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"If you had known . . . in this your day, the
things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes" — Luke
19:42
Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly and the city was stirred to its very
foundations, but a strange god was there-the pride of the Pharisees. It was a
god that seemed religious and upright, but Jesus compared it to "whitewashed
tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s
bones and all uncleanness" ( Matthew 23:27 ).
What is it that blinds you to the peace of God "in this your day"? Do you have a
strange god-not a disgusting monster but perhaps an unholy nature that controls
your life? More than once God has brought me face to face with a strange god in
my life, and I knew that I should have given it up, but I didn’t do it. I got
through the crisis "by the skin of my teeth," only to find myself still under
the control of that strange god. I am blind to the very things that make for my
own peace. It is a shocking thing that we can be in the exact place where the
Spirit of God should be having His completely unhindered way with us, and yet we
only make matters worse, increasing our blame in God’s eyes.
"If you had known . . . ." God’s words here cut directly to the heart, with the
tears of Jesus behind them. These words imply responsibility for our own faults.
God holds us accountable for what we refuse to see or are unable to see because
of our sin. And "now they are hidden from your eyes" because you have never
completely yielded your nature to Him. Oh, the deep, unending sadness for what
might have been! God never again opens the doors that have been closed. He opens
other doors, but He reminds us that there are doors which we have shut-doors
which had no need to be shut. Never be afraid when God brings back your past.
Let your memory have its way with you. It is a minister of God bringing its
rebuke and sorrow to you. God will turn what might have been into a wonderful
lesson of growth for the future.
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Daily Morning and Evening Devotionals by Spurgeon
Wisdom from the Desert Devotional
Daily Devotional with Oswald Chambers Archives
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