Whispers of His Power – OCTOBER 12

2 Cor. 9.8:  God is able to make all grace abound toward you;  that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.

‘All, always, all, all.’  Truly ‘God is able to lavish every gracious gift upon you,’ as Way puts it.

Sometimes one special verse is brought twice or perhaps oftener to our notice.  It is because it has a word for us that we might miss if we were not redirected to it.  This is part of the kindness of God to whom nothing that concerns us is small.

When David asks in Psalm 60.9: Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom? the fortified city was probably Petra, the capital of Edom.  There was only one way into Petra, and it was a long and difficult way.  But where it began, and where it ended, there were pink oleanders.

The strong words of 2 Corinthians 9.8 are like the oleanders at the entrance to the difficult way that leads into the city of Petra.  They are full of good cheer and promise of good things to come.  When the traveller penetrates that forbidding gorge and comes out into the sunshine, he finds oleanders blooming again for him.  When we by His grace pass through whatever trial or difficulty faces us now, we shall find this word waiting to refresh us again.  All, always, all, all – that we may abound to every good work.

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.