DEPENDENCE ON GOD, NOT ON MERCIES

DEPENDENCE ON GOD, NOT ON MERCIES

Christians often depend on God only partially, while leaning at the same time on some mercy of His hand to them, as children walk by the assistance of go-carts. To walk without any seen thing to lean on, is a new and peculiar path; and as a child pauses and fears ere he attempts it, though desiring it, and glad when he has succeeded in ever so small a way - so with us; we see we ought to depend on God, we feel we may, we pause, we fear, we attempt, we succeed, we are glad! God’s sufficiency is known to our souls. The first time ^[p. 52] a child walks by himself is a new era in his life, and though the mere beginning of it may be forgotten, the fact and nature of the act is known to him all his life long; and if it be interrupted, either by accident or infirmity, he feels it sadly. When we have learned to walk in simple dependence on God, we can never happily substitute anything else for it. If failure or loss of communion deprive us of it for a season, there is always the craving of the new nature to return to an order of strength so normal to it, and so natural to us as of God. The Lord comfort your heart much, and teach you daily how to practise walking in dependence on Himself without any subsidy or aid. Accustom yourself not to look for it. Try to walk with ever so small steps in simple rest in Him, making known to Him all your heart. You may rest assured that the reason why our machinery is so often or ever out of working order, or dragging heavily, is because there is some pressure on our hearts which we have not disposed of. You must dispose of every pressure to God, or it will clog the wheels, and the whole of you be out of gear. Unburden everything to Him; dispose of every pressure to Him, and the peace of God through Christ Jesus shall keep your heart and mind.