Come, my heart, satisfy and delight yourself, this morning, with the thought of what your mighty God can do for you - the grace he is able to give you now - the glory he is reserving for you - the uplifting, upholding, strengthening, and preserving power which is all invested in his loving hands on your behalf. Here is a store house of riches on which your largest demands can make no perceptible diminishment, and all this is yours!
'Exceeding greatness.' Yes, Lord, more vast and wonderful than my poor finite mind can conceive. Your power bids the sun pour forth his radiant light and heat - your power holds the stars in space, and hangs the earth upon nothing - your power rules the universe with a word! Is it not exceeding great? All nature shows your handiwork, and your wondrous power is as much seen in the lowest forms of life and growth as in the higher developments of your creative hand. All the discoveries of science, all the revelations of its secrets which have of late so surprised and delighted us, are but glimpses of the infinite might and wisdom of the God whose 'love is as great as his power, and knows neither measure nor end.'
But, Lord, it is not on the majesty of your omnipotence as shown in your material world that would meditate at this moment; it is the 'power to us-ward who believe' that enchains my heart, and thrills my soul with joy. Help me draw near to you, dear Lord, humbly and reverently, that I may 'see this great sight'; for though this is holy ground, and the bush burns with fire, there is no barrier as of old, to prevent a near approach to you, seeing that, now, we are 'made nigh by the blood of Christ'.
If I have true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, then the exceeding greatness of the power of the Most High God, 'according to the working of his mighty power', is to me-ward, is on my side, or - I say it with deep reverence - at my service, always at hand to help, to guard, to defend, and to provide for me. My pen pauses as I ask myself, 'Do I believe this? Do any Christians really hold this faith? Is it possible that there can be among the feeble, doubting, self-engrossed, and half-hearted people that I see and hear of, any who possess the assurance that the power of the living God dwells in them, and that they 'can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth' them? If there be any such, why, oh! Why do they not walk worthy of the vocation wherewith they are called?
Look to yourself, my soul. Is the exceeding greatness of your Lord's power manifest in you as it should be? Blessed be his Name, you can say, 'He has redeemed me from death and hell, pardoned my sins through the shedding of his precious blood, and given me a promise of life eternal in his presence.' But what more? Those are the cardinal gifts of his grace, the cornerstones of his mercy and love. What do you possess of the details of his mighty working, the filling up, as it were, of the great plan of his will and design concerning you? What does 'the effectual working of his power' produce in your heart and life? Are you wholly consecrated to his service? Have you given yourself and all that you have into his loving hands? Are you filled with his Holy Spirit? Does he control every thought and word and deed? Are all the powers of your being and all the possessions of both soul and body subject and surrendered to his absolute sway?
Ah, Lord! Your poor child sorrowfully confesses to falling very far short of the high standard of Christian life to which your Word expects us to attain. In common with so many others, I seem to live at a 'poor dying rate' when I might have 'life most abundantly'. I know the possibilities of conformity to Christ are only to be measured by the exceeding riches of your grace, and the exceeding greatness of your power, and yet I sometimes seem content without a full participation in the glorious experience which your love offers. Lord, enlighten and quicken me, I beg you! Put forth in me the mighty grace which will make my daily life a proof that you are working your own will in me, and giving me to know at least in some measure, 'what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe'.
Susannah Spurgeon, 1832 - 1903
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