Don't calculate without God.

God seems to have a delightful way of upsetting the things we have calculated on without taking Him into account. We get into circumstances which were not chosen by God, and suddenly we find we have been calculating without God; He has not entered in as a living factor. The one thing that keeps us from the possibility of worrying is bringing God in as the greatest factor in all our calculations.

In our religion it is customary to put God first, but we are apt to think it is an impertinence to put Him first in the practical issues of our lives. If we imagine we have to put on our Sunday moods before we come near to God, we will never come near Him. We must come as we are.

Don't calculate with the evil in view.

Does God really mean us to take no account of the evil? "Love . . . taketh no account of the evil." Love is not ignorant of the existence of the evil, but it does not take it in as a calculating factor. Apart from God, we do reckon with evil; we calculate with it in view and work all our reasonings from that standpoint.

Don't calculate with the rainy day in view.

You cannot lay up for a rainy day if you are trusting Jesus Christ. Jesus said - "Let not your heart be troubled." God will not keep your heart from being troubled. It is a command - "Let not . . ." Haul yourself up a hundred and one times a day in order to do it, until you get into the habit of putting God first and calculating with Him in view.

The literal meaning of this verse is: “Roll your way onto Jehovah and trust upon Him, and He works.” This brings to our attention the immediacy of God’s action once we commit, or “roll,” burdens of any kind from our hands into His. Whether our burden is a sorrow, difficulty, physical need, or concern over the salvation of a loved one, “He works.”

When does He work? “He works” now. We act as if God does not immediately accept our trust in Him and thereby delays accomplishing what we ask Him to do. We fail to understand that “He works” as we commit. “He works” now! Praise Him for the fact that this is true.

Our expectation that He will work is the very thing enabling the Holy Spirit to accomplish what we have “rolled” onto Him. At that point it is out of our grasp, and we are not to try to do it ourselves. “He works!” Take comfort from this and do not try to pick it up again. What a relief there is in knowing He really is at work on our difficulty!

And when someone says, “But I don’t see any results,” pay him no attention.

“He works” if you have “rolled” your burdens onto Him and are “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2 KJV) to do it. Your faith may be tested, but “He works.” His Word is true! V. H. F.

“I cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates me” (Psalm 57:2).

One beautiful old translation of this verse says, “He will perform the cause I hold in my hand.” That makes it very real to me today. The very thing “I hold in my hand”—my work today, this concern that is beyond my control, this task in which I have greatly overestimated my own abilities—this is what I may “cry out” for Him to do “for me,” with the calm assurance He will perform it. “The wise and what they do are in God’s hands” (Ecclesiastes 9:1). FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL

The Lord will follow through on His covenant promises. Whatever He takes and holds in His hand, He will accomplish. Therefore, His past mercies are guarantees for the future, and worthy reasons for continuing to cry out to Him. CHARLES H. SPURGEON

The Shunammite woman had lost her only son who had been given to her as the special gift of God. She held him dead in her arms. What could she do? She had a consecrated room where she entertained the prophet of God, and this room meant to her the very presence of God. She took up her precious burden and she went up there. How blessed it is to be able to go up to the secret place of the Most High and to bring our troubles under the shadow of the Almighty! This is the place of refuge where the weary, helpless, and heartbroken find relief.

“And [she] laid him on the bed of the man of God.” This is a beautiful picture of committal—laying our trouble, our business, our whole way over on God.

“Commit . . . trust . . . and he will do this” (Psalm 37:5).

This poor bereaved mother was laying her burden on the Lord and leaving it there. That is one of the most difficult things to do: to leave our burdens with the Lord after we have placed them there.

“[She] shut the door and went out.” The temptation is not to shut the door. We still see our trouble; we still handle it; we go over it again and again; we think our presence is needed, while His presence is more than sufficient. It takes faith to “shut the door” and go out. It takes real confidence for us to let the matter that is troubling us pass entirely out of our hands into God’s hands. In no other way can God fully work.

The corn of wheat must be hidden from the eyes of man if it is to bring forth fruit!

This Shunammite woman committed her dead son entirely to God and went out, shutting the door. No wonder that she could then say when questioned regarding her son, “Everything is all right” (v. 26). There is no safer place in all the universe in which to leave our loved ones than in the hands of God. No wonder that she received her dead son back to life!

We certainly believe that there is many a son and daughter given as a special gift of God and now dead in trespasses and sins who, if fully committed to God in definite faith, would certainly be restored and saved.

We certainly believe, also, that in every burden, trial, or care, which we thus fully leave with God and for which we fully trust Him, He will work above all we ask or think. C. H. P.

