January 10
“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” Mark 1:35.
The hearts of the listening disciples were deeply moved. They had marked how often He spent long hours in solitude, in communion with His Father. His days were passed in ministering to the crowds that pressed upon Him, and in unveiling the treacherous sophistry of the rabbis, and this incessant labor often left Him so utterly wearied that His mother and brothers and even His disciples, had feared that His life would be sacrificed.
What did they fear? They feared that Jesus was doing too much, and that if He thus continued to overtax His strength, He would not live long. They felt sure He would soon take sick and pass away.
Did their expectations come true? No. The opposite of what they feared took place. What made Him equal to His task? Was it not prayer? If Jesus could receive sufficient strength in prayer to perform His daily duties, why cannot we?
Thus it is written: “Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.” Isa. 27:5.
We should daily be meditating upon these things, and with sincere hearts pray, “O Lord, I beseech Thee, let now Thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear Thy name: and prosper, I pray Thee….” Neh. 1:11.
God is in charge of our salvation, of our lives, and of our death, too. He is able to take us to safety even if the earth should drop out of space, that we cannot die if He wants us alive, and that we cannot live if He wants us dead. Let us ever bear in mind that we of ourselves know nothing about God’s plans except as told through His appointed servants, the prophets, and as we witness them day by day. If we daily walk with God, if we commit all to Him, then the responsibility is all His.
All we need to do is be ourselves. Be calm, decent, respectable, heaven-like beings, endeavoring to do God’s will on earth as it is done in heaven.
We ought to be stable, firm in everything, lacking nothing. God’s servants, are to be “a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it.” Joel 2:2. They know what they believe, and believe what they know. Most important of all, they know that they are led by God, not by man.
SOURCE REFERENCES
JANUARY 10th
1TG, No. 5:2, 1TG, No. 7:7, 1TG, No. 7:13