“The disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.” – Acts 13:52
The Lord will pardon our transgressions, and put a new song into our mouth. “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of righteousness.” [Isaiah 61:10.] We cannot exert a correct influence when we are under a cloud of anxiety and depression. We must reach out the hand of faith, and grasp the hand of our Redeemer. We must not wait for the latter rain. It is coming upon all who will recognize and appropriate the dew and showers of grace that fall upon us.
When we gather up the fragments of light, when we appreciate the sure mercies of God, who loves to have us trust Him, then every promise will be fulfilled. “For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” [Verse 11.] The whole earth is to be filled with the glory of God.
We are not to look on the discouraging features of our experience. We are to bear a clear, ringing testimony to the world. We are to lift up our heads in faith and hope and courage and assurance. “For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake will I not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy light and all kings thy glory. And thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Then shalt thou also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hands of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land be any more termed Desolate; but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah; for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee; and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.
“I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night; ye that make mention of the Lord keep not silence. . . . Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people. Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord; and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.” [Isaiah 62:1-6, 10-12.] (1)
Charge for the Day: Look today to “gather up the fragments of light, . . . [and] appreciate the sure mercies of God.” Do not allow negative circumstances to hinder you from gaining all that God wants to give you.
1. Letter 151, 1897