Holiest of All by Andrew Murray

Zbe Iboliest of mi
i69
At times they are ready to give up all in despair : a life in the
rest of God is not for them.
What comfort and strength comes at such a time to a soul,
when it sees that Jesus is able to sympathise and to succour,
because He has Himself been thus tempted. Or did it not
become so dark in His soul, that He had to wrestle and to cry,
"
// it be possible?" and " IV/ij hast thou forsaken Me? " He,
too, had to trust God in the dark. He, too, in the hour of
death had to let go His spirit, and commit it, in the darkness of
death, into God's keeping. He knew what it was to walk in
darkness and see no light. And when a man feels utterly
helpless and in despair, Jesus can sympathise with him ; He
was tempted in all things like as we are. If we would but rest
in the assurance that He understands it all, that He feels for us
with a sympathy, in which the infinite love of God and the
tenderness of a fellow-sufferer are combined, and is able to
succour him, we should soon reach the rest of God. Trusting
Jesus would bring us into it.
Holy brethren ! partakers of a heavenly calling! would you
be strong to hold fast your confession, and know in full the
power of your Redeemer God to save ; listen to-day to the
voice of the Holy Spirit : Jesus was in all things tempted just
as you are. And why? that He might be able to help you.
His being a/'/e to sympatJiise has no other
purpose than that He
should be able to sjicconr. Let the one word be the food of
your faith ; the other will be its fruit, your blessed experience.
Just think of God giving His Son to come and pass through all
the temptations that come to you, that He might be able to
sympathise, and then lifting Him up to the throne of omnipotence
that He might be able to succour, and say if you have
not reason to trust Him fully. And let the faith of the