|
"I had
fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord"
Psalms 27:13
The following is taken from: Winning A Crown by C. W. Naylor
When Jacob’s sons returned from Egypt and told him of Joseph and his
position there, "Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not"
(Genesis 45:26). Unbelief produces the same effect spiritually.
Anything that causes us to let go our faith will bring fainting.
Sorrow is also a cause for fainting. "When I would comfort myself
against sorrow, my heart is faint in me" (Jeremiah 8:18). Anything
that causes discouragement reacts on faith and causes us to faint if
we yield to its influence. When people faint spiritually, they feel
just as Jonah did when he fainted literally. He "wished in himself
to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live" (Jonah
4:8). Many persons have felt exactly this way because of their
spiritual troubles.
There is an unfailing remedy for fainting. It never fails to prevent
when used in time, and it is a cure when we have fainted. David
said, "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of
the Lord" (Psalms 27:13). When people do not hold fast their faith,
they cannot see the manifestation of the goodness of the Lord in
coming to their help. If they will hold fast their trust, he will
bring them safely through. But instead of holding fast, many people
heed the suggestion of the enemy, "You might as well give up." They
listen, are convinced, and act upon his advice. Thus, they take the
worst possible way out of their trouble, and then, instead of
getting out, only find themselves in deeper. O soul, do not faint at
your tribulations, but trust in God, and he will not fail you. He is
watching over you. He will let the fire become just hot enough to
take out the dross. It will refine you, but not destroy you. You
will only be the better for those tests of life. God may have to
reprove and chasten you, but that will not be for your destruction,
but for you profit. Believe in God; believe in your own integrity.
Hold fast your confidence, and you will never faint. If you have
fainted, begin to believe again, and your spirit will revive as did
the heart of Jacob when he believed (Read Genesis 45:27, 28).
|
