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Daily Devotions

Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:⁠
1 Peter 1:6-7⁠
If we walk close to God, we shall find that in the midst of our trials, even when they are bitter, there is an undercurrent of sweet joyfulness way down in the depths of our souls. The consciousness that we are the Lord’s, that He loves us and that He is our Helper, will be sweet in the midst of all our woes. This may sometimes be obscured by doubts and fears for a time, but if we hide away under His wings and trust securely the harp of joy will sound in our souls though in the tumult of emotions. We may sometimes have to listen carefully, however, to hear the soft, sweet strains of its melody. ⁠
Be patient in your trials; endure hardness as a good soldier; keep up the shield of faith; fight the good fight, and in due season your soul will sing triumphant songs of victory, and the joy-bells, pealing out their merry music, will summon God’s people to rejoice with you in your Lord and Savior.⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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It was the joy set before Jesus that made Him strong to suffer. And so we, if we would be strong for our trials, must look beyond them to the joy that is set before us. It is what is coming out of the trials that is the source of our rejoicing. If you have endured some trial–something that took real courage and fortitude—and you look back upon it and realize that you stood true, that you did not yield nor falter, is it not a source of great joy to your soul? When you see the grace that God gave you, does it not strengthen and encourage you? ⁠
You desire the peaceful fruit of righteousness in your life; you want joy, peace, victory, but remember that these are the “afterwards” of patient endurance through the trial of chastening. You must wait for the fruit to ripen. If you try to enjoy it before it is ripe, you may find it works like eating a green persimmon—you not only will spoil the fruit but will find some unpleasant consequences. ⁠
There are certain kinds of trials that bring forth joy quickly if they are met in the right spirit. We read that the early Christians “took joyfully the spoiling of their goods,” and again that they “rejoiced that they were counted worthy” to suffer for the name of Christ. This was persecution. Often we can “rejoice and leap for joy,” not because of the persecution but because of the fact that great is our reward in heaven. The joy comes from the contemplation of that reward. We suffer the persecution; we rejoice in the reward of our patient endurance. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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Our own trials will of necessity mean suffering, and there can be little joy in suffering. Joy never has its direct origin in suffering, but it does often come out of suffering or as a result of enduring suffering. The order in which it works is clearly seen in Hebrews 12:11, “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness...” This is what you may expect—grievousness in time of trial and chastening and afterward the reaping of joy. The Bible speaks of our being “in heaviness through manifold temptations,” and also says, “We count them happy which endure.” Enduring implies suffering, and suffering, of itself, can never be joyful. We might, in a figure, say that suffering is the soil in which the tree of patient endurance grows and that joy is the ripened fruit of the tree. ⁠
There are many different kinds of trials, and they have different effects. Sometimes they are like a great storm that sweeps over the soul, when the dashing rain obscures all view of the distant landscape and its beauties, when the howling of the wind, the flashing of the lightning. and the rolling of the thunder shuts out everything else and holds our entire attention. It is only when the storm is over and the calm has come that we can look out again upon the broad and peaceful landscape. There are other trials that remind one of a nail in one’s shoe: everywhere one goes, it is present, irritating, annoying, torturing. It hinders and detracts from all the common pleasures of life. ⁠
When trials come. there is just one proper way to meet them; that is with determination to overcome them and to keep our integrity during the time that we are suffering under them. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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WHERE THE JOY IS
A sister wrote to me recently desiring me to tell her how she might find sweetness and joy in her trials. She seemed to have in her mind an ideal experience in which she could be joyous and calm and sweetly contented while undergoing trials, and she was struggling to attain to her ideal.
This sister is not alone in her reaching out after such an experience. People often chide and condemn themselves because they have not attained to such heights. When they suffer and are distressed in their trials, they think there is something wrong with their experience and they become discouraged. The Bible lifts the standard just to the place where it ought to be, and if we have a higher ideal, we are sure to be constantly coming short of it.
My answer to the sister was that she was looking in the wrong place for the sweetness and joy. Jesus is our example, and we can expect trials to have the same effect upon us as they had upon Him. In that dark hour of trial in Gethsemane, with the heavy weight of the cross already upon His spirit, did He say to His disciples, “Behold, how joyful I am in such awful circumstances?” Ah, no! His state was very different, and we hear Him say, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.” He was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” When He hung upon the cross, He cried out in agony, “My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken Me?” Do you think there was joy or sweetness in that? Such feelings had no place in His emotions that day. But there was joy connected with these trials. We read that “for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross.” (Hebrews 12:2.) Here we have endurance and joy, but we do not find them together; the endurance is present; the joy is “set before him.” This is the order in which such things come to us. Christ’s joy came not from His sufferings but from the result of these sufferings. His joy is in the redeemed souls that have been saved through His sufferings.

Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor

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It is of no use to say, “If my surroundings were different,” or “If I were in some other place, then I could do better.” Possibly you could, but that is not the question. Are you doing what you can in your present environment? If you can change your environment for the better do it. If you cannot, then decide to do your best where you are. ⁠
You may dream of ideal conditions, but you will not find them in this world. Whether you succeed or fail depends less on your environment than it does on yourself. If you will be true to the best that is in you, your environment will not have the influence that you imagine it will. Favorable circumstances never take the place of soul-qualities. Develop your soul-qualities, and you will be master of your environment. You need not let it master you. Be your best, and do your best in your place. Make the best of your situation. There is a way for you to succeed, no matter what is against you. God will help you find that way if you are determined to find it. Never permit yourself to spend time in lamentation over yourself or your circumstances. Keep the following thought and determination ever before you: “I will make the best of myself and my circumstances.” This is the true and only road to success.⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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Israel was oppressed. The Philistines had taken the Israelites’ swords and spears, in fact, swept the country bare of armor. Shamgar had not much to fight with. He had no sword nor spear, no shield, no helmet. The Philistines were coming; something must be done. There was the ox goad, but what would that amount to against swords and spears? It was all the weapon he had. But he had something else; he had courage, determination and faith. So he started straight for the host of enemies, and we are told that he slew “...six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.” Judges 3:31. He had only an ox goad, but he used it manfully. Had he not done so, Israel would not have been delivered. ⁠
David, when he went against Goliath, had only his homemade sling and a few stones from the brook. But he went up to battle with unshaken faith in God. He had not much to start with in the way of weapons, but he had the courage to use what he did have. And he is famous to this day as Israel’s deliverer. ⁠
Samson had only a jawbone, but he did not stop a moment to lament that fact. He did have the three things necessary in himself—courage, determination and faith. And we are told that the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him. The result was he slew a thousand of his enemies and put the rest to flight. Have you not as much equipment as any of these men had? But the results of their efforts were glorious. If you think you have but little to use for God, just add to it courage, determination and faith, and go ahead. You will find that the Spirit of the Lord will make you mighty. Do not worry because you have so little to give; just be sure you give what you can. Do not worry because you seem to have so little ability or so little time, or so little opportunity, but do not fail to use what you have. Make the best of them. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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Man is capable of great development. Eye, hand, strength, mind, will—in fact, the whole man may, by proper efforts, be taught and developed and expanded until he becomes something very different from what he was at first. The blessing of God will help us much, but that will not take the place of our own determined and persevering efforts. ⁠
Have you ever attempted to develop yourself? Do not think that because your abilities now seem small they never can be greater. Once you were only a child. You did not think that you never would be larger. You looked eagerly forward to the time when you would be as large as grown-up people. Each day you ate and drank and breathed and exercised—the very things that would produce the growth that you desired. You used what you had of energy and strength and thus increased them. We ought to be as wise in spiritual things as in natural things. Paul said to Timothy, “Neglect not the gift that is in thee.” ⁠
You must make use of what you have, then God will bestow more. But He cannot bestow more until you use with your might what you have. You are, so to speak, the raw material of what you may be. What you will be depends on the use you make of this material. The responsibility for the final product lies with you. Develop your mind, develop your soul, develop patience, courage, faith, loyalty, justice, benevolence, endurance, cheerfulness, determination, diligence, industry and all those other qualities that make up real Christian manhood and that are the foundation of success in life. If you lack the will to try and keep trying, you will see yourself always a failure. Decide to be your best and do your best. If you will do this, by God’s help, you will not fail. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.⁠
Colossians 3:23-24 ⁠
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Few people really are, and do, their best. Nature has blessed a few with great talents and abilities. These persons often become proud, self-centered and feel themselves to be superior, and for that reason many times they fail to make the proper use of their abilities. ⁠
There are many others who realize they do not possess these natural gifts. They look upon those who have them and envy them. They bemoan their own lack and say, “If I only had the talents that person has,” and meanwhile they sit in idleness, making no use of what they have. ⁠
But all these are like the dreamer who says, “Tomorrow I will do great things,” and yet today he does nothing. ⁠
