Adventures in the Land of CanaanBerry, R. L. (Robert Lee)
Religion
Adventures in the Land of Canaan
Berry, R. L. (Robert Lee)
Christian life
"'Do you still think you are a pilgrim in Canaan?' he said. 'More than
likely you will never find rest. I doubt it very much. See how bad you
feel. And you are always saying or doing something that hurts you.
Pilgrims should live better than you do.' And with that he grabbed me in
his big, burly arms and nearly squeezed the life out of me. I couldn't
fight at all. The jacket held me so rigid that I could not even use the
sword or hold up the shield. In fact, Mr. Legality told me his
straight-jacket was a better protection than any sword or shield; and I
had gradually grown into dependency on it.
"Next day Giant Doubt assailed me again. This time he unmercifully beat
me with his wormwood club. And after cuffing me about until I was nearly
dead, he again left me. Then he came every day. It is peculiar how long
he kept my company. Or, rather, it is strange how long I allowed him to
be with me. And every day I found myself weaker; and when the old giant
threatened to throw me into the sea of the dead, I had very little
resistance in me--just enough to keep him from his purpose.
"I found that every time I used the sword ever so little it scared the
old giant; and when he shot hot darts, I found that the shield would
stop them if I held it up. But that old jacket was very much in my way.
"At last I said to myself, 'I believe this jacket is a nuisance. Off
with it!' and I pulled it off and threw it as far as I could down into
the crevasse of Worn Out Laws [James 1:25].
"After this, I met Giant Doubt again. But my wounds had become well, and
I determined to fight for my life and my liberty. I told the giant that,
Immanuel helping me, I should not let him travel with me another step of
the way.
"'Oh, yes I will!' he said. 'You can not travel without me. I'm your
friend.'
"'You are no friend,' I cried, 'but an enemy. You have made my journey
miserable. You have driven away my peace; you have killed my joy; you
have beaten me, deceived me, and threatened me with death, and have
indeed nearly killed me. Go! Get behind me! you enemy of my soul' [Matthew
4:1-11].
"And at this I smote him with the sword of truth. He ran away and got
out his arrows to shoot at me as before; but I simply held up the shield,
and not one hurt me [Romans 16:20]. Then I ran after him with all my
might and chased him away--and I haven't had a real encounter with him
since."
* * * * *
The cure for doubts is faith; not prayer, nor fasting, nor working--
just faith. Faith is believing God, believing just what God says. God
has said many things and made many promises. Faith expects God to fulfill
His word. Trust is faith holding on and waiting.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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