And the Lord appeared unto Isaac the same night (Genesis 26:24).
"Appeared the same night," the night on which he went to Beer-sheba. Do you think this revelation was an accident? Do you think the time of it was an accident? Do you think it could have happened on any other night as well as this? If so, you are grievously mistaken. Why did it come to Isaac in the night on which he reached Beer-sheba? Because that was the night on which he reached rest. In his old locality, he had been tormented. There had been a whole series of petty quarrels about the possession of paltry wells. There are no worries like little worries, particularly if there is an accumulation of them. Isaac felt this. Even after the strife was past, the place retained a disagreeable association. He determined to leave. He sought change of scene. He pitched his tent away from the place of former strife. That very night the revelation came. God spoke when there was no inward storm. He could not speak when the mind was fretted; His voice demands the silence of the soul. Only in the hush of the spirit could Isaac hear the garments of his God sweep by. His still night was his starry night.
My soul, hast thou pondered these words, "Be still, and know"? In the hour of perturbation, thou canst not hear the answer to thy prayers. How often has the answer seemed to come long after the heart got no response in the moment of its crying -- in its thunder, its earthquake, and its fire. But when the crying ceased, when the stillness fell, when thy hand desisted from knocking on the iron gate, when the interest of other lives broke the tragedy of thine own, then appeared the long-delayed reply. Thou must rest, O soul, if thou wouldst have thy heart's desire. Still the beating of thy pulse of personal care. Hide thy tempest of individual trouble behind the altar of a common tribulation and, that same night, the Lord shall appear to thee. The rainbow shall span the place of the subsiding flood, and in thy stillness thou shalt hear the everlasting music.
--George Matheson
Tread in solitude thy pathway,
Quiet heart and undismayed.
Thou shalt know things strange, mysterious,
Which to thee no voice has said.
While the crowd of petty hustlers
Grasps at vain and paltry things,
Thou wilt see a great world rising
Where soft mystic music rings.
Leave the dusty road to others,
Spotless keep thy soul and bright,
As the radiant ocean's surface
When the sun is taking flight.
--(From the German of V. Schoffel)
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Knowing the story and background of George Matheson, I give great gravity to his words. He has seen struggle and difficulty, but he became the constant beneficiary of answered prayer. I have these words many times before today and each time the cause a edifice of hope and anticipation to rise up within me. It takes me to a place of ultimate trust where may "be anxious for nothing".
" Hide thy tempest of individual trouble behind the altar of a common tribulation and, that same night, the Lord shall appear to thee."
He is basically saying that when our faith is radical enough to trust God beyond our circumstances, we will be able to count the big things as small and lay them at His feet. God wants to minister to us in the stillness of a peace that only true faith can provide.
There is a time for outward praise, God adores and inhibits the praises of His people, but there are those moments when you take the monumental struggles of your life an count them and minor in his presence. Then you rest in the peace that a radical faith creates and listen -- God shows up every time ~ Dr. Rick Wallace
Check out some additional resources by
Dr. Rick Wallace
1. The Invisible Father: Reversing the Curse of a
Fatherless Generation - Dr. Wallace examines the destructive force of absentee fatherhood
in America from a biblical Perspective
2. Renewing Your Mind: The Dynamics of
Christian Transformation - Dr. Wallace discusses the power of your
thought process to completely transform your life
3. Elevation through
Revelation - This book was written to encourage and inspire you as you
travel through life.
4. When Your House is Not a Home - Dr.
Wallace engages the enigmatic issues that face marriage in America -- from a
biblical perspective.
5. The Power of Healing Affirmations -- This
short book goes straight to the matter of how you word and thought affect
healing in your life. (A must read)
Blogs
2. Master Fitness 21 -- This
site focuses on believers living healthy lives spiritually and physically
impact the
world around them.
Coming Soon:
The Measure of a Man: A Biblical Manhood Manifesto
Faith & Fitness: What Every Christian Should Know
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