GRACE
/by Philip Howard, Jr.
“ God is faithful— Not he has been, not He will be— Both are true; But today in this sore trial God is faithful, now, to you.”
Paul obeyed the exhortation which I believe he himself gave us in Hebrews 12:2: “ Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” “ ‘It is my duty,’ said Mr. Great-Heart, the brave guide in Pilgrim’s Progress, ‘to mistrust my own ability, that I may have reliance on Him who is stronger than all.’ ” In verse ten in the passage before us, Paul mentions five kinds of trouble, which I think include most of the troubles that we have: infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecution, distresses; and he concludes triumphantly, “ For when I am weak, then am I strong.” Often our daily trials are included in that one word, “necessities.” These are such things as getting up in the morning when we feel tired, studying, writing, having interviews, traveling, keeping office hours, washing dishes and facing separation from loved ones. Most of us have infirmities of some kind, and sooner or later we have reproaches,'or criticism. Paul could speak of distresses as few others can. In 2 Corin thians 4, 6, and 11, he set forth some of his credentials as an apostle. He mentions four kinds of trouble in the 4th chapter and 28 in each of the others, making a total of 60 different kinds of trouble that he suffered in his service for Christ. These were the very things that characterized him as an apostle, and he took pleasure in these things for Christ’s sake. Let me quote another poem from William Cowper which illustrates the ever-present and always sufficient grace of the Lord Jesus Christ: To keep the lamp alive With oil we fill the bowl: ’Tis water makes the willow thrive, And grace that feeds the soul. The Lord’s unsparing hand Supplies the living stream; It is not at our own command, But still deriv’d from him. Beware of Peter’s word, Nor confidently say, “ I never will deny the Lord,” But, “ grant I never may.” Man’s wisdom is to seek His strength in God alone; And e’en an angel would be weak, Who trusted in his own.
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What a comfort to know that His strength “ is made perfect in weakness” ! Our weakness is the very place where His strength can work effectively. When a life guard rescues a drowning person, he does not want that person to try to help him. He wants him to relax com pletely and let the lifeguard do the strenuous work. When a doctor adjusts a dislocated joint, he can do it best if the patient is completely relaxed and trusts him to do the operation. In fact, sometimes the doctor has to give an anesthetic so that the patient will not struggle and resist him. And even in athletics the most skillful athletes appear to do their work with a certain amount of relax ation. So this verse makes it clear that our weakness does not keep God from using us, but is rather the very atmos phere in which His strength is made perfect. i l l The " Most Gladly” of Paul After Paul had heard God’s message, he said, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in mine infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” He now saw the thorn from God’s point of view. Note that he did not say “ I will glorify,” or “magnify,” or “ groan over my infirmities” ; but he said, “ Therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities.” It is well to compare with this passage chapters seven and eight of Romans and notice one very striking point of difference between these two chapters. In the seventh, Paul uses the personal pronoun “ I” 33 times, showing that he was really looking in most of the time; whereas in the 8th chapter this pronoun is used only twice, while the Holy Spirit is mentioned 19 times. This illustrates an important principle of the victorious life: that we shall not find victory by being occupied with ourselves, but by counting on the strength of the indwell ing Spirit.
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Mr. Howard is President and Editor of the Sunday School Times Magazine es tablished in 1859. His father was Pres ident from 1903-46. Mr. Howard is the father of B e t t y H o w a r d E l l i o t whose husband Jim was martyred by Aucas in Ecuador. Mr. Howard will be one of the featur ed speakers during t h e 25th annual Biola Torrey Me morial Conference, January 31 - Febru ary 7, 1960.
Retreat beneath His wings, And in His grace confide; This more exalts the King of kings Than all your works beside. In Jesus is our store, Grace issues from His throne; Whoever says, “ I want no more,” Confesses he has none.
JANUARY, 1960
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