You will always be yourself. You can never be anyone else. If you ever accomplish anything, it will be through those powers and abilities you now possess. It is of no use to lament that you are not as some body else is; it is of no use to envy another’s talents. You are only yourself. You might as well face that fact and endeavor to make the best possible use of the gifts you have. They may look very small compared with those of some others, but they are all you have. Time spent in troubling yourself because you are not greater is worse than wasted. The question is, “Shall I improve and make use of what I have?” ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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Things may be stumbling stones or stepping stones to us. They may be hindrances or helps—trials or blessings. What they prove to be depends not so much on their nature as upon our attitude toward them. It is not our opportunities that count but the use that we make of them. It is not how much money we possess but the wisdom we display in its expenditure. It is not how many obstacles we meet in life but the manner in which we meet them. It is not the soul who has the fewest trials and difficulties that prospers most but the one who meets them with courage and confident trust. Some are crushed down and made to despair by the very things that stir others to renewed effort and courage. ⁠
What our trials are to us depends on what we are to them. This is well illustrated in Elijah’s experience. The king and queen were his bitter enemies. He feared them and fled away and lived in hiding. He was afraid lest he should be betrayed to them. He looked to his enemies; he saw their power; he looked at himself and saw his own impotence. And so he dwelt in fear. But the time came when God spoke to him, and as he looked to God he began to see His greatness, and his soul was lifted up with courage. His own weakness and the might of his enemies faded away from his gaze. He came out boldly and challenged the idolatrous party to a test of strength. Single-handed and alone, we see him walk out before the assembled multitude, superior to them all. There is no fear in his heart now. He is not in the least daunted by his adversaries. He can look them squarely in the eyes without shrinking. His heart is full of confidence. He knows whom he is trusting. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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It is natural for a saved person to long for greater patience to endure and suffer. We should do all in our power to grow in patience. “But how shall I add patience?” you may ask. There are two things to do. First, pray; and second, cultivate patience. Make it a practice day by day never to yield to an impatient feeling. Let this attitude be manifested by word and act. Reflect upon the patience of Jesus, and study to know what is the scriptural ideal. When your patience is tried, deliberately take hold of yourself by your will power and make yourself act and speak as you know you should. By following this rule, you will become more and more patient. This is the only possible way of adding patience. ⁠
We become in nature the reflection of our acts. Good acts repeated become good habits. Good habits followed out make good character. Not that good habits will save or take the place of grace, but they are equally necessary in the formation of Christian character. “Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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A pure heart is not an automatic heart working out things independently of the will. When we have a pure heart, our will is fully set to do right, and through our will we regulate our actions so that they are right. Our feelings are influenced by the will but are not controlled by it. We cannot help feeling sad or joyous when there is an occasion that influences our feelings. So we cannot but feel impatient sometimes; that is, things will try our patience, and we find that our feelings respond, in some degree at least, to those circumstances. The degree of response will depend upon our temperament and the amount of grace we have and how much we have cultivated patience. ⁠
Do not forget that we are not told to feel patient, but to “be patient,” though we should be careful to control our feelings so far as is possible by the force of will. When an impatient feeling comes, we do one of two things: we either yield to it and act it out, or we resist it and act patiently. The latter is what we should always do. When we are full of joy, and everything is going smoothly, it is easy to believe that we have plenty of patience, but in times of stress, of trial, when we are weak or suffering in body, when we are weary or feel discouraged, then it is that we most readily feel impatient. It is not that we have less patience at such times but that impatience more easily manifests itself. We should at all times resist every feeling of impatience, yet we should not condemn ourselves for feeling what we cannot help feeling. We should not think that we are not sanctified simply because we are not so patient as we desire to be. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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We are told to “add patience.” This means that not all our patience comes from grace but that some of it comes by works. In our sinful lives we cultivate impatience by acting out our feelings of impatience. The more we put our feelings into action, the more impatient we become. When we are saved, we begin to act out patience, and the more we act it out, the more patient we become in our nature. ⁠
Patience is largely a matter of the proper use of the will. The Bible does not say, “Feel patient,” for our feelings are largely involuntary, but it says, “Be patient,” that is, act patiently, for our actions are voluntary. There are those who, when waiting for a train, cannot sit still. Such an individual walks up and down the platform and looks at his watch again and again. He sits down and rises again and turns this way and that way. Another sits quietly and is unperturbed. It matters not to him if he does have to wait awhile. It is no task for him to be patient. He is of a patient temperament. The other is quite the opposite. Because of this, however, we cannot say that one has more salvation than the other. Both are feeling naturally. The difference is in their natures, in their temperaments and not in their hearts. ⁠
The fact that we are exhorted again and again to be patient signifies that the acting out of patience is a matter of our wills. No matter how pure our hearts are we have tests of patience. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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Have you not often heard people say, “My greatest need is more patience?” Possibly you feel just that way yourself. There is probably no lack that so quickly and persistently manifests itself as this lack, which cannot exist without revealing itself, for in order to possess patience one must employ it in his everyday life. Many people who do not understand its real nature, nor how to come into possession of it, realize their need of it. ⁠
