Jackson County journal. (Sylva, N.C.) 19??-19??, 1919-01-24

sgIz@ I. The presence
of the contrary
wind is no sign Of
being out Of the will Of God.
Before Jesus sent his disciples out
upon the lake he knew the contrary
wilu was coming. It was no surprise
to him, and he had deliberately sent
chem into the place where he knew
the storm was coming. The presence
Of the storm therefore was no proof
that they were out of his will. There
is some teaching today that if one will
only yield OR surrender wholly to the |
Lord, all storms will thereby be avoid
ed and that one will have life sur
rounded by peace and nothing that dis
turbs will be able to find entrance.
But beth the Scripture as well as the
experience Of all the saints of God
who have lived sanity lives bear tes-
timony to the opposite. The Scripture
says that Gin the world We shall have
tribulation" and call swho will live
godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer-"
And such saint as Paul bears testi-
mony that in following the Lord he
found he was 'in WEAKNESS and pain
fulness, in watchings often, in hunger
and thirst, in Hastings often, in cold
and nakedness."
No! The presence of the storm is no
proof that one is out of the will or the
way of Cod Some reader Of these
words may be passing through deep
waters, and the devil may be suggest
ing that the deep waters are there be-
cause of unfaithfulness, while all the
time it may be as it was with the dis
ciples, the contrary wind is expert
enced because of wholly following the
Lord.
2. The lack Of seeming progress 10
no sign Of being out Of the will Of
God.
Before Jesus sent his disciples out
upon the lake he knew they would be
hindered by the contrary wind. Some
times we are tempted to think that be-
cause there are no seen results from
our work, because things seem to be
at a standstill or apparently no prog
ress is being made, we have slipped
out of his will. OF course this may
be possible, but before we give our
selves worry and care, let us be sure
that we are not being misled by Satan,
To worry is against Scripture as well
as common sense. All the members OF
the body of Christ have not the same
office, and what would be progress tC
one may not be progress to another
The Master sets one to blowing, an
other to sowing, another to watering
the seed and another to reaping. We
, are in danger Of thinking that only the
reaper is making progress The diSci
pies were told to cross the lake. AL
they could do was to keep the bow O.
r the boat pointed in that direction, an(
q the Lord knew when he sent them GU
s that this was all they would be abb,
2 to do. But they could do that, and d.
b it they did without trying somethin;
: else just because they were not max
ing any seeming progress. We nee'
j. to learn to have more Of an eye TO
q obedience than looking for results tina
/ we can see and tabulate. To do wha
J. he tells us 70 do without thinking o
the results is the highest form of ser1
n ice.
8. The sense of fear and LONELINESS
is no sign that we are out of the wi
of God.
r. With the contrary wind rising hig1
er and the darkness falling upon then
together with the absence of the Lor,
"a it is little wonder that these disciple
- should experience a feeling of lionel
k: ness and fear. But such feelin
" should not give rise to self-recrimin;
-. tons, for it is by no means a proc
that one is out Of Gods way. 1t VIZ
into the darkness and the loneline:
that the Lord had sent these disciple
At the proper time he would con
= to them, and until that time can
they had just one thing to do, and TIL
was to keep the boat pointed in IL
ale right direction, wen though they mat
n- no progress, and believe that as he hi
sent them there, there was where
wanted them to be. We may not u
- derstand all of his dealings with Z
and sometimes when we seem to be
dense darkness and can see no r.
ec, Of light, we are tempted to become t
nm retrospective. In such times of da1
ness let us remember the words
of Isaiah the prophet: "Who is amo
you that feareth the Lord, that OBJ
. eth the voice of his servant, that wa
2 eth in darkness and hath no light? I
him trust in the name Of the Lord a
\. stay upon his Cod"
K
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