March 28
Not by Might Nor by Power
In the Hour of Silence"The battle is not yours but God's."—2 Chronicles 20:15.
THERE are many times in my truest and deepest life when all my safety is to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.
I must do so, when I am face to face with spiritual antagonists. The unholy thoughts which torment me, the inconsistent words that escape my lips, the old habits that are always coming back to annoy and befoul me—they will never be overcome by my strenuous efforts alone. Daily I must turn to, daily I must receive from, my God's inexhaustible treasury of grace, if I am to have power and prevail.
I must do so, too, when I am in darkness of mind and soul. Doubts may overspread my sky—doubts as to whether my God is really mine. I cannot carve my own way out of these periods of gloom. I must, even when He seems to have withdrawn His loving and life-giving presence, continue looking up to Him in my loneliness and waiting till He have mercy upon me. It is He who will cause my midnight to flee away, and will restore the sunshine and the summer.
I must do so, yet again, when I am concerned about the salvation of others. I can, indeed, speak to them. I can pray for them, on bended knees, in the secret place. I can warn them night and day with tears. But when all has been tried that my wisdom and love can suggest, I must recognise the limits of my power. I am helpless to redeem my brothers. I must leave God to give the increase.
Thus, along the whole of my Christian course, from the moment of birth on to the moment of coronation, the battle is not mine but God's.