THE SECOND CRISIS IN CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE
33 -- THE TUNNEL
One of the most important and perhaps one of the most
difficult lessons a sanctified soul has to learn, is, that the spirit of
heaviness is entirely compatible with the spirit of holiness; that a person may
be entirely sanctified and "kept by the power of God through faith unto
salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time," and yet be "in
heaviness through manifold temptations."
Recently in making a trip across the continent, the Holy
Spirit seemed to teach me the lesson of the tunnel Before starting on my trip I
was obliged to go up to the altar of the railroad company and make a
consecration of about all I had and even consent to put my very life into their
hands. In return they handed me a little slip of paper -- a ticket -- which in
itself, as to the value of the paper, was really of no value; but on that paper
was printed a promise from the railroad company to carry me to my home and
loved ones. As I could feel nothing about the matter, I was obliged to take the
promise by simple faith, and consent to leave myself in their hands and obey
the rules of the company I was obliged to be at the depot at the time the
company specified, and take the train they were pleased to send, show my ticket
to a colored porter, get into the coach he told me, etc. All this I did in
faith.
The train had gone but a short distance on its way, when lo!
suddenly I found myself in great darkness. I knew it would be perilous for me
to throw away my ticket, or leap from the train -- so I simply hung on to the
promise, sat still and kept on believing; directly I was again flooded with
light, and even basking in the sunlight. This experience was repeated a number
of times, when I began to muse about the matter; why should I thus be plunged
into darkness, and have my reading interrupted, etc., when the light was so
much preferred by me?
My first discovery was, though in darkness for a moment, I
was still aboard the train, and still going. The promise was holding good. The darkness
did not for a moment disprove the fact that I was on the train, nor that I was
on the right train, nor that I was going in the right direction. All I had to
do, was to sit still and "keep on believing." Though I could
"'see no way out," and did not "know the way through," I
soon learned that there was no occasion for fear, and that I was coupled onto a
power that could carry me through the darkness as well as the light.
But "why the tunnel?" I queried. "The tunnel
is simply a short cut to a desired destination," seemed to be whispered by
the Spirit. "Oh, I see it! then blessed be the tunnel," was the
answer of my heart. And so I discovered that the tunnel was at least as much to
my interest as it was to the interest of the railroad company. And I soon
realized that the longer the tunnel the farther I was up the road and the
nearer I was to the place I wanted to go, when I again emerged from the
darkness. As this fact dawned upon me, I felt like giving thanks to the
railroad company for the tunnel.
I reasoned, "The railroad company evidently knew that I
was in a hurry to reach my destination; that I would not have time to go around
and around all those mountains, or even to cross them by ascending them
gradually, so in their great kindness, in order to get me on the other side of
the mountain and to my loved ones more speedily, they took the pains and
expense of boring that tunnel and quickly carrying me through."
And does not this explain why the fiercest temptations are
often permitted just at the time that we have desired and sought a new
experience of saving grace? Just when you tried so hard to be good, and sought,
and perhaps professed a new experience, the obstacles seemed to multiply, the
opposition became more intense, and everything seemed to go wrong. The Lord had
simply taken you at your word, and supposing you wanted to get up the road
quickly, He meant to pass you through a few tunnels and so grant you the answer
to your prayers. He knew all about the tunnels, as He himself had passed that
way before you. All that was necessary for you to do, was to stay aboard, cling
to your ticket (the promise) and keep on believing.
Great trials simply make way for great grace. The fiercer
the battle, the greater the victory. No cross, no crown. Suffice it for you to
know that "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above
that ye are able: but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that
ye may be able to bear it." Perhaps none of us could be trusted with
constant prosperity without becoming self-centered and self-sufficient. Our
trials are reminders and monitors of our own weakness, and utter dependence
upon God. David said, "Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now I
have kept Thy word." "Thou hast enlarged me when I was in
distress." Even Paul must have "a thorn in the flesh, the messenger
of Satan to buffet" him, lest lie "become exalted above measure
through the abundance of the revelations." (11. Cor. 12:7.)
Of course, "a thorn in the flesh" is not a
pleasant thing; it is the something you did not desire; something you had not
bargained for. Yet I presume everyone has that "something" in life,
and, therefore, we should learn to turn it to good account. A good sailor must
learn how to make use of a head-wind and stem contrary tides. I have found by
experience that the best way to get on with a "thorn in the flesh" is
to hold still. If one twists and wriggles and offers resistance to the same, it
simply increases and aggravates the sore; but by holding real still it will not
hurt near so much and will finally heal over.
God has said, '"When thou passest through the waters, I
WILL BE WITH THEE; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when
thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the
flame kindle upon thee." (Isa. 43:2.) So the deeper the waters through
which you may be called to pass -- while you float, the higher they will lift
you, and the nearer to heaven they will bring you. The hotter the fire, the
more it will lighten your load, by consuming every encumbrance that might
impede and retard your progress.
When we reach the other shore we will doubtless see that
some of our greatest blessings came to us in the form of trials -- blessings in
disguise. They detach us from the world, wean us from human dependencies, teach
us lessons of humiliation, and develop the iron graces of faith and patience.
The darkness is as necessary as the light. While God permits the enemy to hedge
up our pathway at times, so that we cannot see our way through, He never
permits him to put a roof over us so as to prevent our looking up. If there are
thorns to pierce your feet, remember they first pierced His brow. Instead of
complaining because of the thorns on the roses, thank God for the roses on the
thorns. disappointments are frequently His appointments. "All things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to
His purpose."
"If all were easy, if all were bright,
Where would the cross be, and where the fight?
But in the hardness God gives to you,
Chances for proving what HE can do."
"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when
he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised
to them that love Him." (Jas. 1:12.)