When thou hast shut thy door, Shut out from thee its anxious care With all its sharp temptations sore, For He is there.

When thou hast shut thy door, Shut out from thee its pain and grief, Bereavements—pressures to the core; He gives relief.

When thou hast shut thy door, And left all there behind that wall Of God’s own care, for evermore— He takes it all.

When thou hast shut thy door, Shut out thyself—He only in, Nothing for thee but to adore— He works within. L. S. P.

The word trust is the heart of faith and is the Old Testament word given to the infant, or early, stages of faith.

The word faith conveys more an act of the will, while the word belief conveys an act of the mind or intellect, but trust is the language of the heart.

The words faith and belief refer more to a truth believed or to something expected to happen.

Trust implies more than this, for it sees and feels and it leans on those who have a great, living, and genuine heart of love.

Therefore let us “trust also in him” (Psalm 37:5 KJV), through all the delays, in spite of all the difficulties, and in the face of all the rejection we encounter in life.

And in spite of our feelings and evidence to the contrary, and even when we cannot understand our way or our situation, may we still “trust also in him; [for] he shall bring it to pass.”

The way will open, our situation will be changed, and the end result will be peace.

The cloud will finally be lifted, and the light of eternal noonday will shine at last.

Trust and rest when all around you Puts your faith to stringent test; Let no fear or foe confound you, Wait for God and trust and rest.

Trust and rest with heart abiding, Like a birdling in its nest, Underneath His feathers hiding, Fold your wings and trust and rest.

I seldom have heard a better definition of faith than that given in one of our meetings, by a sweet, elderly black woman, as she answered a young man who asked, “How do I obtain the Lor d’s help for my needs?”

In her characteristic way, pointi ng her finger toward him, she said with great insistence, “You just have to believe that He’s done it and it’s done.”

The greatest problem with most of us is, after asking Him to do it, we do not belie ve it is done. Instead, we keep trying to help Him, get others to help Him, and anxiously wait to see how He is going to work.

Faith adds its “Amen” to God’ s “Yes” and then takes its hands off, leaving God to finish His work. The language of faith is, “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this” (Psalm 37:5). DAYS OF HEAVEN UPON EARTH

I simply take Him at His wor d, I praise Him that my prayer is hear d, And claim my answer fr om the Lor d; I take, He undertakes.

Active faith gives thanks for a promise even though it is not yet performed, know ing that God’ s contracts are as good as cash. MATTHEW HENR Y

Passive faith accepts the W ord as true— But never moves.

Active faith begins the work to do, And ther eby pr oves.

Passive faith says, “I believe it! every wor d of God is true. Well I know He has not spoken what He cannot, will not, do. He has instructed me, ‘Go forwar d!’ but a closed-up way I see, When the waters ar e divided, soon in Canaan’ s land I’ll be.

Lo! I hear His voice command ing, ‘Rise and walk: take up your bed’; And, ‘Stretch to Me your wither ed hand!’ which for so long has been dead.

When I am a little str onger , then, I know I’ll sur ely stand: When there comes a thrill of healing, I will use with ease my reclaimed hand.

Yes, I know that ‘God is able’ and full willing all to do: I believe that every pr omise, sometime, will to me come true.”

Active faith says, “I believe it! and the pr omise now I take, Knowing well, as I r eceive it, God, each pr omise, r eal will make.

So I step into the waters, finding ther e an open way; Onwar d press, the land possessing; nothing can my pr ogress stay .

Yes, I rise at His commanding, walking straight, and joyfully: This, my hand so sadly shriveled, as I r each, r estor ed will be.

What beyond His faithful pr omise, would I wish or do I need? Looking not for ‘signs or wonders,’ I’ll no contradiction heed.

Well I know that ‘God is able,’ and full willing all to do: I believe that every pr omise, at this moment can come true.”

Passive faith but praises in the light, When sun does shine.

Active faith will praise in darkest night— Which faith is thine?

SELECTED

I once believed that after I prayed, it was my responsibility to do everything in my power to bring about the answer. Yet God taught me a better way and showed me that self-effort always hinders His work. He also revealed that when I prayed and had confident trust in Him for something, He simply wanted me to wait in an attitude of praise and do only what He told me. Sitting still, doing nothing except trusting in the Lord, causes a feeling of uncertainty, and there is often a tremendous temptation to take the battle into our own hands.

