TRIALS AND DIFFICULTIES NECESSARY TO DEVELOP FAITH.
By A. E. Hassell
IN order to please God we must have faith. Heb. 11 : 6. This does not mean merely to come to God once, and have enough faith to ask Him to forgive our sins once, and think then that by that one act of faith we are all right forevermore. Would it show much genuine love if one performed an act of love toward the one he claimed to love only once in his life?—No; there will be many such acts if the love is genuine. Now in order to please God constantly, we must have and exercise continual faith in Him. That will be a continuous walking by faith. We received Christ by faith, and we shall also walk in Him by faith. Col. 2 : 6. The righteous one shall live by faith. Heb. 10 : 38. Living is a continual, not an occasional, doing. This walking or living by faith continually pleases God, and is a very pleasant thing to do, because the faith gains more and more by exercise and stores up, grows stronger, and can bear, hold out, and perform, greater tasks day by day as it grows. But as it is with physical and mental strength, so it is with our faith. An easy-going, lazy life does not develop much of either physical, mental, moral, or spiritual strength and sturdiness. It is exercise and activity that strengthens the system. It is the grappling with hard, knotty problems that gives strength, firmness, and stability to the mental powers; and what pleasure there is in knowing that we are the victors. Little by little we gain a preparation for more difficult problems and duties. Faith also must have hard problems to solve in order to gain strength, firmness, and a stability that nothing can dislodge or conquer. Israel of old did not develop much faith in God after they settled down in the land of Canaan and had peace and prosperity. See Deut. 8 : 11-20; Judges 2 : 10-17. The young generation that had been educated among the difficulties in the wilderness and had seen and experienced for themselves how God led and helped them in every time of need, were prepared to go forward in faith to greater victories, vanquishing their enemies and taking possession of the good land. It was they also who did not depart from Jehovah as long as they lived. Their children had no such practical faith and experience developed in them, and in their case they soon departed from the God of their fathers. A theoretical and nominal faith in God and His truth will not save any one. It was not through any smooth-sailing experience that Elijah developed a faith strong enough so that he, by the word of God, shut the heaven, raised the dead, was answered by fire, received rain, and was finally prepared for translation without seeing death? As far as he knew once himself, he stood alone against the whole apostate nation; against their usages, customs, priests, rulers, and all. Do you think, dear reader, that it required some living faith and courage to do that, then and there? Do you think it looked very promising to him, when the scorching sun burned up every green thing and even dried up the rivers? Was there much promise under such circumstances that any reformation could be carried on for that people when he had to leave the country and remain at the humble hut of a poor widow, whose sole sustenance was a handful of flour and a little oil in the cruse? Look at the cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 11. Had they smooth sailing to strengthen the brawny muscle of faith? And did not our great Master and Example Himself have to walk by faith against all kinds of adverse winds and circumstances at every step? His whole life is a witness to it. Can we, and should we, seek and expect anything less? Faith, living faith, can conquer everything. Said Jesus: "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." Matt. 17 : 20. Now as we have seen, a firm, stable faith develops best in the soil of adversity. If we then desire a strong faith, do we act consistently if we seek ease, convenience, prosperity, exaltation, honor, or the first places, even in the work and cause of God? What may seem good on the outside to us, may often prove to be a curse in the end, as it was in the case of Saul. Read 1 Sam. 9 : 1, 2; 10 : 24; compare 13 : 9-14; 15 : 1-29; 28 : 6-8. On the other hand God often uses the lowliest instruments and circumstances, and the most obscure, in carrying out His purposes, that man shall not say their strength and their wisdom saved them. Seek God earnestly to know His perfect will concerning you in all things. Then you will be prepared for whatsoever He sees best to send you, knowing that all things work together for good to them that love God. A continual praise will then ascend before Him and we shall see His glory in His mighty arm made bare. May we please Him by a strong, living faith.