by Miles J. Stanford
"Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through Him that loved us" (Romans 8:37)
The world, the flesh, and the devil say, Be powerful. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit say, Be powerless –"for My strength is made perfect in [your] weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9)
"There would be little harm in trying to
imitate Christ if such an endeavor did not hide from us what our Lord really
desires; and so keep us back from 'life more abundant.' Christ has come Himself into our hearts to
dwell there, and what He wants is to live His life in us, as the Apostle Paul
says, 'For to me to live is Christ.' Christ was the very source and
mainspring of all he was and did. What
a wonderful thing this is! We would be
driven to despair if Christ had simply left us an example to follow or imitate,
for we have no power within ourselves to do it. We must have a new source – a new spring of action, and Christ
Himself wants to be just that for us."
–E.C.H.
"The man in Romans Seven is occupied with
himself, and his disappointment and anguish spring from his inability to find
in self the good which he loves. The man of Romans Eight has learned there is
no good to be found in self. It is only in Christ; and his song of triumph
results from the joy of having found out that he is 'complete in
Him.'" –H.A.I.
"I have strength for all things in Christ who
empowers me – I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who
infuses inner strength into me" (Phil. 4:13, Amp.). g
This article is excerpted from the devotional, "None But the Hungry Heart," which was compiled by Miles J. Stanford.