Wearied To A Wayside Well

Reading from the Book of Ezekiel 3:22

And the hand of the Lord was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth unto the plain, and I will there talk with thee" Ezekiel 3:22

 

Did you ever hear of any one being much used for Christ who did not have some special waiting time, some complete upset of all his or her plans first; from St. Paul's being sent off into the desert of Arabia for three years, when he must have been boiling over with the glad tidings, down to the present day?

 

You were looking forward to telling about trusting Jesus in Syria; now He says, "I want you to show what it is to trust Me, without waiting for Syria."

 

I laid it down in silence,

This work of mine,

And took what had been sent me--

A resting time.

The Master's voice had called me

To rest apart;

"Apart with Jesus only,"

Echoed my heart.

I took the rest and stillness

From His own Hand,

And felt this present illness

Was what He planned.

How often we choose labor,

When He says "Rest"--

Our ways are blind and crooked;

His way is best.

The work Himself has given,

He will complete.

There may be other errands

For tired feet;

There may be other duties

For tired hands,

The present, is obedience

To His commands.

There is a blessed resting

In lying still,

In letting His hand mould us,

Just as He will.

His work must be completed.

His lesson set;

He is the higher Workman:

Do not forget!

It is not only "working."

We must be trained;

And Jesus "learnt" obedience,

Through suffering gained.

For us, His yoke is easy,

His burden light.

His discipline most needful,

And all is right.

We are but under-workmen;

They never choose

If this tool or if that one

Their hands shall use.

In working or in waiting

May we fulfill

Not ours at all, but only

The Master's will!

--Selected

 

God provides resting places as well as working places. Rest, then, and be thankful when He brings you, wearied to a wayside well.

Woe, to the Rebellious Children

Reading from the Book of Isaiah 30:1-2, 9-13

Isaiah 30:1 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
² That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!

Isaiah 30:1 is another of those "woe" passages we see from time to time in the Bible. In it the Lord pronounces a curse upon those rebellious children who turn from trusting in Him to take counsel of themselves, carry out their own plans, and flee to "the shadow of Egypt," rather than resting under the "shadow of the Almighty."

Isaiah 30:2, in this case, fleeing to "the shadow of Egypt" refers to turning to the arm of the flesh rather than leaning on the arm of the Lord. In other words we are not to trust others, in ourselves, or in the world, but only in the Lord. We are to acknowledge Him in all our ways so that He may direct our paths. We are to find our strength in Him alone.

Isaiah 30:9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: ¹⁰ Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: ¹¹ Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. ¹² Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: ¹³ Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.

When you and I make our plans or run to other people instead of trusting in the Lord, we leave a weak spot in our wall of divine protection. At a time when we least expect it, the enemy will break through that weak spot. When that happens, we will indeed be like the "broken section of a high wall" mentioned in Isaiah 30:13.

God does not want us to have weak spots in our lives. He wants us to rely on Him and be obedient to Him so our "walls" will remain strong and thick and our lives will be blessed and full. The more we depend on God, the more He can do through us. Sometimes we may have to go through brokenness before we enter His blessings. Sometimes before God can promote us, He has to remind us of our place.

He is the answer to all of our problems, especially when we are broken. And our children, who have forsaken the Lord, who have taken the path of destruction, are coming upon a time where meeting the Lord face to face will be their final rebellious act.

Showers Of Blessings

Reading from the Book of Ezekiel 34:26

Ezekiel  34:26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.

"I will send... showers of blessing." Notice that the word 'showers' is plural. God will send all kinds of blessings. And all His blessings go together like links in a golden chain. If He gives you saving grace, He will also give you comforting grace. God will send "showers of blessings."

What is your season today? Are you experiencing a season of drought? If so then it is the season for showers.

Are you going through a season of great heaviness with dark clouds? Then that too is the season for showers.

Look up today, you who are dried and withered plants. Open your leaves and flowers and receive God's heavenly watering.