The Revelation of Inward Resources
“Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear.” — Genesis I. 9.
“Let the dry land appear “! It was already there, though invisible; it only wanted to be revealed. It is a true picture of most of us. Much of the Spirit’s creating work is just the bringing out of latent qualities. There are many among us we deem to be all sea, and who yet conceal within them the elements of solid land. How many a frivolous girl makes a devoted wife and mother! You don’t imagine the frivolity has caused it. No; the frivolity has only covered it. It has been sleeping below all the time, waiting for the dawn to wake it. And what is it that makes the dry land appear? It is not so much the giving of something new as the removal of something old. It is the taking away of an obstruction —” let the waters be gathered unto one place.’’ It is not the want of sight that prevents me from seeing my possibilities; it is something between me and the sun; it is the shadow of myself. If I could only get rid of self-contemplation, there would be revealed within me latent heaps of gold.
Remove my shadow, O my God! Release the imprisoned land that lies within my heart! Give me the power to see what is actually before me! How many things I see for the first time when the obstruction is withdrawn! I went up to the mount in the morning with a heavy heart. I thought there was no escape from the sacrifice of my Isaac. By-and-by I found that the sacrifice was not required; and then I saw what I had never seen before — a ram caught in a thicket. There was a substitute for my sacrifice. It was there all along. It was put there by Thee, even before I cried to Thee. But, until I had Thy answer, I did not see it; the shadow of my fear hid it. I went out into the desert and found no water. I uttered a cry of despair, and there came from Thee a prophecy of hope. And hope let me see what I never saw before — that in this desert there had always been a well of water waiting for me. Even so, my Father, in my seasons of despair lift all my shadows! Clear away the mist from the top of Mount Moriah; disperse the darkness from the bosom of the desert! Grive me faith to be healed — faith to lift from the threshold the shadow that dims! Let the waters of my past trouble be gathered from my soul; let the stone of my old sepulchre be rolled from the door! And from the hollow place within there shall rise a buried Christ, and in the scene of waves and graves redemption shall appear.