Much of the teaching on the subject of patience proves to be ineffectual because the teacher himself does not understand his subject. Sometimes it is taught that all impatience comes from sin in the heart and that if one manifests a lack of patience he is not sanctified. Such teaching can come only from a misapprehension of the facts. Sanctification is a wonderful thing, and it does wonderful things for us. It softens and refines our whole nature, but it does not perfect our natural faculties, and patience is one of these natural faculties or qualities. There is an impatience, however, that has its root in sin and which is itself sinful. The blood-cure reaches and eradicates this type. There is also a natural impatience. How much we have of this depends largely upon our general make-up. A lack of discrimination between these two kinds of impatience often causes souls great distress. Before we teach on the subject, we ought to be sure we have the distinction clearly drawn in our own minds. Patience is a matter of temperament, of grace and of cultivation. Some people are patient by nature. They can take almost anything patiently. Sometimes this is from natural calmness of disposition; sometimes it is the result of lack of spirit. But in any case, such a person will be more naturally patient when saved than will others who are of a different temperament. Salvation does not destroy our natural temperaments. ⁠
Grace goes far toward supplying us with patience, but grace alone will not always be sufficient, therefore patience must also be a thing of cultivation. ⁠
⁠Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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Idealism has its place in life, but it must not close our eyes to the practical side of life. Enjoy what of the mountaintop God may give to you, but do not count this the ordinary, usual thing of Christian life. Learn to enjoy the toil. Learn to find the sweetness that is in it. Learn to find the beauty in the common things of life, for some of the most common things are among the most beautiful when our eyes are taught to see their beauty. The Christian life is preeminently a life of service. That is its highest and broadest purpose. To try to be a Christian merely for the joy that is to be found in it is often to render ourselves miserable. To seek happiness for ourselves as the chief end of life is a very unworthy purpose and is one that can but end in disappointment. ⁠
See that you do your part in life in the everyday things, and God will permit you to live on the mountain as He sees best. Appreciate the mountain experiences when they come, but do not let them make you despise the common things. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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You will never become a practical Christian till you learn that the Christian life, like the natural life, is largely made up of a monotonous round of duties. ⁠
There is little of glamour or brilliancy in labor or ordinary things. That is reserved for the special things in life. It is true that there is joy in the toil and in the hardness, yea, even in the bitterness, if there is a consciousness of duty well done. It is the daily grind that tests the faithfulness. God wants people who will be true in the daily toil of life, who will do well the little, uninteresting things. He wants practical Christians, people who are willing to do the work even if it means weariness, even if it means little of emotion, even if it means sacrifice. ⁠
If you lived on the mountaintop always, the scene would soon lose its beauty, and you would soon forget its loveliness. When, after the days of toil, after the months of prosaic, you lay aside your tools and turn from your labors, it is then that you can go out and enjoy the beauties of nature. It is then that you can enter into her moods and be her comrade. You can enjoy her then and be refreshed by her, as you could not be without those weary days of toil. Many people are willing to enjoy, but they shun the work. In natural things we call such persons lazy. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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In this the natural and the spiritual are alike. What would you think of the man who would build a store upon the mountaintop, apart from the throng of purchasers whose business he desired? Would you think that wisdom was displayed? Do businessmen do this way? No, they seek the busy street that is trodden by a multitude, where flows the constant stream of traffic, and there amid the noise and dust and hurry they ply their trade with little thought of the mountaintop. ⁠
The mountaintop is a very good place to which to make an excursion now and then. It is the place to spend our holidays, but it is not the place for the real accomplishments of life. When we wish to make a living we must leave the mountaintop with its far-flung panorama of beauty. We must roll up our sleeves and take up the rugged toil and, mid sweat and grime and noise and discord, produce the real results that feed and clothe and shelter us. The real accomplishments of life are not on the mountaintop but in the monotonous, soul-trying daily grind of business. If you imagine that you are to live in the idealism of a mountaintop experience, you will find yourself coming short of it most of the time. You will be continually lamenting over your failure to make your experience measure to your ideal. So long as you are reaching toward this ideal and are conscious of your failure to reach it, your attention will be absorbed thus, and you will be of little use to God. The sooner you come down to the place where you stop condemning yourself because your emotions are not always joyous or because you cannot always pray with that full outpouring of the soul, the better it will be for you. