December 7

"And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches. For thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts. And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand." (2 Kings 3:16-18)

To human thinking it was simply impossible, but nothing is hard for God.

Without a sound or sign, from sources invisible and apparently¹ impossible, the floods came stealing in all night long; and when the morning dawned, those ditches were flooded with the crystal waters, and reflecting the rays of the morning sun from the red hills of Edom.

Our unbelief is always wanting some outward sign. The religion of many is largely sensational², and they are not satisfied of its genuineness without manifestations³, etc.; but the greatest triumph of faith is to be still and know that He is God.

The great victory of faith is to stand before some impassable Red Sea, and hear the Master say, "Stand still, and see the salvation⁴ of the Lord,"(Ex.14:13) and "Go forward!"(Ex.14:15) As we step out without any sign or sound━not a wave-splash━and wetting our very feet as we take the first step into its waters, still marching on we shall see the sea divide and the pathway open through the very midst of the waters.

If we have seen the miraculous⁵ workings of God in some marvelous case of healing or some extraordinary providential deliverance, I am sure the thing that has impressed us most has been the quietness with which it was all done, the absence of everything spectacular and sensational, and the utter sense of nothingness which came to us as we stood in the presence of this mighty⁶ God and felt how easy, it was for Him to do it all without the faintest effort on His part or the slightest help on ours.

It is not the part of faith to question, but to obey. The ditches were made, and the water came pouring in from some supernatural source. What a lesson for our faith!

Are you craving⁷ a spiritual blessing⁸? Open the trenches⁹, and God will fill them. And this, too, in the most unexpected places and in the most unexpected ways.

Oh, for that faith that can act by faith and not by sight, and expect God to work although we see no wind or rain. ━A. B. Simpson

十二月七日

『他便说，耶和华如此说，你们要在这谷中满处挖沟?因为,耶和华如此说:「你们虽不见风、不见雨、这谷必满了水，使你们和牲畜有水喝。」在耶和华眼中这还算为小事，他也必将摩押人交在你们手中?』

（王下三:16-18）

照人看来，这是绝对不可能的事，但是在神没有难事。

没有风、没有雨、没有声响、没有征兆；但是次日早晨，有水从以东而来，沟中就满了澄清的水。

我们常喜欢凭征兆、凭感觉；没有表显，我们的心不会满足；但是最大的信心的胜利，乃是在安静中知道祂是神。

最大的信心的胜利，乃是站在不能通行的红海面前，听耶和华说：「只管站住，看耶和华…的救恩。」（出十四:13）和「往前走。」（出十四:15）我们举步的时候，没有声响，也没有征兆，第一步跨下去的时候，脚还沿着水，但若勇往直前走去，海分开了，水里展开了一条通道。

质问不是信心的事，服从纔是信心的事。他们必须先挖沟，然后纔有水来。他们必须先服从，然后纔有祝福临到。这是我们信心的功课！

信徒阿，你是不是在渴望属灵的祝福呢？挖开你的沟来，神会用想不到的方法来填满它们的。

哦，巴不得我们行事只凭信心，不凭眼见；我们虽不见风、不见雨，仍当仰望神来工作！━宣信

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 sensational   

adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的

参考例句：

• Papers of this kind are full of sensational news reports.这类报纸满是耸人听闻的新闻报道。
• Their performance was sensational.他们的演出妙极了。

3 manifestations   

n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• These were manifestations of the darker side of his character. 这些是他性格阴暗面的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To be wordly-wise and play safe is one of the manifestations of liberalism. 明哲保身是自由主义的表现之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

5 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

6 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。

7 craving   

n.渴望,热望

参考例句：

• a craving for chocolate 非常想吃巧克力
• She skipped normal meals to satisfy her craving for chocolate and crisps. 她不吃正餐，以便满足自己吃巧克力和炸薯片的渴望。

8 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

9 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。