December 5 Daily Devotional

His love in time past forbids me to think
He’ll leave me at last in trouble to sink

All things may seem to be against me ‘to drive me to despair’, I do not understand what is happening; but I know this, I know that God has so loved me that He sent His only begotten Son into the world for me, I know that while I was an enemy, God sent His only Son to die on the Cross on Calvary’s Hill for me ... that at the cost of His life’s blood I have salvation and that I am a child of God and an heir to everlasting bliss. I know that. Very well, then ... Faith says, I cannot believe that He who has brought me so far is going to let me down at this point. It is impossible, it would be inconsistent with the character of God....’

And then the next step is that faith applies all that to the particular situation. Again, that was something [that the disciples, during the storm on Galilee] did not do, [Luke 8:22–25] and that is why our Lord puts it to them in this way: ‘Where is your faith?’—‘You have got it, why don’t you apply it, why don’t you bring all you know to bear on this situation, why don’t you focus it on this particular problem?’ ... I do not suggest that you will be able to understand everything that is happening ... but you will know for certain that God is not unconcerned. That is impossible. The One who has done the greatest thing of all for you, must be concerned about you in everything, and though the clouds are thick and you cannot see His face, you know He is there.... Nothing can happen to you but what He allows, I do not care what it may be, some great disappointment, perhaps, or it may be an illness, it may be a tragedy of some sort ... but you can be certain of this, that God permits that thing to happen to you because it is ultimately for your good.

Spiritual Depression, pp. 144–5