STAND AT THE BOW!

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 3:13-14 NKJV)

Always stand at the bow! Leave the stern with its backward look and make for the bow. To spend time in sad remembrance of past sins and failures is not a good thing to do. Confess them, and believe that for Christ's dear sake they are absolutely forgiven! Failure often provides the material for success, and our dead selves may become the stepping stones to better things. Didn't our Lord say to His disciples: "Sleep on now and take your rest"--the past is irreversible, but immediately added: "Arise, let us be going!" The future is available. Therefore, leave the stern with its backward look, and make for the bow.

True, the sky before us may be dark with storm clouds. The weather forecasters say that the world is shedding its old sanctions without replacing them with better ones; that seven civilizations have already passed, and we are to see the death of the eighth. Maybe so, but they forget that God holds the stormy waters in the hollow of His hand; that Jesus walked the threatening billows to comfort His friends. They forget that when the earth was without form and void, the Spirit of God brooded in the chaos and darkness, creating the heavens and earth. They cannot detect the voice of the Creator saying, "Behold, I make all things new!" Out of chaos is born the cosmos. Each age ends in travail, out of which a new age is born.

Look out to the vast circle of the horizon, and prepare for the new lands to be explored, the wonderful discoveries that await us, and the great missions hidden in the future which are waiting to be fulfilled. Never doubt that the clouds will break. Never dream that wrong will triumph. Never count yourself God forsaken or forgotten. The Master may seem to be asleep on His pillow, oblivious and uncaring, but His hand is on the helm. He guides your course. He rules the waves and they obey Him.

PRAYER

He makes the storm calm, so that the waves are still. Then are they glad because they are quiet; so He brings them into the haven of their desire. I pray that men would praise the Lord for His goodness! I ask it in Jesus' name, Amen.

God's Daily Promise

Promise #250:
I will give you a double portion of your inheritance in exchange for your shame. 

Isaiah 61:7 (WEB)
Instead of your shame you shall have double;
and instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their portion:
therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be to them.