Daily Devotional

February 14

A First Book of Daily Readings

by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (selected by Frank Cumbers)
Reproduced from the OPC website.

Stop!

You and I are people who have been called by God out of this present evil world. We have been purchased at the cost of the shed blood of the only begotten Son of God on a cross on Calvary's hill, not merely that we may be forgiven and go to heaven, but that we may be delivered from all sin and iniquity and that He may "purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14)...; whenever any per­plexity arises or anything that tends to shake you, take it and put it in the light of that....

It does not matter at what level we stand against this enemy of our souls; it does not matter how low the level, so long as we stand...; this man [Psalm 73] stood at a very low level. He simply stood on one principle, "If I do thus, I shall harm these people." ...I do not care how low the level is. So long as you can find anything that will hold you, use it.... Stand on any point you can.... For it comes to this; when your feet are slipping, the one thing you need is to be able to stand.

Stop slipping and sliding. Get your feet firm for a moment and take anything that offers itself for that purpose; stand on that and stay on that.
We are engaged in spiritual mountaineering. The slopes are like glass, and you can slip into that terrible ravine and lose yourself. I say, therefore, that if you see anything, however small a twig, clutch at it, hold it, put your feet in the slightest hole, or on the narrowest ledge, anything to steady yourself and to enable you to stop for the moment. Once you have stopped the downward slipping and sliding, you can begin to climb again.

It was because the Psalmist found that small foothold and planted his feet in it, that he stopped slipping. And from that moment he began the wonderful process of climbing again until eventually he found himself able to rejoice once more in the knowledge of God and to understand even the problem that had perplexed him.

Faith on Trial, pp. 30-1

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“Text reproduced from ‘A First Book of Daily Readings’ by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, published by Epworth Press 1970 & 1977 © Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes. Used with permission.”