There were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work.–1 Chron. 4:23

Desiring things that are fun, exciting, glamorous, and noticed by others, we tend to despise the ordinary, common-place, mundane things of life. As Christians, it would be good if we thought of all ground as holy ground and every bush as a burning bush. That would make a world of difference in our disposition.

F.R. Havergal said it well when she wrote these words:

Anywhere and everywhere we may dwell “with the King for His work.” We may be in a very unlikely or unfavorable place for this; it may be in a literal country life, with little enough to be seen of the “goings” of the King around us; it may be among hedges of all sorts, hindrances in all directions; it may be, furthermore, with our hands full of all manner of pottery for our daily task. No matter! The King who placed us “there” will come and dwell there with us; the hedges are all right, or He would soon do away with them; and it does not follow that what seems to hinder our way may not be for its very protection; and as for the pottery, why, that is just exactly what He has seen fit to put into our hands, and therefore it is, for the present, “His work.”

“Who is among you that feareth Jehovah, that obeyeth the voice of his servant? He that walketh in darkness and hath no light, let him trust in the name of Jehovah and rely upon his God” (Isa. 50:10, RV).

What shall the believer do in times of darkness — the darkness of perplexity and confusion, not of heart but of mind? Times of darkness come to the faithful and believing disciple who is walking obediently in the will of God; seasons when he does not know what to do, nor which way to turn. The sky is overcast with clouds. The clear light of Heaven does not shine upon his pathway. One feels as if he were groping his way in darkness.

Beloved, is this you? What shall the believer do in times of darkness? Listen! “Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and rely upon his God.”

The first thing to do is do nothing. This is hard for poor human nature to do. In the West there is a saying that runs thus, “When you’re rattled, don’t rush”; in other words, “When you don’t know what to do, don’t do it.”

When you run into a spiritual fog bank, don’t tear ahead; slow down the machinery of your life. If necessary, anchor your bark or let it swing at its moorings. We are to simply trust God. While we trust, God can work. Worry prevents Him from doing anything for us. If our minds are distracted and our hearts distressed; if the darkness that overshadows us strikes terror to us; if we run hither and yon in a vain effort to find some way of escape out of a dark place of trial, where Divine providence has put us, the Lord can do nothing for us.

The peace of God must quiet our minds and rest our hearts. We must put our hand in the hand of God like a little child, and let Him lead us out into the bright sunshine of His love.

He knows the way out of the woods. Let us climb up into His arms, and trust Him to take us out by the shortest and surest road.
–Dr. Pardington

Remember we are never without a pilot when we know not how to steer.

 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts;and let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.— Isaiah 55:7

God’s mercy extends to our greatest sins as well as to our lesser shortcomings. As theologian Jonathan Edwards put it: “The mercy of God is as sufficient for the pardon of the greatest sins as for the least; and that because His mercy is infinite. That which is infinite is as much above what is great as it is above what is small… So the mercy of God being infinite, it must be as sufficient for the pardon of all sin, as for one.”

If you fear you’ve sinned so greatly that God can’t forgive, you’re forgetting His limitless mercy. If you worry that you’ve outrun the boundaries of God’s grace, you’ve forgotten that all His attributes are as infinite and eternal as He Himself is.

As we share the Gospel with others, we’ll find some people so mired in guilt that they’ve decided God cannot forgive them. Mercy is God’s compassion for us, especially in His provision of Christ’s blood for our sins. Because of Jesus, He will abundantly pardon. –From Turning Point

Exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin– Hebrews 3:13

We cannot help but notice from this exhortation the deceitfulness of sin, the swiftness with which it can deceive us, and the urgency with which we must battle against it.

Sin lies to us, causing us to harden our hearts and draw away from God in unbelief (12). When we give in to any sin, we are not able to think as clearly and joyfully and trustingly as before.

Whether the sin is lust or anger or pride or greed, sin deceives us into thinking that satisfaction is found somewhere else than in God. It promises fulfillment through sensual pleasure, or putting others down, or lifting ourselves up, or gaining more “stuff.”

But this is a lie. True and lasting joy is only found in the path and presence of the living God. Everything else is just a dead, limp substitute that has been painted and polished and perfumed to look enticing.

But how swiftly we give in to the lie! The writer reminds us that we need daily exhorting, lest sin have its hardening effect on our hearts. We can walk faithfully for a week, a decade, or half a lifetime and then suddenly fall in a day! Constant vigilance, and the exhortation of others, is needed in order to avoid sin’s pitfalls today, no matter how successful we’ve been so far.

Finally, the writer presses the urgency of our situation. It is only called “Today” for 24 hours! Then tomorrow will come, and soon the end of all days. Do not put off the vital work of repentance and faithfulness. Today is already almost over, and our Lord that much closer to returning.–Copied from “A Good Thing”

There is no other solution to the marvellous mysteries of His Incarnation and Sacrificial Death but this: Christ has loved us.

There is not a circumstance of our Lord’s history which is not another form or manifestation of love.

His incarnation is love stooping.
His sympathy is love weeping.
His compassion is love supporting.
His grace is love acting.
His teaching is the voice of love.
His silence is the repose of love.
His patience is the restraint of love.
His obedience is the labor of love.
His suffering is the travail of love.
His cross is the altar of love.
His death is the burnt offering of love.
His resurrection is the triumph of love.
His ascension into heaven is the enthronement of love.
His sitting down at the right hand of God is the intercession of love.

Such is the deep, the vast, the boundless ocean of Christ’s love!

— Octavius Winslow