Basic HTML Version
78
Royalty and Ruin
And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God.”
Job 19:25, 26
When Job caught a glimpse of his Creator, he abhorred himself
and repented in dust and ashes.
Job 42:6
. Then the Lord was able to
bless him and make his last years the best of his life.
Despondency is sinful and unreasonable. God is willing to be-
stow “more abundantly” (
Hebrews 6:17
) on His servants the strength
they need. The enemies of His work may make plans that seem
firmly established, but God can overthrow the strongest of these.
For the disheartened there is a sure remedy—faith, prayer, work.
Are you tempted to give in to worry, dread, or hopelessness? In the
darkest days, when things appear at their worst, don’t be afraid. God
knows your need. His infinite love and compassion never run out.
He will never change the covenant He has made with those who
love Him. And He will give His faithful servants the efficiency that
their need demands. Paul has testified: “He said to me, ‘My grace is
sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ ...
For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:9, 10
.
Did God forsake Elijah in his ordeal? No! He loved His servant
no less when he felt forsaken by God and man. And now a soft
touch and pleasant voice awoke him. The pitying face bending over
him was not the face of an enemy, but of a friend. God had sent an
angel with food. “Arise and eat,” the angel said. “Then he looked,
and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water.”
After Elijah had eaten and drunk, he slept again. A second
time the angel touched the exhausted man, and said with pitying
tenderness, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”
In the strength of that food he was able to journey “forty days and
forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God,” where he found
refuge in a cave.
[59]