God has certain dates from which He begins to bless us. On the day of consecration (Genesis 22:16–17), the day when our all is surrendered to Him—on that day untold blessing begins.

Have we come to that date?

“It was on the 22nd of July, 1690, that happy day,” says Madame Guyon, “that my soul was delivered from all its pains. On that day I was restored, as it were, to perfect liberty. I was no longer depressed, no longer borne down under the burden of sorrow. I had thought God lost, and lost forever; but I found Him again. And He returned to me with unspeakable magnificence and purity. In a wonderful manner difficult to explain, all that which had been taken from me was not only restored, but restored with increase and new advantages. In Thee, O my God, I found it all, and more than all! The peace which I now possessed was all holy, heavenly, inexpressible. What I had possessed some years before, in the period of my spiritual enjoyment, was consolation, peace—the gifts of God, but now that I was fully yielded to the will of God, whether that will was consoling or otherwise, I might now be said to possess not merely consolation, but the God of consolation; not merely peace, but the God of peace.

One day of this happiness, which consisted in simple rest or harmony with God’s will, whatever that will might be, was sufficient to counterbalance years of suffering.

Certainly it was not I, myself, who had fastened my soul to the Cross and, under the operations of a providence just but inexorable, had drained, if I may so express it, the blood of the life of nature to the last drop. I did not understand it then; but I understand it now. It was the Lord who did it. It was God that destroyed me, that He might give me true life.

Oh, the Spirit-filled life may be thine, may be thine,

In thy soul evermore the Shechinah may shine;

It is thine to live with the tempests all stilled,

It is thine with the blest Holy Ghost to be filled;

It is thine, even thine, for thy Lord has so willed.

Future things are hidden from us. Yet here is a glass in which we may see the unborn years. The Lord says, "From this day will I bless you."

It is worthwhile to note the day which is referred to in this promise. There had been failure of crops, blasting, and mildew, and all because of the people's sin. Now, the Lord saw these chastened ones commencing to obey His word and build His temple, and therefore He says, "From the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider. From this day will I bless you." If we have lived in any sin, and the Spirit leads us to purge ourselves of it, we may reckon upon the blessing of the Lord.

His smile, His Spirit, His grace, His fuller revelation of His truth will all prove to us an enlarged blessing. We may fall into greater opposition from man because of our faithfulness, but we shall rise to closer dealings with the Lord our God and a clearer sight of our acceptance in Him.

Lord, I am resolved to be more true to Thee and more exact in my following of Thy doctrine and Thy precept; and I pray Thee, therefore, by Christ Jesus, to increase the blessedness of my daily life henceforth and forever.