October 7

"Who is among you that feareth Jehovah, that obeyeth the voice of his servant? He that walketh in darkness and hath no light,let him trust in the name of Jehovah and rely upon his God"(Isa.50:10, RV)

What shall the believer do in times of darkness the darkness of perplexity and confusion, not of heart but of mind? Times of darkness come to the faithful and believing disciple¹ who is walking obediently in the will of God; seasons when he does not know what to do, nor which way to turn. The sky is overcast² with clouds. The clear light of Heaven does not shine upon his pathway. One feels as if he were groping his way in darkness.

Beloved, is this you? What shall the believer do in times of darkness? Listen! "Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and rely upon his God."

The first thing to do is do nothing. This is hard for poor human nature to do. In the West there is a saying that runs thus, "When you're rattled³, don't rush"; in other words, "When you don't know what to do, don't do it."

When you run into a spiritual fog bank, don't tear ahead; slow down the machinery⁴ of your life. If necessary, anchor your bark or let it swing at its moorings. We are to simply trust God. While we trust, God can work. Worry prevents Him from doing anything for us. If our minds are distracted and our hearts distressed⁵; if the darkness that overshadows us strikes terror to us; if we run hither and yon in a vain effort to find some way of escape out of a dark place of trial, where Divine providence⁶ has put us, the Lord can do nothing for us.

The peace of God must quiet our minds and rest our hearts. We must put our hand in the hand of God like a little child, and let Him lead us out into the bright sunshine of His love.

He knows the way out of the woods. Let us climb up into His arms, and trust Him to take us out by the shortest and surest road.━Dr.Pardington

Remember we are never without a pilot when we know not how to steer⁷.

“Hold on, my heart, in thy believing-

The steadfast⁸ only wins the crown;

He who, when stormy winds are heaving,

Parts with its anchor, shall go down;

But he who Jesus holds through all,

Shall stand, though Heaven and earth should fall,”

“Hold out.! There comes an end to sorrow;

Hope from the dust shall conquering rise;

The storm foretells⁹ a summer's morrow;

The Cross points on to Paradise;

The Father reigneth! cease all doubt;

Hold on, my heart hold on, hold out.”

十月七日

「你们中间谁是敬畏耶和华听从祂仆人之话的。这人行在暗中，没有亮光，当倚靠耶和华的名，仗赖自己的神。」 （赛五十:10）

一个信徒在黑暗苦闷中应该怎样呢？在疑难困恼中应该怎样呢？一个忠心顺服神旨意的信徒常会遭到黑暗苦闷的经历，有时竟会叫他不知道该怎样行━天上满布着黑云，路上也看不见亮光；眞好像在暗中摸索一般。

亲爱的，这在暗中摸索的是不是正是你呢？一个信徒在这种黑暗苦闷的时候该怎样行呢？听神的话！「当倚靠耶和华的名，仗赖自己的神。」

第一件当做的事，就是不做甚么。这是可怜的人性很难做到的一件事。在西方有一句格言说：「困恼的时候不要急冲。」这意思就是说：「你不知当做甚么的时候，就当不做。」

要是前面有雾，就不该再向前航行。在必需的时候，还该抛下锚去。照样，在黑暗苦闷的时候，我们不该再做甚么。我们所要做的祇是信靠仰赖神。惟有在我们信靠的时候，神纔能替我们工作。如果我们的心仍自忧急痛苦，如果覆蔽我们的黑暗仍能叫我们恐怖，如果我们仍然东奔西走地去逃避神给我们的试炼，我告诉你：神一点都不能替我们做甚么。

我们应当静下我们的心来安息在神的平安里。我们应当像小孩一般把我们的手放在神的手中，让祂引领我们进入祂爱的光明中去。

树林里的路径只有祂最熟悉，所以让我们爬上祂的双臂去；祂必怀抱我们从最简捷最稳妥的路径出去。━巴亭登

我们不知道该怎样驾驶的时候，旁边绝不会没有向导的。

我的心哪,要坚持你的信仰-

唯有固守不移者才会得胜；

在海上遇到了狂风暴浪,

若离开铁锚,你的命运势必蹭蹬；

凡是始终握住耶稣的人,

即使天崩地塌,也能站立稳定。

你要坚守!悲痛终会完结之时,

尘土之中将兴起战胜的光芒,

暴风雨预示忧日的来临；

十字架指向天上的王,

父神在统治一切,停止你种种疑虑,

我的心,你要握住,坚持不放。

1 disciple   

n.信徒，门徒，追随者

参考例句：

• Your disciple failed to welcome you.你的徒弟没能迎接你。
• He was an ardent disciple of Gandhi.他是甘地的忠实信徒。

2 overcast   

adj.阴天的，阴暗的，愁闷的；v.遮盖，（使）变暗，包边缝；n.覆盖，阴天

参考例句：

• The overcast and rainy weather found out his arthritis.阴雨天使他的关节炎发作了。
• The sky is overcast with dark clouds.乌云满天。

3 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

4 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

5 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

6 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。

7 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

8 steadfast   

adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的

参考例句：

• Her steadfast belief never left her for one moment.她坚定的信仰从未动摇过。
• He succeeded in his studies by dint of steadfast application.由于坚持不懈的努力他获得了学业上的成功。

9 foretells   

v.预言，预示( foretell的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It is a kind of oracle that often foretells things most important. 它是一种内生性神谕，常常能预言最重要的事情。 来自互联网
• What the Old Testament foretells the New Testament fulfils, in part. 旧约圣经的预言在新约圣经中部分实现了。 来自互联网