There is something about an intensified determination that God honors.
The fact is, that He honors faith, and when the seeking soul gets into
the state of mind where he feels that he wants the grace more than life,
and is determined to have it at any cost, it invariably opens up the way
of faith, and the victory at once is his. We once heard of a young man
at a campmeeting who was seeking the Lord. When he came to the altar he
curled up with his head in his arms and was perfectly mute. He would
neither pray nor answer a question. While others were saved around him,
he remained silent, and would leave without any help. This was repeated
time and again. He always curled up the same way, and would never say a
word to God or man. Finally, the workers, seeing they could not get
anything out of him nor help him in any way, agreed among themselves to
let him entirely alone. After this he came as usual to the altar, took
his usual position, and while others around were praying through, he
obtained nothing and went away. After a while it seemed to dawn upon his
benighted mind that everybody had forsaken him, and that he had better
pray for himself. Accordingly, he threw up his hands and screamed for
help at the top of his voice. The merciful Christ, who said, "Him that
cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out," was right present to take him
in. In an instant he had the victory and leaped to his feet and shouted,
"Glory to God! If it had not been for Jesus Christ, I never would have
been saved." Certainly not.
When all earthly hopes are gone, and one is thrown out alone on the
merits of Jesus Christ, it is then that faith takes hold and the victory
comes. It is certainly a sad sight at the altar when some daughter is
crying her way to God in a penitential grief, to have her foolish mother
kneel down beside her and begin to stroke her and say, "My dear child,
you have always been a good girl." Immediately note how the girl drops
the Lord and goes to leaning on her mother. The repentance stops at
once, self-pity takes its place, a soul is arrested in getting saved and
may possibly be lost forever. And yet this is being done continually.
Mr. Charles G. Finney tells of a woman in one of his meetings who was
much burdened on account of her sins. Mr. Finney was stopping at her
house and daily he was called upon to come and pray for the woman. He
responded from time to time and prayed for her the best he knew how, but
found out that it was doing no good. Finally, the Lord showed him that
the woman was depending upon his prayers instead of the Lord. The next
time she asked him to come and pray for her, he said, "I will pray for
you no more." Heartbroken and alarmed she threw herself on the mercy of
the Lord and was saved at once. Christ must be depended upon alone.
Other props must go. He needs no earthly help to save a sinner or
sanctify a believer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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