You say, "I have known the other three stages; the stage of the sad
heart, mourning that I knew no living Christ; I have known the stage of
the slow heart to believe, when I struggled with my unbelief; and I know
the stage of the burning heart, when there are great times of joy and
blessedness." You say that? Oh come then and know the fourth stage of
_The satisfied heart_,
of the heart made glad for eternity, of the heart that cannot keep its
joy in, but goes away back to Jerusalem, and says, "It is true. Jesus
has revealed Himself. I know it, I feel it." Oh! brother, oh! sister,
how will this revelation come? Jesus will tell you. Just come to the
Lord Jesus and breathe up before Him a simple child-like prayer, and I,
His servant, will come and take you by the hand and say: "Come, now, my
work is done. I have pointed to the Lamb of God, to the risen One. My
work is done."
Let us enter into the Holy Presence and begin, if you have never yet
sought it before, begin to plead: "Oh! Saviour, that I might have this
blessedness every moment present with me--Jesus Himself, my portion
forever."
"_Jesus Himself._"
"_Lo, I am with you alway._"
II
When I think of all the struggles and difficulties and failures of which
many complain, and know that many are trying to make a new effort to
begin a holy life, their hearts fearing all the time that they would
fail again, owing to so many difficulties and temptations and the
natural weakness of their character, my heart longs to be able to tell
them in words so simple that a little child could understand,
_What the secret is of the Christian life._
And then the thought comes to me, Can I venture to hope that it will be
given to me to take that glorious, heavenly, divine Lord Jesus and to
show Him to these souls, so that they can see Him in His glory? And can
it be given to me to open their eyes to see that there is a Divine,
Almighty Christ, who does actually come into the heart and who
faithfully promises, "I will come and dwell with you, and I will never
leave you?" No; my words cannot do that. But then I thought, my Lord
Jesus can use me as a simple servant to take such feeble ones by the
hand and encourage and help them; to say, Oh, come, come, come, into the
presence of Jesus and wait on Him, and He will reveal Himself to thee. I
pray God that He may use His precious Word. It is simply
_The presence of the Lord Jesus._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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