[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, July 2018]
The Christian walk has its highs and lows and I often find myself unsure of whether I am walking as God would have me do, often feeling guilty for not sticking to the straight and narrow path. An excerpt from a devotional by Charles Spurgeon[1] has been very helpful for me in this regard and I have paraphrased it below. I hope it is as much a blessing to you as it has been to me.
It is ever the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan’s work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, “Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of his children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus.” All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: he tells us that we are nothing, but that “Christ is all in all.”
Remember, therefore, it is not your hold of Christ that saves you – it is Christ; it is not your joy in Christ that saves you – it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument – it is Christ’s blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to your hand with which you are grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to your hope, but to Jesus, the source of your hope; look not to your faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith.
We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by “looking unto Jesus.” Keep your eye simply on him; let his death, his sufferings, his merits, his glories, his intercession, be fresh upon your mind; when you wake in the morning look to him; when you lie down at night look to him. Oh! let not your hopes or fears come between you and Jesus; follow hard after him, and he will never fail you.
“My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness:
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”
[1] ‘Morning and Evening: Daily Readings by CH Spurgeon’, morning meditation for June 28
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Contributed by David Makanjuola; © David Makanjuola