COMFORT by Mary J. Bahler

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Jul 22, 1889

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 28.

COMFORT.

By Mary J. Bahler

"For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded; therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed." Isa. 50:7.

PLEASE read it again, dear fellow-soldier. There is a world of help in that little text from God's holy word. In fact, there are so many of these assurances from the Lord that he will help us, that it would take a long time to give one-half of them.

But let us read this one again. It is positive and decided; there is no guess-work about it. "For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded; therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed." Now, in the face of such a scripture as this, why is it that we will worry about the things which seem to us to go wrong?

If "the Lord our God will help" us, what need is there for us to worry? All the powers in earth and hell combined are nothing before him. Did not the waters of the Red Sea go back at his command? Was not a whole army led captive by one man when he made God his trust? Were not the mouths of the lions closed when one who trusted in Israel's God was thrown, a tempting morsel, to their hungry jaws? Although the furnace was heated to seven times its wonted heat, were not its flames shorn of their power when God's faithful three fell bound among them? Could the poisonous fangs of a deadly serpent harm Paul, God's chosen ambassador?

"Yes," you say, "all these things are good, but my troubles are different. My brethren misunderstand me; misconstrue my motives; and lack that warmth of union my heart longs for. These things paralyze my efforts." Ah, yes; but are not these very troubles part of the all things "which work together for good to them that love the Lord"? "Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in the light, and hath no darkness"—stop, that is not the way it reads. It does not say, "walketh in light and hath no darkness," but it does say, "walketh in darkness and hath no light." What! one that fears God, one that obeys the voice of his servant, walk in darkness, and have no light? Yes, that is what it says. Now do not think that walking in darkness is an evidence that you are not God's child. Listen to the remainder of the text: "Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." Isa. 50:10.

Did you catch that thought? Are you walking in darkness, and have you no light? Then just now, at this time, "trust in the name of the Lord." That name is the strength of his people. It is the strong tower into which we may run, and be safe. Let him who is walking in darkness fasten right to God. Let him bind himself by strong stays to the Mighty One, even by the promise of his word; then what matter if it is dark?

"I'd rather walk in the dark with God, Than walk alone in the light."

And why? Because the very moment I let go of everything else, stop trying to fix things which seem to me to be wrong, and just allow Jesus to take care of it all, that very moment the darkness is gone, and light floods all my path. It is only necessary to be willing to trust all to God, stop trying to defend self, and then the darkness is gone in a moment.

My brother, my sister, I tell you these things are no vain imaginings. "Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." But now listen further: "Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks; walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow."

Shall this be our portion? Shall we walk in the light of a fire of our own kindling? or shall we walk in God's light? His light will surely, speedily dissipate the darkness, if we stay ourselves upon him by a living faith.

One thing more I must say: If we wish to bind ourselves to God, we must learn with Paul to forget the things that are behind. That don't mean thinking them over and over. Mark it, ye disconsolate ones; he says: "Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Phil. 3:13, 14.

Oh, let us set our faces like a flint, so as not to be turned aside from our purpose to so fasten to God that nothing shall be able to separate us from his precious love which we have found in Christ Jesus our Lord.

MARY J. BAHLER.