January 18

"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ."(2 Cor. 2:14)

God gets His greatest victories out of apparent defeats. Very often the enemy seems to triumph for a little, and God lets it be so; but then He comes in and upsets all the work of the enemy, overthrows¹ the apparent victory, and as the Bible says, "turns the way of the wicked upside down." (Ps.146:9) Thus He gives a great deal larger victory than we would have known if He had not allowed the enemy, seemingly, to triumph in the first place.

The story of the three Hebrew children being cast into the fiery² furnace is a familiar one. Here was an apparent victory for the enemy. It looked as if the servants of the living God were going to have a terrible defeat. We have all been in places where it seemed as though we were defeated, and the enemy rejoiced. We can imagine what a complete defeat this looked to be. They fell down into the flames, and their enemies watched them to see them burn up in that awful fire, but were greatly astonished to see them walking around in the fire enjoying themselves. Nebuchadnezzar told them to "come forth³ out of the midst of the fire." Not even a hair was singed⁴, nor was the smell of fire on their garments, "because there is no other god that can deliver after this sort."(Dan.3:29)

This apparent defeat resulted in a marvelous victory.

Suppose that these three men had lost their faith and courage, and had complained, saying, "Why did not God keep us out of the furnace!" They would have been burned, and God would not have been glorified⁵. If there is a great trial in your life today, do not own it as a defeat, but continue, by faith, to claim the victory through Him who is able to make you more than conqueror⁶, and a glorious victory will soon be apparent. Let us learn that in all the hard places God brings us into, He is making opportunities for us to exercise such faith in Him as will bring about blessed results and greatly glorify⁷ His name. ━Life of Praise

"Defeat may serve as well as victory

To shake the soul and let the glory out.

When the great oak is straining in the wind,

The boughs⁸ drink in new beauty, and the trunk

Sends down a deeper root on the windward side.

Only the soul that knows the mighty⁹ grief

Can know the mighty rapture¹⁰. Sorrows come

To stretch out spaces in the heart for joy."

一月十八日

　“感谢神，常帅领我们在基督里夸胜”（林后二：14）

　　在人显著的失败中，神得着最完全的胜利。许多时侯，仇敌似乎得胜了，神也容让牠得胜；可是后来神终究铲除牠所有的作为，推翻牠显著的胜利，一如经上所说，“使恶人的道路颠倒”（诗篇一四六：9）。如果神不让仇敌先得势，神就不能给我们一个更大更可夸的得胜。

　　三个希伯来人被掷入火窑的故事，是一个很好的例子。这里，仇敌显然胜利了。按事情看来，永活神的仆人将陷于一败涂地的光景中了。（许多时侯，我们也有这样失败的光景，同时仇敌真是欢喜。）他们跌在火焰中，他们的仇敌盼望看他们在可怕的火焰中顷刻之间化成飞灰，万想不到这三个希伯来人竟在火窑中游行自娱。这真使仇敌吃惊不小。尼布甲尼撒王叫他们从火中出来，甚至一根头发也没有烧焦，一块布也没有变色，也没有一些火燎的气味，“因为没有别神能这样施行拯救” （但三：29）

　　显著的失败的结果，反是希奇的胜利。

　　假定这三个希伯来人失去了信心和勇气，在受困之时怨神说： “为什么神不救我们脱离火窑呢？”他们定规会被火烧死，神也得不着荣耀了。亲爱的，今天在你的生活中若是正有一个极大的试炼，不要气馁，自认失败，仍要继续用信心藉着那能使你得胜有余的主宣告胜利，荣耀的胜利立刻就要来了。我们应当知道：在一切神应许我们进入的艰难中，神在替我们造成机会，使我们在祂里面学习信心的功课，藉着主基督夸胜，大大荣耀祂自己的名。 ━译自赞美的生命

失败可能与胜利同样微妙，

受憾的灵魂成就了荣耀，

你看狂风中挣扎的橡树，

在那挡风的一面，受压的树身，

它的根却向地下长得更深更稳。

唯有经历过极大的悲痛，

纔能领会极大的欢欣，

忧患给心灵打开喜悦之门。

1 overthrows   

n.推翻，终止，结束( overthrow的名词复数 )v.打倒，推翻( overthrow的第三人称单数 )；使终止

参考例句：

• Newly-elected French President Charles Louis Bonaparte overthrows the Second Republic. 1851年，新选出来的法国总统查尔斯·路易斯·波拿巴推翻了第二次共和。 来自互联网
• With unexpected innovative elements, the Next Step overthrows your knowledge for percussion! 意想不到的创新元素，颠覆你对打击乐的印象。 来自互联网

2 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

3 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

4 singed   

v.浅表烧焦( singe的过去式和过去分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿]

参考例句：

• He singed his hair as he tried to light his cigarette. 他点烟时把头发给燎了。
• The cook singed the chicken to remove the fine hairs. 厨师把鸡燎一下，以便去掉细毛。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 glorified   

美其名的，变荣耀的

参考例句：

• The restaurant was no more than a glorified fast-food cafe. 这地方美其名曰餐馆，其实只不过是个快餐店而已。
• The author glorified the life of the peasants. 那个作者赞美了农民的生活。

6 conqueror   

n.征服者，胜利者

参考例句：

• We shall never yield to a conqueror.我们永远不会向征服者低头。
• They abandoned the city to the conqueror.他们把那个城市丢弃给征服者。

7 glorify   

vt.颂扬，赞美，使增光，美化

参考例句：

• Politicians have complained that the media glorify drugs.政治家们抱怨媒体美化毒品。
• We are all committed to serving the Lord and glorifying His name in the best way we know.我们全心全意敬奉上帝，竭尽所能颂扬他的美名。

8 boughs   

大树枝( bough的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。
• A breeze sighed in the higher boughs. 微风在高高的树枝上叹息着。

9 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

10 rapture   

n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜

参考例句：

• His speech was received with rapture by his supporters.他的演说受到支持者们的热烈欢迎。
• In the midst of his rapture,he was interrupted by his father.他正欢天喜地，被他父亲打断了。