OUT OF DIVINE ORDER

Faithful Abraham and David -- Others' Experiences

The steps (or stops) of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. Ps. 37:23.

     A great many people, yea, good people, are out of Divine order. They are going to Heaven, but they are going, as it were, on a freight or mixed train, when they ought to be traveling on a "limited". One step out of Divine order may require a thousand other steps to recover it, if it is ever recovered. Take a few Bible characters:

     First: Faithful Abraham. We must tread softly when we approach these "worthies". In Genesis, the twelfth chapter, we find that after Abram had arrived in the land of Canaan, a severe famine was on, but instead of believing God, as in other instances, he became frightened and "went down into Egypt". The result was he prevaricated and told a half truth (which is no truth at all) relative to Sarai his wife, whom he passed off as his sister. After a bitter experience here, we find in the next chapter that he had to retrace his steps and "went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him". We are told that he returned to Bethel "unto the place where his tent had been in the beginning". During all of this sojourn in Egypt, he was out of Divine order. Again, he took another step out of God's first plan when he listened to Sarai and took Hagar to wife. That one step has populated the world with millions of Arabs and Mohammedans who have cursed Palestine and other countries. During the Crusade War over a million Christians lost their lives trying to recover the land of Canaan from these descendants of dear father Abraham.

     David is another example. After God had delivered him many times out of the hand of Saul, finally he became frightened and we hear him say, "There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand." The result was David lost his dignity, cowered before a heathen king (Achish) and was here on the devil's territory nearly two years. It is pathetic to read what happened during this time.

     Samson is another case. He got out of Divine order when he "went down to Timnath and saw a woman." Again; he went to Gaza and there "saw" another woman-hater, we read that his two eyes, which evidently saw too much, were both gouged out. Thank God, his repentance was so thorough that God in mercy enabled him, in a measure, to recover some of the lost ground, though it cost him his life.

     Other Bible characters could be mentioned, but we come now to our day. Thousands of people are out of Divine order, as for instance:

     First: In business relations. Back there somewhere they went into business with the wrong partner. He got the cash and they got the sad experience, and since then they have not caught up, but are handicapped to this day financially. Others went to town when they ought to have remained in the country: or took a land claim and buried themselves in the sand for two or three years in order to own 160 acres. As a result, their children became Sabbath breakers, married into wrong families, broke their parents' hearts, and later it cost more to get them out of trouble than all the extra money they had earned.

     Second.: Marriage. Oh, the multitudes who are out of Divine order because back there when in their teens they fell in love and, contrary to good advice, married the wrong boy or girl.. Years passed, a family was reared., and then these parents, when (in declining years) they ought to have had each other's comfort and support, quarreled and finally were divorced. Perhaps it was not quite so serious in your case, dear reader, for you got converted. The mighty grace of God did a lot in fixing up your hasty marriage, but even then you may be mismated and, if so, are not as great a help to each other as you should be. But please don't chide each other about it.

     Third: In church relationship. There are multitudes who, on the spur of the moment while under pressure, because something did not suit them, called for their church letter, or quit a certain mission and joined another. Later they saw their mistake, but, having acted so rashly, did not have the courage to acknowledge it.

     And now, precious heart, what shall be done, what can be done, if, in any of these respects, you have marred the Divine plan? Our answer is: In proportion to the offense, humble yourself before God and those who are concerned. If you do so in the right spirit, a merciful God stands ready to rule and overrule; so that in the end you will have learned a valuable lesson and will be better able to warn and teach others in a more practice manner than had you not had the bitter experience yourself.

     Personally, the writer <can see many instances where he marred God's original plan for him. One such instance was when I left California and went to Harrisburg, Pa., to open up new work. Strange that, though our motive was pure, we should fall into the hands of robbers and lose our hard-earned savings. And how shall .1 profit by this? The very thought or sound of Harrisburg gives me a shudder, but, thank God, there is such a thing as capitalizing our losses and mistakes. If a man loses $5,000 he ought to get $50,000 out of it; if not in cash, in grace and wisdom, which are always worth more than cold-blooded gold.

     "God forbid that in a fit of despair I should say with Jacob, "All these things are against me!" Rather let me say with Paul, "All things work together for good." God is in His providences, as well as in His grace; and, if so, He has wisely planned or permitted everything (excepting sin) for our good and His glory. Thomas Upham says, That which God permits is as essential in the fulfillment of His wise and glorious administration as that which He does."

     Beloved, if, at the thought of some sad thing in the past, you are startled and humiliated, let it act as a boomerang to drive you farther away from earthly things and deeper into the love of God. If Satan brings these things up in order to accuse you, make him sorry for it by, in some respect, turning it to your account and God's glory.

     It is nice to be able to hire stenographers to do my writing. It is nice to be able to hire laborers to do my drudgery. It is nice to have enough money to readily pay my taxes and street assessments. It is nice to live in a beautiful climate during the raw winter months. Many other things are nice and better than I deserve. But it has not always been so. As I look back thirty years, I wonder if I did right in carrying heavy loads of books, tracts and groceries for a mile or more, instead of paying a five-cent street car fare. But many times the lone nickel was lacking. Yes, I have tasted the dregs of poverty, but it was better than had everything been according to my liking. Thorns always must precede roses.