'Voices From The Past' Vol. 1 — February 18

Is there anything in your life that yet keeps you from complete happiness? Certainly your faith can help. The flesh is ever cowardly and loves ease, and though it is sure of justification and sanctification, it is not happy because of the poverties, crosses, and pressures it must endure. O how faith can shine and triumph over nature and reason—not just persevere, but conquer and rejoice in tribulation! Faith can make you hard as an adamant stone, like a palm that does not break with the heaviest burdens, or oil that ever out-swims all the water that is poured over it. This is the crown and glory of faith. Faith tackles great obstacles. Small boats do fine in a calm, and ordinary men can stand up to a light breeze, but when a heavy tempest blows, and wave after wave crashes, nature yields, the spirit faints, a heart fails. To stand up against such storms and to live and reign is the work of faith. This faith has the Word as its compass, and Christ directing the helm. The greatest adversities are but the exercise and lustre of faith. Men glory when they can tame the tigers, but what is that compared to faith that makes shame, poverty, sickness, persecutions, banishment, yea, death itself calm and bearable? Christians have great advantage because of their faith. Their only error is the lack of skill or failure to use the shield of faith when a dart comes suddenly upon them. When a storm rises, immediately run and awaken your sleeping faith. Knock at its door. Do your work, O faith! Consider this medicine for your faith to drink in comfort: not the slightest trouble befalls you without the overruling eye and hand of God. He is not only our wise God, but a tender Father. He knows what you are made of and measures out exactly every cross unto us as a chemist measures grains of medicine.

Devotional Readings taken from Puritan Devotional Readings 'Voices From The Past Vol.1.'
Samuel Ward, Sermons, pp. 33-36
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