CONFIDENCE IN GOD

                                                    By A. W. Tozer

                If our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence in God
                                                                                                     1 John 3:21
 

                 This is surely one of the great realizations that can come to us
              in the Christian life - we can put our complete confidence in the
              God who has revealed Himself to us!

                 It was a gracious day in my early Christian experience when I
              realized that it was not in God's character to pounce upon me in
              judgment. He knows that we are dust and as our God He is loving
              and patient towards us.

                 If it were true that the Lord would put the Christian on the shelf
              every time he failed or blundered or did something wrong, I would
              have been a piece of statuary by this time!

                 It is surely true that God will bring judgment when judgment is
              necessary, but the Scriptures say that judgment is God's strange
              work.  Where there is a lifetime of rebellion, hardened unbelief
              and love of sin,  judgment will come.

                 But God watches over us for spiritual growth and maturity, trying
              to teach us the necessity for fully trusting Him and coming to the
              place of complete distrust of ourselves.  We have met God, and
              can now say with Paul . . .

             "That the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.'

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              Yours in Christ,
              Paul N. F.