五月三日
在世上你们有苦难……（约16：33）
信徒啊！你要问为什么吗?向上看你的天父，看他多圣洁光明。你知道有一天你也要像他吗?你愿意轻而易举地像他吗?你不需要患难的炉来锻炼你吗?除去你的败坏、完全像你的天父那样完全是一件容易的事吗?基督徒呀！你再往下看：你知道你脚下的仇敌是什么样的仇敌吗?你以前是撒但的臣仆，世上没有一个王愿意丧失他的臣民的。你想撒但会任凭你吗?不，他要追逐你，因为他像“吼叫的狮子，遍地寻找可吞吃的人”。因此，基督徒呀！当你往下看的时候，你就等待着困难吧。你再往周围看：你在什么地方呢?你乃是在敌人的阵地之中，是过客，是羁旅。世界并非你的朋友。若是的话，你就不是神的朋友了，因为与世为友就是与神为敌。要确实知道你到处都会遇到敌人的。当你睡觉时，要想到你是在战场上；当你走路时，要留心敌人的埋伏。俗话说“江边蚊子吃客”，或“店里臭虫吃客”，本地人反不大受滋扰，所以世上的苦难对你特别尖厉。最后，要向内看：向你心里看，看里面有些什么?罪和自己仍在那里。嗐，若你不受魔鬼的诱惑，不受仇敌的攻击，不受世界的陷害，但你仍可发现你自己的邪恶是你极大的苦痛，因为“人心比万物都诡诈，坏到极处”。那末，要迎接着困难，但不要在意，因为神必帮助你，加力量给你。他曾说：“你在急难中，我要与你同在。我要搭救你，使你尊贵（或译并尊重你）。”
May 3
“In the world ye shall
have tribulation.” — John 16:33
Art thou asking
the reason of this, believer? Look upward to thy heavenly Father, and behold
Him pure and holy. Dost thou know that thou art one day to be like Him? Wilt
thou easily be conformed to His image? Wilt thou not require much refining in
the furnace of affliction to purify thee? Will it be an easy thing to get rid
of thy corruptions, and make thee perfect even as thy Father which is in heaven
is perfect? Next, Christian, turn thine eye downward. Dost thou know what foes
thou hast beneath thy feet? Thou wast once a servant of Satan, and no king will
willingly lose his subjects. Dost thou think that Satan will let thee alone?
No, he will be always at thee, for he “goeth about like a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour.” Expect trouble, therefore, Christian, when
thou lookest beneath thee. Then look around thee. Where art thou? Thou art in
an enemy’s country, a stranger and a sojourner. The world is not thy friend. If
it be, then thou art not God’s friend, for he who is the friend of the world is
the enemy of God. Be assured that thou shalt find foe-men everywhere. When thou
sleepest, think that thou art resting on the battlefield; when thou walkest,
suspect an ambush in every hedge. As mosquitoes are said to bite strangers more
than natives, so will the trials of earth be sharpest to you. Lastly, look
within thee, into thine own heart and observe what is there. Sin and self are
still within. Ah! if thou hadst no devil to tempt thee, no enemies to fight
thee, and no world to ensnare thee, thou wouldst still find in thyself evil
enough to be a sore trouble to thee, for “the heart is deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked.” Expect trouble then, but despond not on
account of it, for God is with thee to help and to strengthen thee. He hath
said, “I will be with thee in trouble; I will deliver thee and honour
thee.”
