Our first promise today is found in Romans 12:19: “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
Here is a promise that we must always remember. God reminds us that vengeance is His, and that in due time He will surely repay. How very hard it is sometimes not to avenge ourselves on someone who has wronged us, especially if an opportunity is presented to us. But we must not repay evil with evil—if the occasion calls for it, we must even repay evil with good (Matthew 5:44). That is indeed difficult to do, but God has informed us in many Scriptures that if we wish Him to forgive us our sins, we must also forgive others, including our enemies. Perhaps the wrong done us has had long-lasting consequences, and we might think the perpetrator worthy of the severest of punishments; yet we must never be the one to inflict the punishment, for God has said that vengeance is His ,and in due time He will avenge us.
How often it appears that sinners prosper, while the meek and patient are ruthlessly trampled underfoot. But the Scripture tells us that in a little while the wicked shall not be (Psalms 37:10); that they shall be cut down as the grass (verse 2); and that we are not to fret ourselves or be envious of them (verse 1). Sometimes, as the years pass by, we may feel that God has forgotten us, and that His promise will never be fulfilled. But God is love, and God is just, and, if He seems to tarry in His intercession for the saints, we have His Word that there will come a time when justice will be meted out, and all our wrongs avenged. Can we not trust Him in this respect, as in others, and patiently wait for Him?
The second promise is found in 1st Corinthians 2:9: ” . . . Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.”
This is a promise that should fill our hearts with joy. Let us for a moment close our eyes and visualize the earth in its present magnificence—the mountains, canyons, seas, flowers, trees and the many other wonders of nature beautiful beyond all words even in their present condition of death and decay. Then let us ponder upon the fact that God has prepared for those who love Him things so surpassingly lovely that it is impossible for finite minds to grasp it. As we think on these things, can we possibly put aside such a hope for a rainbow tinted bubble that bursts into nothingness and vanishes in the twinkling of an eye? Almost every day we hear of the passing of some great man in the very zenith of his power and glory. He may have attained his heart’s desire. He may have become a great musician, poet, scientist, politician, he may be constantly in the public eye. But, in the midst of prosperity and acclaim, he may be stricken with incurable disease and pass suddenly from this earth’s scene. Where then is all his pomp and glory? He may and possibly will be remembered by a few for something worthwhile that he has accomplished, but in the grave he will know nothing of it, and soon, oh so soon will somebody else take his place.
But we know that when God who has made such a wonderful world as ours says in His Word that something so beautiful it cannot even enter into the heart of man has been reserved for us, that it will surpass all the marvels of this world put together, that its loveliness will never be marred, and its glory will be eternal. With such a prospect before us, how can we ever falter by the way?
The third promise is found in 1st Corinthians 10:13: “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God . . . He tempteth not any man” (James 1:13), God does not tempt us, but He does allow us to be tempted and tried, and sometimes it seems that we are tempted beyond our strength to bear it. But note, God says that He will not allow this to happen, for He will provide a way of escape for us. But we must carefully watch for this way, for, when we feel that it is impossible to endure anything more, it will suddenly be made plain, and perhaps in a manner that would never at any time have occurred to us. He will not fail us, and the temptation will pass, leaving us stronger for having borne it.
The fourth promise is found in 2nd Corinthians 4:17: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
We have all read in the Scriptures of the terrible trials that Paul was forced to undergo (see 2nd Corinthians 11:22-28). He was beaten with rods, stoned, in shipwreck, in perils in the city, in the wilderness, in the sea; hungry, naked and cold. If Paul could speak of all these things as being but light afflictions, how can we stumble and fall over the trials that beset us? There are some, of course, who have very real afflictions of severe illness, extreme poverty and other things of this nature, but for the majority of us, our trials are trivial compared to those of Paul, and many of the other early Christians. Why does Paul call them Light afflictions? Because they worked in him a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. How are we to become worthy of the marvelous things God has prepared for us if we, too, are not afflicted, tested and polished in one way or another? At the most, our difficulties are for only the proverbial three score and ten years, or a very few more. And how quickly these pass, like a vapor, or we might say like a dream in the night! What indeed are they, compared to the eternal glory that is set before us?
The fifth promise is found in 2nd Corinthians 12:9: ” . . . My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness .
The Bible tells us that not many wise, rich or noble are chosen for the sons of God, or brethren of Christ, because of their self sufficiency, which would tend to enhance their own honor instead of giving glory to God. So through the years He has selected the feeble ones and endowed them with His power. Paul was one of the few noble ones chosen for a special and mighty work. In this he might have become exalted but for a “thorn in the flesh” which God did not remove, although three times Paul besought Him to do so. God’s answer was always the same: “My grace is sufficient for thee.”
Most of us have only one talent, some have two, but only a few are entrusted with five. God sees that we might become vainglorious. So He chooses the weak ones, rich in faith, because He can work with them, and through His strength and power they become mighty in Him. Let us take note of Peter and the other apostles, most of them fishermen, all but Paul from the humble walks of life. And yet how mighty they became in the strength of God! Here are those whose works Do “follow after them”. Why ? Because the spirit of God was in them, and in His strength they performed mighty works and left an everlasting memorial for those who followed them. So if we are weak, and with one talent only, let us use it in God’s service, and God will cause it to bear fruit that will eventually bring us into the kingdom prepared for those who love and serve Him.
The sixth promise is found in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Are we faced with a situation wherein we are required to perform what seems to us an impossible task? Do we strain and struggle and endeavor with everything in us to perform it, only to find that we have failed, and nothing at all worthwhile has been accomplished? Do you think that God would give us a task to do that He knew could never be accomplished? Our feeble, human strength may not be sufficient for the task, but we know that God is always there to help us when we ask Him. Many of us refuse to even make the effort until we are faced with the fact that it Must be done, or that at least we must attempt to do it, for there is absolutely no way out for us. When we finally admit that we are defeated in our own strength, then belatedly we remember that Paul told us that he could do all things through Christ which strengthened him, and in that Name he did everything that was given him to do. If Paul could accomplish such tremendous tasks, cannot we perform the relatively small ones that are given to us? Of course we can if we accept this promise as our own.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One