The life of faith is always nourished and sustained according to the power of that which draws upon it, according to the difficulties through which it has to pass.
We must ever remember this, that though God may give an outward display of power, such as gifts of healing, tongues, and the like, as a testimony to the world, and these may all have come to an end, yet at all times, either with or without this outward manifestation of power, the sense of weakness is competent strength if mixed with faith. There may be trouble of heart, along with this sense of weakness, without unbelief.
There is always strength in looking to God; but if the mind rests upon the weakness, otherwise than to rest it upon God, it becomes unbelief.
Difficulties may come in; God may allow many things to arise to prove our weakness; but the simple path of obedience is to go on, not looking beforehand at what we have to do, but reckoning upon the help that we shall need and find, when the time arrives.
The sense that we are nothing makes us glad to forget ourselves, and then it is that Christ becomes everything to the soul.
It is not “much strength” that is the question, but the thing we most want is greater conformity to the position of Christ.
It seems not much to say of those in Philadelphia, “Thou hast kept my word and hast not denied my name,” for there was not much done by them; well, what could they do? But, in fact, this was saying everything of them. When all that was going on was to the setting aside of the written word, they kept it; and when everything went to the denial of Christ's name, they did not deny His name. That which is a great act in God's sight, is not the calling down fire from heaven, as Elijah did, but the being faithful amidst surrounding unfaithfulness. So likewise it did not seem to be saying much for the 7,000 that did not conform to the gross act of worshipping Baal, in merely saying “they had not bowed the knee to Baal;” but it was in truth saying everything for them, because they were surrounded by all those who did bow the knee to Baal.
Any old truth which has gained credit in the world, so as to be accounted orthodox, fails to put the heart to the test. It accredits nature: one is esteemed for it.
If I can take religion and accredit myself with it, instead of having the heart put to the test by it in the exercise of faith, I may be quite sure that it is not the religion of God; though it may be the truth, as for as it goes, it is not faith in God.
The character of these last days is just this, that men are always seeking, and never coming to the knowledge of, the truth. I have no need to be asking what is truth, if I have it; what a man seeks he has not yet got. A man that is always hunting after truth proves by his actions that he has it not yet.
The Church must be judged according to the resources it has at its disposal. God never goes below this in looking for an answer to what He has done. Therefore we have to ask ourselves whether as individuals we are showing to the world the holiness that we are made partakers of and the love we are the objects of. There are very many who profess Christ, while there are few comparatively who live Christ.