No doubt it is the role and calling of some to "do great things for God." But for most of us most of the time it is a case of looking to the Lord each day for His will, and resting and waiting patiently for Him to show us what to do. Is it this way with you? If we ever are going to gain the right to play, to do what we want with the Lord's blessing, we are going to have to wait for His approval. Isn't it so?

Overcoming.

Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. (Revelation 2:10—NIV)

Probably all of the exercises I have mentioned could be placed under the category of "overcoming."

To each believer each day there is assigned a portion of evil, a problem, a hurdle. Also to each believer each day there is assigned a portion of Divine grace by which the evil can be overcome with good, the problem can be solved, the hurdle can be jumped. The evil may take the form of a temptation to break one of Christ's commandments, or it can come as an external threat to our safety or health.

Each day we have a choice. We can yield to temptation and not follow the teachings of Christ and His Apostles. Or we can attempt to avoid the evil or overcome it in our own way. We can try to figure out the problem. We can look for a way to get around the hurdle by lying or in some other sinful manner. Or else we can pray until the Lord shows us His way of dealing with the situation. To take our own course is to attempt to play, to follow our own desires. To take the Lord's way is to work, to do what we do not wish to do.

The overcomer is the believer who elects to overcome the evil of the day with the Divine grace given that day. Often this will mean forgiving someone, or denying ourselves, or saying we are sorry, or being patient with an individual. We do not wish to do this. It is work, an unpleasant effort. But by pressing into the Lord we finally overcome the evil, solve the problem, leap over the hurdle.

This program continues day after weary day; year after weary year. Will it never end?

It will not end until God is satisfied we have gained the right to play, to receive the desires of our heart.

When our fervent desires and hopes are deferred it makes our heart sick! But when our desires are fulfilled in the Lord it is a tree of life—life that blesses other people as well as ourselves. And the Lord adds no sorrow to the joy we have been given.

God is worth waiting for! Don't you agree?

To be continued.