Whispers of His Power – JANUARY 12

The meaning of the Hebrew word translated ‘weaned’ takes us straight to Hebrews 5.12.  For to wean means ‘to complete, to ripen’, and to be weaned therefore means to be completed, ripened, so that baby-food and baby-ways are left behind and childish things are put away.

We are not meant to live on prepared food, or to be spoon-fed.  God did not mean us always to have the Living Water drawn for us and poured out into glasses and set on our tables.  We are meant to draw water out of the wells of salvation ourselves (Isa. 12.3).  The Eastern picture is not that of turning on a tap, but of going to a well, dipping down into it, and drawing water up for ourselves.

We must not go on being baby souls, starved and thirsty if our food and drink is not doled out to us.  DON’T LET US SO LIVE ON ANYTHING GIVEN BY OTHERS TO US, THAT WE WEAKEN WITHOUT IT.  If the time has come for us to be teachers, helpers, givers ourselves, don’t let us disappoint our God.  He wants His children to be ripened, complete, weaned.

oooOOOooo

These words are from ’Whispers of His Power’ a collection of writings that Amy Carmichael wrote for her ‘children’ and others associated with the Dohnavur Fellowship and are Copyright © The Dohnavur Fellowship 1982

Unless otherwise stated, biblical quotations are from the Authorized King James Version of the Bible.

The following abbreviations are used to refer to other versions and sources:

BCP:               Book of Common Prayer, the Great Bible of Coverdale

Conybeare:       W. J. Conybeare, The Epistles of Paul (a translation)

Delitzsch:        F. Delitzsch, Notes on Job and the Psalms

Kay:                W. Kay, The Psalms (a translation)

LXX:              The Septuagint

Moffatt:           J. Moffatt, The New Testament: a new translation

Rotherham:      J. B. Rotherham, The Emphasized Bible Revised Version

RV:                 Revised Version

Way:              A. Way, The Letters of St Paul (a translation)

Westcott:        F. Westcott, Notes on the Gospel of St John

Weymouth:      R. F. Weymouth, The New Testament in Modern Speech

Young:            R. Young, A Literal Translation of the Bible

Verses of poetry without quotation marks were written by Amy Carmichael.