Whispers of His Power – MAY 30

Jas. 1.2-4:  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Patience may seem rather a dull virtue – like meekness, which we can mistake for weakness.  But Rotherham, Moffatt, Weymouth and Darby translate patience as ‘endurance’, which is one of the challenging words of the world.  And James suggests that if only we welcome the chance to learn to endure there will, one day, be a perfecting and the disciple shall be as his Master.

Does that sound too wonderful to be true?  We have sure words about it (Luke 6.40 RV):  every one when he is perfected shall be as his master.

Life that is life indeed does not go under when assaulted, but rises to meet the trial of its faith, ‘and greets it as pure joy’, as Moffatt puts it.

Does it seem impossible?  Let other verses help us.  Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect: bur I press on. I can do all things (even this) in Him that strengtheneth me (Phil. 3.12; 4.13 RV).

So let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus (turning our eyes away from all else), Who holdeth our soul in life: and suffereth not our feet to slip (Ps. 66.8 BCP).

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.