Oh, the glory of the message! For fifteen centuries Israel had a sanctuary with a Holiest of All, into which, under pain of death, no one might enter. Its one witness was: Man cannot dwell in God's presence; cannot abide in His fellowship. And now how changed is all! As then the warning sounded: "No admittance! enter not!" so now the call goes forth: "Enter in! the veil is rent; the Holiest is open; God waits to welcome you to His bosom; henceforth you are to live with Him." This is the message. Child! thy Father longs for thee to enter, to dwell, and to go out no more forever.—Andrew Murray.
April 20th.
There stood by me this night the angel of God . . . saying, Fear not, Paul. . . . God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore . . . be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. Acts xxvii. 23, 24, 25.
An active faith can give thanks for a promise, though it be not yet performed; knowing that God's bonds are as good as ready money.—Matthew Henry.
April 21st.
In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. Phil, iv. 6.
The natural temptation with every difficulty is to plan for it, to put it out of the way yourself; but stop short with all your planning, your thinking, your worry, and talk to Him! "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee." You may not always be able to do this in a moment or two. Then keep on with supplication until you know He has it, and prayer becomes praise. Rest, trust, and wait, and see how He does that which you wanted to do, and had so much care about. "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord."—A. E. Funk.
April 22nd.
They that wait upon the Lord shall . . . mount up with wings as eagles. Isa. xl. 31.
All creatures that have wings can escape from every snare that is set for them, if only they will fly high enough; and the soul that uses its wings can always find a sure "way to escape" from all that can hurt or trouble it.—Smith.