"For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth." ~ Deuteronomy14:2

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Pleasant Stone Devotional Meditation: March 10

"God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord" ~ 1 Corinthians 1:9
I [Eugenia Price, the author] dare to say that there is no such thing as too much temptation for the follower of Jesus Christ, only because I know that God is faithful. This "red stone," deep with the very life of God, "came alive" to me one morning on a train as I was riding away from my dear friend Ellen Riley, who led me to Christ. I ride away from her often, but that morning I was warned by the doctor that I could expect a long distance call at any moment. Ellen was very, very ill. But God had sent me out on His business, so I had to leave her with Him. Giving back a loved one to God is a tremendous experience. It tears us in deep places of our souls which we didn't know existed before! But God is faithful, and He has promised to "make ... all our boarders of pleasant stones," no matter what temptation and heartache rage within those "boarders." That morning, riding on a train from Chicago to South Bend, Indiana, God laid another "pleasant stone," and my boarders were strengthened. He gave me this "red stone." I was tempted far beyond my own strength that day. Tempted to give in to the luxury of self-pity. After all, my book The Burden Is Light, telling the story of how Ellen had reached me for Christ, had just come out. Others were asking, "Why would God let Ellen get so ill now of all times?" I was tempted to ask "why." I was tempted to break the engagement on which the Lord had sent me. I was so tempted to be afraid. But that difficult morning I dared to believe for the first time that for me, that day and forever, there never again need to be "too much" temptation. I knew in a deeper way that God is faithful. And that I had been called into a fellowship with the One who Himself did the calling to a whole sinful world from the Cross.
"... God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

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