The first mark of power is patience. Nothing troubled the peace of the Apostle Paul’s soul, so that he was free enough to think of individuals Euodias (Phil. 4:2) or to write about a runaway slave. He was passing through the valley of Baca, making it a well.
In the many trying circumstances of the Apostle, he was finding that the Lord was sufficient. He possessed that eternal happiness which enabled him to say, when before Festus, “I would to God” that you were “altogether such as I am.”
Are you so happy in your soul that you can say that? The young Christian rejoices in what he has obtained—his salvation, joy, peace and so on. The older Christian rejoices more in Christ. The young Christian says, “I have this; I have that.” The older Christian says, “Christ is this; Christ is that.” Not that this is wrong in a young Christian but if they walk with God, they will soon ripen. So in 1 John 2:12-14, “I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning.”
J. N. Darby