by M. Priestley
May I tell you a secret I have often tried to tell myself? God has a number of secrets. You know, I expect, that it is a law of nature that we can physically stand an immense pressure exerted on us externally by the atmosphere, namely 14 lbs. to the square inch. This totals up to about 14 tons on the total area of an average man. Remarkable, yet a fact.
This pressure could not be endured unless there was a counter power within exerting pressure outward, through the air that is within the physical body.
God's natural laws are set in relation to His spiritual laws. I would say that at the present time pressures are mounting on you in business, and they will increase, no doubt. There will be much to contend with in the way of planning, finance, decisions, not without anxieties and hard, time-absorbing work. In fact, as you already find, there is not enough time.
How do we cope with this situation? Just as God gives us strength as we come into His secret. Here it is: "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Psa. 91:11He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1). Notice it says "Almighty." All the power is for us as we learn the secret. In this case it is a dwelling place. We may say that time is too pressing to have daily prayer. Yet it is good if we can, even if limited to personal prayer.
This secret, however, is not exactly a set time and place. It is what we carry with us continually. "Your life is hid with Christ in God." Col. 3:33For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3). This statement is true of every Christian. Nobody can see this life. It is hidden, an unalterable fact, and not dependent on our state. If this is true of us, then we must make it true in experience. This side of it is given to us in Psa. 91:11He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1), where we are viewed as putting ourselves in the good of the secret place. Nobody can see this either, for it is dwelling in the nearness of inward communion. Even in our busiest moments, we may just yield ourselves up to a secret consciousness of God's presence. It may not even be in words.
Other scriptures help here as well. "Trust in the Lord." "Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him." "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him" (Psa. 37). As we cultivate this inwardly, it will work outwardly. The Lord can control and guide as He takes over. Grace is supplied to relieve us of pressure, and we can organize our time and affairs more effectively. I would seek it more myself. I suggest this will lead to personal and family devotion. This is a great bulwark in the home.
Often Christians forget the real secret, and outward things swamp the inward life and decline sets in. God may have to discipline to bring us back (Heb. 12:5-115And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. (Hebrews 12:5‑11)). There is protection under the shadow of His wings, and rest and peace. He who dwells there learns the way of true wisdom as a portion the unbeliever can never have. Listen to the words of Job as he says of the ungodly, "Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?" Job 27:1010Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God? (Job 27:10). No, but the godly do. Now hear his words as to wisdom in Job 28:12,1312But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? 13Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. (Job 28:12‑13). "But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.”
He concludes with the secret to all matters of this life: "And unto man He said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding." v. 28.
God has given us our natural abilities to use and promote. His seal of approval was on His creation as well as His Word. The whole vast field of spiritual and earthly things lies before us to explore, with the accent on the spiritual. Wisdom comes down from above, where we dwell with God, to order our affairs with men and the world of material things (James 3:1717But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. (James 3:17)).
As to Heb. 12:5-115And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. (Hebrews 12:5‑11), chastening is an act of love. God does it for our profit, not always for correction.
He did not disclose His tender feelings to Job when He put him through the purifying fires of affliction, but He disclosed them to James in the New Testament in James 5:1111Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. (James 5:11). "Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."