IN THE WORLD OF TEMPTATION
By Ida M. Clark
“The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long.” This is the privilege of the child of God, but too often, like little children, we drop the hand of our Father, and seek to run ahead, or else lag behind. We are not placed beyond the reach of temptation; but when we realize and live up to our privilege of living and moving in Christ, then Satan can not intrude; for we are indeed “hedged about.” When we have gained a victory, we are apt to congratulate ourselves that we have been successful, forgetting the Source of our strength, and leaving the gate as it were unguarded. The enemy, finding us unprepared, marches in; and then we brood over our failure, thus living the up-and-down life of the average Christian. And oh, the precious moments we waste, golden opportunities lying unimproved while we grieve over past failures! How blind we are, and how prone to cry out against our lot, when it is of our own making. Too often we forget that God does not promise us ease and indulgence. We are to go from “strength to strength”—strength to do and to suffer for His sake, and to “endure hardness, as a good soldier.” He puts us where our characters will best ripen. He knows just what is needed to make the graces thrive and mature. We dare not be off guard a moment. When self is our first interest, when our trials and losses occupy the mind, then it is that Satan has a fruitful field in which to labor; and, unlike us, he does not lose his opportunities. Full well he knows the time and seasons. His work goes forward while we sleep. How it behooves us to be careful and prayerful! One writer has truly said: “No one can honestly and hopefully ask to be delivered from temptation, unless he has honestly and firmly determined to do the best he can to keep out of it.” But it is not the greatest nor the bravest who never fail. The days of sadness are for a wise purpose. Were our lives all sunshine, and the pages of life's book all free and spotless, we should not know how to comfort and sympathize with those on whom the shadows are fallen. As the star that guided the wise men of old to the place where the Christ-child lay, so is the life of one who has been tossed in the storms of life and has come off conqueror, to the soul who is passing through the same. It is a star of hope to such a one, and he can press forward, knowing that hitherto the Lord has helped, and will help. Thank the Lord, then, for the trials; “glory in tribulations,” for herein do we gain our strength. As time goes on, the way will be more rugged and steep; but if we faithfully overcome each step of the way, we shall find our strength renewed to meet each new trial and temptation, which will prove a stepping-stone to heights before unattained. And the Lord shall truly cover us all the day long.