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| "For Such A Time As This" Art by Elspeth Young |
“Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Consider to what some of you have been advanced… What are the obligations of one elected according to the foreknowledge of God, redeemed by the heart’s blood of Christ, and quickened by the Holy Spirit? What manner of persons ought we to be? You have been raised to that honor, walk worthy of it… You have been raised to a considerable degree of Christian knowledge—you are not now mere babes in grace; you are well instructed, and you have had a blessed experience both of trouble and joy, which has made you strong in the Lord, and has confirmed you in the faith, and has admitted you into the inner circle where the joy of the Lord is best known… The Lord has also given you talent. I fear we have all of us more ability than we use—but some have more talent than they themselves are aware of, and this perhaps they display in business, but never in the cause of God…
Consider why the Lord has brought you where you are. Do you think He has done it for your own sake? Does He intend all this merely that you may practice self-indulgence? Can this be the design of God? Do not think so. Has He done all this merely to give you pleasure? Not so: God’s work is like a net of many meshes, and these are all connected with each other. We are links of the same chain, and cannot move without others. We are members of one body, and God acts toward us with that fact in view. He does not bless the hand for the hand’s sake, but for the sake of the whole body… Talents are allotted to you that you may turn them over and bring heavenly interest for your Lord. Whatever you have is yours not to hoard for yourself, or to spend upon yourself, but that you may use it as a good steward of God. Who knows whether you are come to the kingdom which God has given you for such a time as this, when there is need of you and all that is yours?... Why are you placed where you are? …God has placed you where you are for some good purpose, which purpose must be connected with His own glory, and with the extension of His kingdom in the world…
Consider also, I pray you, under what very special circumstances you have come where you are… Should not these remarkable dealings of the Lord toward you bind you to the divine service? …Let your special deliverances and memorable mercies be as the tongue of persuasion, constraining you to grateful service…
Consider once more, with what singular personal adaptations you are endowed for the work to which God has called you. I believe you are endowed with special capacity for a certain work, so that no one is as fitted for it as yourself… If God entrusts you with a single talent, and you do not use it, neither would you use ten talents; for he who is unfaithful in that which is least, would be unfaithful in that which is greatest… You and your work fit each other: God has joined you together, let no man put you asunder. Ask for more power from the Holy Spirit, and if there happens to be a tool which the Lord intends for you which hangs a little higher than your present reach, get the ladder of earnest endeavor and you will soon attain it. Consider how you can improve yourself; give yourself to reading; study Scripture more, and use all helps toward increased knowledge and efficiency. If a further qualification be within your reach, be eager for it, and even the reaching after it may be as great a blessing to you as the talent itself…
Settle it in your mind that the Lord has called you to the work, and then advance without question or fear. Put your hand to the plow, and pause not. Do the work with your might. Do not stand asking how; do it as you can. Do not stand asking when; do it directly. Do not say, “But I am weak”—the Lord is strong. Do not say, “But I must devise methods.” Do not concoct schemes or tarry to perfect your methods: fling yourself upon the work with all your might.
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