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Why the Time of Trouble, September 22
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1
.
Though God’s people will be surrounded by enemies who are bent
upon their destruction, yet the anguish which they suffer is not a dread of
persecution for the truth’s sake; they fear that every sin has not been repented
of, and that through some fault in themselves they will fail to realize the
fulfillment of the Saviour’s promise: I “will keep thee from the hour of
temptation, which shall come upon all the world.”
Revelation 3:10
. If they
could have the assurance of pardon they would not shrink from torture or
death; but should they prove unworthy, and lose their lives because of their
own defects of character, then God’s holy name would be reproached.
On every hand they hear the plottings of treason and see the active
working of rebellion; and there is aroused within them an intense desire, an
earnest yearning of soul, that this great apostasy may be terminated and the
wickedness of the wicked may come to an end. But while they plead with
God to stay the work of rebellion, it is with a keen sense of self-reproach
that they themselves have no more power to resist and urge back the mighty
tide of evil. They feel that had they always employed all their ability in the
service of Christ, going forward from strength to strength, Satan’s forces
would have less power to prevail against them.
They afflict their souls before God, pointing to their past repentance of
their many sins, and pleading the Saviour’s promise: “Let him take hold
of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace
with me.”
Isaiah 27:5
. Their faith does not fail because their prayers are not
immediately answered. Though suffering the keenest anxiety, terror, and
distress, they do not cease their intercessions. They lay hold of the strength
of God as Jacob laid hold of the Angel; and the language of their souls is:
“I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.”
The time of trouble is the crucible that is to bring out Christlike char-
acters. It is designed to lead the people of God to renounce Satan and his
temptations.
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