A WORD IN SEASON TO THE WEARY
December 6🌷🌷
“Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth” (Romans 8:33).
In John 15:18 the Lord said, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you”. Do not say that you are the only one who is reproached. If reproaches should come to us, they come first to the Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever people speak about us, they speak about the Lord also (John 15:19-25). “…mine enemies …hate me without a cause”. This prophecy is given in Psa. 35:19. If we obey the Lord Jesus Christ, and identify ourselves with Him, we also will be hated, despised and persecuted without a cause. Our Lord Jesus Christ became our Saviour in order to forgive us of our sins to save us, change us and purify us. That is why He allowed people to curse Him and spit upon Him. If I want others to be saved through me, I must be reproached and despised. The more we are despised and reproached the more the Lord Jesus Christ will use us.
When we know God is with us, then let men do what they like. We know that the Lord will take up our cause, because He is with us. If we are sure that God is with us, then there is no need to take any notice of what people may say against us (Rom. 8:31-39). “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (v.31). That is the main thing to remember. He is called Jesus, because He is the Saviour, Christ because He is the king and Emmanuel because He is with us. If you have that assurance in your heart that the Lord is with you, then let men say what they like. They may reproach us or hate us or persecute us. Let them do what they like. Satan will use that weapon again and again. Many believers lose their peace because of reproaches. They feel so troubled. Simple reproaches also they cannot bear. They lose their sleep and appetite. In different ways the enemy makes them lose their peace and joy. Imagine the reproach that Mary and Joseph had to bear from the beginning. If you want to enjoy your salvation, be prepared for reproaches. They must come. The more you rejoice in reproaches the stronger you will become. Do not let reproaches of any kind rob you of your joy. That is Satan’s strong weapon to weaken many believers. We know the Lord is with us. He has promised saying, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD” (Isa.54:17).
