There are three things I find in the often trying and toilsome life of faith: first, trusting God that nothing can hinder His accomplishing His purpose. All that his brethren did to frustrate the accomplishment of Joseph's dreams, just led to that accomplishment. They sent him to Egypt. The false accusation against him in Potiphar's house put him in prison, where he met the butler who brought him to where the dream was fulfilled.
The second element in the life of faith is simple obedience, taking God's mind for wisdom, and doing His will. He has a path for His saints in this world. In it they find Him and His strength, though perhaps the life of faith is dark.
Third, if we know the purpose of God, light is in the soul. He will guide us in the path and even though it may seem dark, it is the way of arriving at His rest. But a single eye seeking nothing but Christ is the secret of certainty of walk, and gives firmness as having the secret of the Lord with you. What a calling we have to walk worthy of God who has called us to His own kingdom, and yet what a joy to be thus associated with Himself! And we know His purpose is to glorify Christ, and so we seek that, in walking worthy of Him and serving Him in love.
Did you ever notice in Luke 12 The two things that are looked for in us? First, watching; its reward is making us sit down to table in heaven, and ministering the blessing to us. The second thing is serving in what He sets us to do, and the reward of that, ruling. But the first is wonderful, that He remains forever our servant in love. How blessed to have Him, and to be His! There is progress in the Song of Songs. First, He is ours; next, we are His; then I am my Beloved's, and His desire is towards me. That is wonderful to say! The riches of Scripture, both for knowledge and for affections, is beyond our thoughts —no wonder, as it comes from God, but it is all ours. But the perfectness of our place is wonderful, and I do not mean now as to glory, true as that is, but morally. He is given to be the Object of our affections who is sufficient for the Father's, and to have Him in His path down here even is the food of the soul. Energy comes from seeing Him up there (Phil. 3), and likeness to Him from feeding on Him down here (Phil. 2).
We are drawing on to the end, and I look to the Lord to keep His own to meet Him in that day.
J.N. Darby