September 20

"Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?"

Mary and Martha could not understand what their Lord was doing. Both of them said to Him, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." Back of it all, we seem to read their thought: "Lord, we do not understand why you have stayed away so long. We do not understand how you could let death come to the man whom you loved. We do not understand how you could let sorrow and suffering ravage¹ our lives when your presence might have stayed it all. Why did you not come? It is too late now, for already he has been dead four days!"

And to it all Jesus had but one great truth: "You may not understand; but I tell you if you believe, you will see."

Abraham could not understand why God should ask the sacrifice of the boy; but he trusted. And he saw the glory of God in his restoration to his love. Moses could not understand why God should keep him forty years in the wilderness², but he trusted; and he saw when God called him to lead forth³ Israel from bondage⁴.

Joseph could not understand the cruelty of his brethren, the false witness of a perfidious⁵ woman, and the long years of an unjust imprisonment⁶; but he trusted, and he saw at last the glory of God in it all.

Jacob could not understand the strange providence⁷ which permitted the same Joseph to be torn from his father's love, but he saw the glory of God when he looked into the face of that same Joseph as the viceroy of a great king, and the preserver of his own life and the lives of a great nation.

And so, perhaps in your life. You say, "I do not understand why God let my dear one be taken. I do not understand why affliction has been permitted to smite⁸ me. I do not understand the devious⁹ paths by which the Lord is leading me. I do not understand why plans and purposes that seemed good to my eyes should be baffled. I do not understand why blessings¹⁰ I so much need are so long delayed.

Friend, you do not have to understand all God's ways with you. God does not expect you to understand them. You do not expect your child to understand, only believe. Some day you will see the glory of God in the things which you do not understand.--J. H. McC

“If we could push ajar the gates of life,

And stand within, and all God's working see,

We might interpret all this doubt and strife¹¹,

And for each my story could find a key.”

“But not today Then be content, poor heart;

God's plans, like lilies pure and white, unfold.

We must not tear the close-shut leaves apart-

Time will reveal the calyxes of gold.”

“And if through patient toil¹², we reach the land

Where tired feet, with sandals loosed, may rest,

When we shall clearly know and understand,

I think that we shall say, 'God knew best.”

九月二十日

「我不是对你说过，你若信，就必看见神的荣耀么。」（约十一40）

马大和马利亚不明白她们的主所做的是甚么。她们两人都先后对祂说：「主阿!祢若早在这里，我兄弟必不死。」（约十一21，23）她们似乎在想：「主阿!我们不明白祢为甚么来得这般迟。我们不明白祢怎么忍心让死亡临到祢所爱的。我们不明白祢怎么忍心让忧伤和苦难来蹂躏我们的生命。为甚么祢不早些来呢？现在是太迟了，因为他死了已经四天了！」

对于这一切疑问，耶稣只用一个伟大的眞理来答复她们：「你也许不明白；但是我告诉你….你若信，就必看见。」

亚伯拉罕不明白为甚么神要他把他独生的儿子献为燔祭；但是他信，他就看见了神的荣耀。摩西不明白为甚么神要他在旷野隐居四十年，但是他信。当神呼召他去将以色列人从为奴之地领出来的时候，他就看见了。

约瑟对于他哥哥们的残忍，对于一个泼妇的假见证，对于多年不公正的监禁，都丝毫不能明白；但是他信，最后他看见了神在其中的一切荣耀。

雅各布不明白为什么神应许把约瑟从他怀中扯去，但是当他看见约瑟做了王的宰相，保存了他自己和一国的性命的时候，他就看见了神的荣耀。

亲爱的，在你身上，也是这样。你说：「我不明白为甚么神容让我心所爱的被夺去。我不明白为甚么神应许苦难来侵袭我。我不明白为甚么神领我行走这样曲折的道路。我不明白为甚么我视为美好的计划和目的要受到挫折。我不明白为甚么我这样急迫的需要，迁延了这么久，还没有来到。」

朋友，你用不着明白神对付你的方法。神不盼望你能明白。你并不盼望你的孩子能明白你所做的，是吗？只要信，有一天你必在你所不明白的事上看见神的荣耀。－－马克康该

1 ravage   

vt.使...荒废，破坏...；n.破坏，掠夺，荒废

参考例句：

• Just in time to watch a plague ravage his village.恰好目睹了瘟疫毁灭了他的村庄。
• For two decades the country has been ravaged by civil war and foreign intervention.20年来，这个国家一直被内战外侵所蹂躏。

2 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

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 bondage   

n.奴役，束缚

参考例句：

• Masters sometimes allowed their slaves to buy their way out of bondage.奴隶主们有时允许奴隶为自己赎身。
• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。

5 perfidious   

adj.不忠的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• Their feet will trample on the dead bodies of their perfidious aggressors.他们将从背信弃义的侵略者的尸体上踏过。
• Your perfidious gossip is malicious and dangerous.你说的那些背信弃义的话是很刻毒险恶的。

6 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

7 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

8 smite   

v.重击；彻底击败；n.打；尝试；一点儿

参考例句：

• The wise know how to teach,the fool how to smite.智者知道如何教导，愚者知道怎样破坏。
• God will smite our enemies.上帝将击溃我们的敌人。

9 devious   

adj.不坦率的，狡猾的；迂回的，曲折的

参考例句：

• Susan is a devious person and we can't depend on her.苏姗是个狡猾的人，我们不能依赖她。
• He is a man who achieves success by devious means.他这个人通过不正当手段获取成功。

10 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

12 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。