2月24日 神智胜祂的对手
神智胜祂的对手
地狱的一切诡计，世上的一切骚乱，都未曾动摇过神的手，使祂在绘制的蓝图上错写一笔一划。
忧虑的基督徒啊，你可以安歇了，因为这场决斗并非教会与撒但的较量，而是基督与撒但的对阵。祂们才是双方的主将。请围拢过来，看看这位全智的神如何与狡猾的对手交锋。你将看见全能者如何使歌利亚用自己的剑砍下了他自己的头，又使那邪恶的骑士陷入自己诡计的网罗。那将伟大与智慧归给神的信心，能让撒但的挑战缩减到无足轻重。不信之心视撒但为雄狮，而信心则踏其如虫蚁。
你要细察神的作为，并确信祂正在成就的一定是极美的杰作。人的智慧终归愚拙，神的筹算却永不中断。无人能将祂从祂的工作中赶走。建筑工人或许因夜幕降临而停工，或因暴雨席卷脚手架而撤离；但地狱的一切诡计，世上的一切骚乱，都未曾动摇过神的手，使祂在绘制的蓝图上错写一笔一划。
神护理的奥秘或许如帷幕遮蔽，使我们看不清祂的作为；然而，即便幽暗环绕，公义仍永远是祂宝座的根基。圣徒们，我们的信心在哪里？让神独具智慧，让世人和众魔都显为愚拙吧。即便眼前看来，巴别塔似乎更高耸入云，而非似巴比伦那样容易倾覆坍塌，你仍要深信：神正暗中推进，祂必围困撒但的坚垒。
即便教会就像约拿在鱼腹之中，被仇敌的狂怒吞噬而销声匿迹，这又有什么关系呢？难道你不记得，那条大鱼根本无法消化这位先知吗？不要在教会断气之前就急着埋葬她。要忍耐，在放弃盼望之前，先看基督如何彰显祂的作为。要借着祷告，将基督带到那“坟墓”前，听祂发出复活的命令。古时候的圣徒在同样危急的境况中，曾显出了令人钦佩的信心。
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：出7章，路10章，
个人灵修：伯24章，林前11章
FEBRUARY 24, TUESDAY
GOD OUTWITS HIS OPPONENT
All the plots of hell and commotions on earth have not so much as shaken God’s hand to spoil one letter or line He has been drawing.
Rest easy, worried Christian. The duel is not between the church and Satan, but between Christ and Satan. These are the champions of the two sides. Gather round and watch the all-wise God joust with His crafty opponent. You shall behold the Almighty smite off this Goliath’s head with his own sword, and take this wicked knight in the trap of his own schemes. That faith which ascribes greatness and wisdom to God will shrink up Satan’s challenge into a thing of nothing. Unbelief fears Satan as a lion; faith treads upon him as a worm.
Observe God at work, and be assured that what He is about will be an excellent piece. Man’s wisdom may be leveled with folly, but God’s design is never interrupted. None can drive Him from His work. A builder cannot work when night draws the curtain, and he is driven off his scaffold by a rainstorm. But all the plots of hell and commotions on earth have not so much as shaken God’s hand to spoil one letter or line He has been drawing. The mystery of His providence may hang a curtain before His work so that we cannot see what He is doing, but even when darkness surrounds Him, righteousness is the seat of His throne forever. Where is our faith, saints? Let God be wise, and all men and devils be fools. Even if a Babel seems more likely to go up than a Babylon to be pulled down, yet believe God is making His secret approaches and will besiege Satan’s stronghold.
What does it matter though the church be like Jonah in the whale’s belly, swallowed up out of view by the fury of men? Do you not remember that the whale had no power to digest the prophet? Do not be too quick to bury the church before she is dead. Be patient while Christ tries His skill before you give it over. By your prayers, bring Christ to its grave to speak a resurrection word. The saints of old exhibited admirable faith in circumstances which were just as dire.