We all know how difficult it is to rescue a drowning person who tries to help his rescuer, and it is equally difficult for the Lord to fight our battles for us when we insist upon trying to fight them ourselves. It is not that God will not but that He cannot, for our interference hinders His work. C. H. P. Spiritual forces cannot work while we are trusting earthly forces.

Often we fail to give God an opportunity to work, not realizing that it takes time for Him to answer prayer. It takes time for God to color a rose or to grow a great oak tree. And it takes time for Him to make bread from wheat fields. He takes the soil, then grinds and softens it. He enriches it and wets it with rain showers and with dew. Then He brings the warmth of life to the small blade of grass, later grows the stalk and the amber grain, and finally provides bread for the hungry.

All this takes time. Therefore we sow the seed, till the ground, and then wait and trust until God’s purpose has been fulfilled. We understand this principle when it comes to planting a field, and we need to learn the same lesson regarding our prayer life. It takes time for God to answer prayer. J. H. M.

Genuine faith puts its letter in the mailbox and lets go. Distrust, however, holds on to a corner of the envelope and then wonders why the answer never arrives. There are some letters on my desk that I wrote weeks ago, but I have yet to mail them because of my uncertainty over the address or the contents. Those letters have not done any good for me or anyone else at this point. And they never will accomplish anything until I let go of them, trusting them to the postal service.

It is the same with genuine faith. It hands its circumstance over to God, allowing Him to work. Psalm 37:5 is a great confirmation of this: “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this.” He will never work until we commit. Faith is receiving—or even more, actually appropriating—the gifts God offers us. We may believe in Him, come to Him, commit to Him, and rest in Him, but we will never fully realize all our blessings until we begin to receive from Him and come to Him having the spirit of abiding and appropriating.

Dr. Payson, while still a young man, once wrote to an elderly mother who was extremely worried and burdened over the condition of her son. He wrote,

You are worrying too much about him. Once you have prayed for him, as you have done, and committed him to God, you should not continue to be anxious. God’s command, “Do not be anxious about anything” (Philippians 4:6), is unlimited, and so is the verse, “Cast all your anxiety on him” (1 Peter 5:7). If we truly have cast our burdens upon another, can they continue to pressure us? If we carry them with us from the throne of grace, it is obvious we have not left them there. In my own life I test my prayers in this way: after committing something to God, if I can come away, like Hannah did, with no more sadness, pain, or anxiety in my heart, I see it as proof that I have prayed the prayer of faith. But if I pray and then still carry my burden, I conclude my faith was not exercised.

Talk to God about whatever may be pressuring you and then commit the entire matter into His hands. Do this so that you will be free from the confusion, conflicts, and cares that fill the world today . In fact, anytime you are preparing to do something, under going some trial, or simply pursuing your normal business, tell the Father about it. Acquaint Him with it; yes, even burden Him with it, and you will have put the concerns and cares of the matter behind you. From that point forward, exercise quiet, sweet diligence in your work, recognizing your dependence on Him to carry the matter for you. Commit your cares and yourself with them, as one burden, to your God. R. L EIGHT ON

Build a little fence of trust Around today; Fill the space with loving work And ther ein stay . Look not thr ough the pr otective rails Upon tomorr ow; God will help you bear what comes Of joy or sorr ow. MARY BUTTS

You will find it impossible to “commit your way to the LORD,” unless your way has met with His approval. It can only be done through faith, for if there is even the slightest doubt in your heart that your way is not a good one, faith will refuse to have anything to do with it. Also, this committing of your way to Him must be continuous, not just one isolated action. And no matter how unexpected or extraordinary His guidance may seem and no matter how close to the edge of the cliff He may lead you, never snatch the guiding reins from His hands.

Are you willing to submit all your ways to God, allowing Him to pass judgment on them? There is nothing a Christian needs to more closely examine than his own confirme d views and habits, for we are so prone to taking God’s divine approval of them for granted. And that is why some Christians are so anxious and fearful. They have obviously not truly committed their way to the Lord and left it with Him. They took it to Him but walked away with it again. S ELECTED

I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause.

Is anything too hard for the Lord ?—Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.—Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.—Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.

Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the Lord , and spread it before the Lord . And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord .

It shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.—The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.

[Jesus] prayed the third time, saying the same words.

Who in the days of his flesh . . . offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death.

Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord .—Continuing instant in prayer.—Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication.—By prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.—This is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.

Delight thyself . . . in the Lord ; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

My times are in thy hand.—He shall choose our inheritance for us.—Lead me, O Lord , in thy righteousness; . . . make thy way straight before my face.

Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also in him; and he shalt bring it to pass.—In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.—Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters.—Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.—Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.—Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.