The Power of His Presence

Daily Devotions

From the Writings of Ray Stedman

The Furnace And The Lamp

June 9th

When the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces (Genesis 15:17 KJV).

This verse tells the whole story of the Christian life after conversion—a furnace and a lamp. It is the story of the nation Israel throughout its history. It is a story of affliction followed by blessing. First, Israel is in the furnace, and then the lamp is shining on them again. At the present they are in the furnace and have been for two thousand years, for they will not judge themselves. But the Scriptures say they will soon come to the place where, in the heat of the furnace, they will cry out for deliverance, and God will become a lamp to them once again.

This is the whole story of the Christian life. Once you begin to set foot on the land of Spirit-given power, you discover Jesus Christ is always a furnace or a lamp to you. When self begins to threaten, He is a furnace—burning, scorching, searing. When self is judged, He immediately becomes a lamp, flooding the whole life with radiance and glory. Have you discovered this experience? Have you found your way to this land of promise?

The one thing Abram had to do was to hunger for it. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6). When we long for this blessing and freedom, it is translated out of the realm of theology into experience.

As you may have discovered, it is quite possible to be an expert in teaching the truths of spiritual adjustment and know nothing of the reality of it in life. It is not enough to believe in the doctrine of human depravity. There must come a time when acknowledgment is made of the slavery of self in your life, a time when you have groaned and turned in disgust from the revelation God has given you of your own heart. Only then can there come the wonderful release, the glorious deliverance, the satisfying sight of watching Canaanites flee before you. You now master habits you could not conquer before in the strength of the Lord, and a whole new land of victory lies open before you.

Begin where Abram began. Say, "Lord God, how shall I know that I shall possess it? Reveal to me my own heart and Your deliverance."

Father, may I know the transforming grace of the power of the Spirit in my life. May I not he content to live on the edge of the land or to merely sojourn in it, but make me restless until I own it and possess it.

This daily devotion was inspired by one of Ray's sermons. Please read "The Furnace And The Lamp" for more on this portion of scripture.