," John 10:10, and we are his intended victims. If he can, he will steal our financial resources to prevent our sharing with those in need, but primarily, he will strive to rob us of our spiritual resolve and render us incapable of plying our way through expenditures of a spiritual nature. It is chief among his desires to rob us of the joy of the Lord which is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10), for ultimately it matters not to him if a man is wealthy or impoverished in life—only that he be spiritually wretched and be eternally in hell.

The evil one will kill our hope and our faith—so even if our physical bodies remain alive, we will be in the death throes of our spirit. It is his intent to destroy us, not because of who we are but because of WHOSE we are! If we love JESUS, he is against us, for it is his purpose to un-do the work of salvation the LORD has done in us (see Matthew 13:25-30) and to thereby un-do all the good work the LORD will empower us to accomplish in HIS BEHALF if we remain dedicated to Him and full of faith!

While it always takes courage to stand against the one who is our true enemy, it also takes courage to remain silent and listen while the Lord speaks in HIS STILL, SMALL VOICE (I Kings 19:12). It takes courage to trust the promise found in Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God! I will be exalted!" When it appears we are downcast and trodden over by the forces of the evil one; when it appears our cause is beyond the help of man or God, when we seem to have no choice but to sit silently as the vengeance of our enemy is hurled against us, it is then that we are STRONG IN THE MIGHT OF THE HOLY ONE WHO SAYS, "BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD! I will be exalted over the nations!" (See Psalm 46:10.)

He doesn't call us to 'be still and wonder if I'm God,' to 'be still and ponder the possibility that God might be moving in our behalf'! NO! He calls us to sit quietly and KNOW that all the resources of Heaven are at work in the behalf of the child who has put his trust, his confidence for time and eternity, in the hands of the Christ who has said, "…I will NEVER fail you nor forsake you," Hebrews 13:5; in the Christ who said, "...when you have done all, stand," Ephesians 6:13, in the Jesus who shall, “…reign forever and ever…” Revelation 11:15.