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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The mountaintop is a delightful place. There the soul reaches heights and depths such as it reaches at no other time. Preachers love to preach, and poets love to sing of the mountain-tops of life. How delightful are these times in our spiritual life, and how naturally we long for these seasons! How often they are pictured up, till one would suppose that they are the principal things in the Christian life! Some people have fancied that when they became Christians, the mountaintop experience would be their constant portion. They may have been led to expect this from hearing preaching that exalted the emotional side of religion. It may be that when they were converted, their newborn joys seemed to be unending. They thought that this exaltation of spirit was the normal state of a Christian. They gloried in it as the days passed by. The time came, however, when this emotional glow subsided. As the barometer of their feelings fell, they began to question themselves thus: “What is the matter with me? Have I done something wrong? Am I mistaken in thinking that I was saved?” Thus their faith fell with their emotions. After awhile, their emotions rose again and their faith rose with their emotions. Now they knew that they were all right. ⁠
There are times when we seem to draw near to God in prayer, when the sight and sound of the world is shut out. An inexpressible sweetness and joy and satisfaction comes into the heart. How near God seems! How calm and precious is the hour! How our spirits drink in of the water of life! How we seem to talk face to face with our Lord, and how the curtain seems drawn back till our eyes behold the secrets of the Eternal! We give ourselves over to the supreme enjoyment of the hour. But alas! in a short time we find ourselves no longer on the mountain but out in the broad plain of life, and how tame and monotonous is that plain when we think of the mountain! ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Romans 12:9⁠
When we reach a place where we do not hate sin, where we can see it and hear and know of it and find no vexation in our souls— it causes us no uneasiness, we have no particular repugnance for it—it is time that we are becoming awakened. We are commanded to abhor that which is evil, and it is only by so doing and by keeping ourselves clean from it that we can be safe in Christ Jesus and dwell in this world. There was a bit of heaven in every Christian heart in Ephesus. That bit of heaven was just as pure as the celestial realms above. We, too, have that heavenly element in our hearts, and in that transplanted bit of God’s holiness will flourish all the plants of righteousness that bloom in the courts eternal. But we must guard these plants by keeping the gates of our hearts closed night and day against evil. Only thus can we keep pure and acceptable to God. This we can do, and be holy and faithful in the worst “Ephesus” that exists today, if it be our lot to abide there. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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Now we are, as it were, in Ephesus. There is sin abounding all about us. God wants us to so abhor the sins of others that we shall not follow them nor find pleasure in those who do sinful things. There are two ways in which we can partake of other people’s sins. One way is to approve of their evil works. It may be that we ourselves would not do those things, but if we approve of someone else’s doing them it is just about as bad.⁠
Never allow yourself to approve of another’s sins. You cannot keep clean and do it. Again, we may be partakers of other men’s sins by partaking of the results of them. If a man cheats another in business, and then I share in his ill-gotten gain, I am partaking of his sin. It may be that I would not steal my neighbor’s melons, but if another steals them and I, knowing his theft, eat of them with him, do I not partake of his sins? And so it is with all the affairs of life. ⁠
We must keep ourselves separate from sin. We cannot help being in Ephesus. We must live in this corrupt and sinful world. So the important thing is that we attend to keeping ourselves in Christ—unspotted from the world. If the Ephesians could do this, so can we. But to do it we must walk uprightly. We must not stoop down into the mire of sin but keep ourselves erect and keep our spiritual nostrils above the poisonous gases of sin. ⁠
Lot was a man of God. He dwelt in Sodom, and we are told that his righteous soul was vexed from day to day because of the wicked conduct of the Sodomites. But he kept himself clear; he had no part with them; he hated their sins. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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#devotionals #devotional #dailydevotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod #devo⁠
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It is not so much a change of environment that people need as a change of heart and of character. Diamonds are often found embedded in volcanic mud; mud surrounds them on every side, and yet they have lain there for centuries and are still diamonds. What is the secret of it? Why have they not become contaminated? It is because the mud never entered the diamond, and that was the reason that the Ephesian saints could be faithful and still live in Ephesus. They were left amidst the foul mud of corruption, but the mud was taken out of them, and the grace of Christ kept it from getting back in again. ⁠
We cannot get away from the mud and defilement of sin in this world. Sin will ever be all about us. Its stench will be in our nostrils from day to day. Our eyes will be offended by it, and our ears will be shocked. But so long as we keep it all on the outside, we can be saints and faithful in Christ Jesus. We are told that the chief thing for us to do is to keep ourselves “unspotted from the world.” Philippians 2:15 says, “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.” Again Paul says, “...Neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.” I Timothy 5:22. We are not only to keep free from committing any sins of our own but also to avoid partaking of the sins of others. That is very important. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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#devotionals #devotional #dailydevotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #freebooks #bible #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod #devo⁠
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