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&In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths&

"Hold On"

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"I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."  Psalms 27:13-14.  Friends, I have absolutely no idea who it may be that the Lord had in mind as He laid this little article upon my heart, but I feel sure that He indeed has someone or some ones in particular in mind due to the urgency He has given me in writing it.  Normally, when the Lord gives me an article, He gives it to me in segments and then He finishes it up with the Scripture He wants me to use.  This time however, it all came at one time and the urgency to get it written overcame me.  It is as usual my prayer for this little article that the Lord will use it for His glory and to the blessing of all who will read it, but especially if there is one or more who is going through some particular difficulty or trial, that He will use it to help them through it.

Last night and again this morning I had the most blessed opportunity of watching a very dear friend of mine and what I consider to be the greatest preacher of the Gospel of Christ of at least this century on the television.  Let me say that I truly enjoyed this program as I always am when I get to see and/or hear this great man of God.  But it was not until this morning as I watched, that this article was manifest to me and the urgency of it.  The man I am speaking of will be 86 years old this coming Friday which will be June the 14th and he has been preaching ever since September the 17th of 1932, which was just thirteen days after the Lord saved him.  During those many years of preaching, he has had many struggles and trials.  Just some of these struggles and trials were mentioned in the program and I am sure that even I don't know nearly all of them, but through them all, the Lord has never failed this man and His great glory has always shown so brightly through. 

All we, as God's children, go through many trials and troubles and it seems that the closer we walk with Him, the more the fierceness of these trials and troubles.  God's Word tells us that He is no respecter of persons and yet He indeed is in charge of everything that happens in our lives and when we are in trouble He seems to pay special attention to those.  It is in those times of our fiercest of troubles that He grants that special strength and words of comfort and assurance.  I pray that should someone be reading this little article who either is facing or is about to face one of those such times that this little article will be just the medicine the Lord is prescribing for you.  As I have already said, we who have trusted Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, do all go through these times.  These trials vary in many ways, but no matter what the circumstances, the help and remedy for each of them is always the same.  The Psalmist king David said, "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living"  Psalms 27:13.  Friend, during these trials, whatever they are we sometimes become faint and we sometimes to feel as though the Lord may not come through this time.  We do believe God's Word, but we tend to loose sight of His promise to never leave us nor forsake us.  The only thing that can keep us from fainting and even just giving up is for us to as the Psalmist and the title of this little article tell us and that is to "Hold On" and "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."  Psalms 27:14. 

I realize that for the one who is about to faint or give up, these words may seem to be easier to say than to do.  This is true my friend and the Lord knew that we would have times of faint hearts and He most graciously gives us examples as to His faithfulness in coming through on His promises. 

One such example and a very fine one is found in my dear friend J. Harold Smith, who is the preacher I mentioned that I was watching on television when the Lord gave me this little article.  A man of many trials and troubles and yet through his determination and his belief in seeing the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, the Lord has brought him through them all.  Now, he has not always seen this deliverance right away and he has had to wait on the Lord.  He started his radio ministry in Greenville, South Carolina on December the 1st in 1935 and now as he turns 86 years old, he is about to embark upon a television ministry in Greenville, South Carolina.  This dear man is anything but slowing down as he not only preaches revival after revival all over this land, and continues a radio ministry which is heard around the world, and now is about to start a television ministry, but it is in the works for him to be on the Internet and on Satellite.  He has waited on the Lord and sought His guidance and strength and the Lord continues to strengthen his heart.

In His Word, the Lord gave us another wonderful example which parallels that of my dear friend J. Harold Smith in many ways.  This great example is that of a man named Caleb.  The story can be found in the Book of Numbers, but for the sake of space, I won't rewrite the whole story, only trusting that you read it for yourself.  There were 12 spies sent to spy out the Land that the Lord had promised the children of Israel, the land that flowed with milk and honey.  Twelve spies went out and twelve spies came back.  All of them gave the same report that indeed the land was an exceeding good land.  But ten of those spies told of some giants they had seen in the land and said that they would be better off going back to Egypt into bondage.  Only two of those spies trusted in the Lord and the promise that He had made.  Caleb was one of those who believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  You know, in any good democracy it is said that the majority rules.  Not so when God is involved.  Caleb wasn't satisfied with the concept of the majority ruling and he wasn't about to compromise his faith in the Lord.  God didn't agree with democracy either as He said, "Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it: But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereunto he went; and his seed shall possess it."  Numbers 14:22-24.  Friend, that didn't sound too good for not only those ten wimpy spies, but for all the others who didn't trust the Lord and His promises.  But Caleb had another spirit in him and the Lord rewarded him for that with the promise that He would see the land again which he had already seen.  Now, you will notice that the Lord didn't just send Caleb right over there.  He had to wait on the Lord.  The Lord sent them on out into the wilderness where he would kill that present generation.  The Lord didn't just open the earth up and swallow those others up, but he allowed them to all die out.  Now, they were allowed to wander through the wilderness for forty years and I'm sure there were times in Caleb's wandering with them when he was hearing all the whining the others were doing that he was tempted to say, "Well, everybody else is doing it, so maybe they're right."  Caleb waited on the Lord and waited and waited and he was of good courage as the Psalmist said.  Caleb held on and he must have read somewhere, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."  That's found in Galatians 6:9, but I'm sure Caleb never read it, he just believed God's promises to be true.  Caleb was 40 years old when he spied out that land and said, "Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not."  Numbers 14:9.  Not until forty years later did Caleb's waiting paid off as we read of him saying, "Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart. Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God.  And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as He said, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. As yet I am strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.  Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said."  Joshua 14:7-12.  At eighty five years of age, not only had the Lord kept Caleb alive, but He had given him the strength of his youth so that he could say as before, I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said." 

Friend, just as Caleb waited on the Lord and at eighty five years old was ready to take on those giants and take the land the Lord had promised him and just as my dear friend J. Harold Smith has waited upon the Lord and has not only had his every need met and is now at eighty six years of age full of renewed strength and ready to take on the world, you too, if you will just "Hold On" and "Wait on the Lord", will be delivered out of whatever your circumstances.  Faint not, and believe to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.