June 2

"For Abraham, when hope was gone, hoped on in faith. His faith never quailed¹." (Rom. 4:18, 19)

We shall never forget a remark that George Mueller once made to a gentleman who had asked him the best way to have strong faith.

"The only way," replied the patriarch of faith, "to learn strong faith is to endure great trials. I have learned my faith by standing² firm amid severe testings." This is very true. The time to trust is when all else fails.

Dear one, you scarcely realize the value of your present opportunity; if you are passing through great afflictions you are in the very soul of the strongest faith, and if you will only let go, He will teach you in these hours the mightiest³ hold upon His throne which you can ever know.

"Be not afraid, only believe." And if you are afraid, just look up and say, "What time I am afraid I will trust in thee," and you will yet thank God for the school of sorrow which was to you the school of faith. --A. B. Simpson.

"Great faith must have great trials."

"God's greatest gifts come through travail⁴. Whether we look into the spiritual or temporal sphere, can we discover anything, any great reform, any beneficent discovery, any soul-awakening revival⁵, which did not come through the toils⁶ and tears, the vigils and blood-shedding of men and women whose sufferings were the pangs⁷ of its birth? If the temple of God is raised, David must bear sore afflictions; if the Gospel of the grace of God is to be disentangled from Jewish tradition, Paul's life must be one long agony."

"Take heart, O weary, burdened one, bowed down

Beneath thy cross;

Remember that thy greatest gain may come

Through greatest loss.

Thy life is nobler for a sacrifice,

And more divine.

Acres of bloom are crushed to make a drop

Of perfume fine.

"Because of storms that lash⁸ the ocean waves,

The waters there

Keep purer than if the heavens o'erhead

Were always fair.

The brightest banner of the skies floats not

At noonday warm;

The rainbow traileth after thunder-clouds,

And after storm."　

　 六月二日

“他在无可指望的时候因信仍有指望……他的信心还是不软弱”（罗四：18/19）。

　　记得有一次有人问莫勒（George Mueller）先生如何可得坚强的信心。这位信心之王答复说：“只有一个方法，就是忍受试炼。我个人学得信心，都是因为在凶险的试炼中站住的缘故”。这话是真实的。当一切都无可靠的时候，才是信靠神的时候。

　　亲爱的，你太轻看你目前的机会了；你现在所受的苦难，就是学得坚强信心的学校；神要在那里教导你怎样在绝望中抓住他的施恩宝座。

　“不要怕，只要信”（可五：36）。什么时候你怕，什么时候你就抬头向天说：“什么时候我怕，什么时候我更要信靠你”。这样，你就会感谢神了，因为苦难的学校就是信心的学校。——宣信

　　大的信心必经大的试炼。

　　神的最大赐予，都要经过了苦痛方能得到。无论从精神的领域，或人世的领域去观察，任何伟大的事业与改革，有益的发明与复兴，没有一样不是来自人类的辛苦，不眠不休，流血流泪呢？那一件事物的产生，不是先有如生产之痛苦呢？要树立神的殿，大卫必须承受酷烈的痛苦；要使神的福音和犹太传统分离圣别，保罗的一生必须经历长期的磨难。

辛劳的人，鼓起你的勇气，

十字架压得你挺不直身子，

要记住，你最大的收获，

可能得自最大的辛勤。

牺牲使生命更高贵更神圣，

几亩地的花只榨出一滴香醇。

如果没有暴风鞭打着海洋，

空中永远是平晴无云，

如何还有浪花的晶光明亮？

最美丽的云不在中午飘扬；

在雷雨和风云之后，

彩虹才放出它的光芒。

1 quailed   

害怕，发抖，畏缩( quail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I quailed at the danger. 我一遇到危险，心里就发毛。
• His heart quailed before the enormous pyramidal shape. 面对这金字塔般的庞然大物，他的心不由得一阵畏缩。 来自英汉文学

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 mightiest   

adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 )；巨大的；强有力的；浩瀚的

参考例句：

• \"If thou fearest to leave me in our cottage, thou mightiest take me along with thee. “要是你害怕把我一个人留在咱们的小屋里，你可以带我一块儿去那儿嘛。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
• Silent though is, after all, the mightiest agent in human affairs. 确实，沉默毕竟是人类事件中最强大的代理人。 来自互联网

4 travail   

n.阵痛；努力

参考例句：

• Mothers know the travail of giving birth to a child.母亲们了解分娩时的痛苦。
• He gained the medal through his painful travail.他通过艰辛的努力获得了奖牌。

5 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

6 toils   

网

参考例句：

• It did not declare him to be still in Mrs. Dorset's toils. 这并不表明他仍陷于多赛特夫人的情网。
• The thief was caught in the toils of law. 这个贼陷入了法网。

7 pangs   

突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 )； 悲痛

参考例句：

• She felt sudden pangs of regret. 她突然感到痛悔不已。
• With touching pathos he described the pangs of hunger. 他以极具感伤力的笔触描述了饥饿的痛苦。

8 lash   

v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛

参考例句：

• He received a lash of her hand on his cheek.他突然被她打了一记耳光。
• With a lash of its tail the tiger leaped at her.老虎把尾巴一甩朝她扑过来。