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經文：「耶穌一言不答。」（太15:23）「祂...必...默然愛你。」（番3:17） 一位受苦中的神的孩子若讀到這兩句話，或許會希奇；當正渴望主安慰的聲音「你們可以放心」（約十六33），或者「不要怕！因為我與你同在」，可是等了許久卻甚麼都得不著--「耶穌卻一言不答」。 當神聽見我們哀聲哭泣時，祂的心也非常難受。因為祂看見我們還是如此軟弱與急躁，還是不懂祂那不答的美意，我們的目光還是這般短視。主的不答並非拒絕，乃是祂的默許和極深的同情。 失望的信徒阿，「你為何憂悶？」（詩43:5）即使祂靜默不答，你「還要稱讚祂」。 讓我們聽一個故事，並細細領會其中的教訓： 有位基督徒夢見三位同作肢體的姊妹跪著禱告。她看見基督漸漸走近她們。當祂走到第一位姊妹面前，祂臉上帶著榮光和愛，俯下身去用頂溫柔甜蜜的聲音安慰她、勉勵她。隨後祂走近第二個姊妹身邊，只伸出祂的手來在她的額上一按，點點頭走了。最後，當祂走過第三個姊妹，祂一聲不響連看都不看就離開了。 那位作夢的基督徒自言自語地說：「第一位姊妹一定靈命很深，所以主特別愛她；第二位姊妹也不錯，只是不如第一位；第三位姊妹，一定是在甚麼事情上得罪了主，深深地傷了主的心，所以主才不屑理她。我不知道她究竟作錯了甚麼？為甚麼主對待她們有這麼大的不同呢？」 當她正在猜疑之間，主站在她的旁邊說：「無知的婦人呀，妳完全誤會了。那第一位跪著禱告的女子最軟弱也最幼稚，她時時刻刻需要我的扶持與眷顧，否則她在我的窄路上簡直一步都不能行。她隨時需要我的愛和幫助，否則就會失敗跌倒。」 「那第二位跪著禱告的女子則好得多。她有較強的信心和較深的愛，我可以信任她無論在甚麼環境都能因我而站住。」 「那第三位跪著禱告的女子（就是我似乎不去注意而忽略的那一位），她的靈命頂高也頂深，信心與愛心頂大也頂強。而我也正用一種猛烈的方法訓練她，為著她將來最高又最聖潔的事奉。」 「她已經完全地認識我與信任我，並不需要能聽、能見、能摸、能覺的幫助，也不因我所安排給她的環境而喪志、灰心、跌倒。雖然理由不能接受、天性不能佩服，還是完全地順從我--因為她知道我的用意是為她將來永遠的榮耀。我所作的她如今雖然不知道，後來必能明白。」「我默然愛她，因為我愛她的心不是言語所能表達的，也不是人心所能領會的」。 如果你也知道神默然的奧秘；讚美祂，祂就會「行奇妙的事」（出34:10），因為每一次祂收回恩典，就是要你更認識也更愛那賜恩者。--選 新譯｜荒漠甘泉讀書會
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Scripture: "He answered her not a word" (Matt. 15:23)."He will be silent in his love" (Zeph. 3:17). It may be a child of God is reading these words who has had some great crushing sorrow, some bitter disappointment, some heart-breaking blow from a totally unexpected quarter. You are longing for your Master's voice bidding you "Be of good cheer," but only silence and a sense of mystery and misery meet you --"He answered her not a word." God's tender heart must often ache listening to all the sad, complaining cries which arise from our weak, impatient hearts, because we do not see that for our own sakes He answers not at all or otherwise than seems best to our tear-blinded, short-sighted eyes. The silences of Jesus are as eloquent as His speech and may be a sign, not of His disapproval, but of His approval and of a deep purpose of blessing for you. "Why art thou cast down, O…soul?" Thou shalt yet praise Him, yes, even for His silence. Listen to an old and beautiful story of how one Christian dreamed that she saw three others at prayer. As they knelt the Master drew near to them. As He approached the first of the three, He bent over her in tenderness and grace, with smiles full of radiant love and spoke to her in accents of purest, sweetest music. Leaving her, He came to the next, but only placed His hand upon her bowed bead, and gave her one look of loving approval. The third woman He passed almost abruptly without stopping for a word or glance. The woman in her dream said to herself, "How greatly He must love the first one, to the second He gave His approval, but none of the special demonstrations of love He gave the first; and the third must have grieved Him deeply, for He gave her no word at all and not even a passing look. "I wonder what she has done, and why He made so much difference between them?" As she tried to account for the action of her Lord, He Himself stood by her and said: "O woman! how wrongly hast thou interpreted Me. The first kneeling woman needs all the weight of My tenderness and care to keep her feet in My narrow way. She needs My love, thought and help every moment of the day. Without it she would fail and fall. "The second has stronger faith and deeper love, and I can trust her to trust Me however things may go and whatever people do. "The third, whom I seemed not to notice, and even to neglect, has faith and love of the finest quality, and her I am training by quick and drastic processes for the highest and holiest service. "She knows Me so intimately, and trusts Me so utterly, that she is independent of words or looks or any outward intimation of My approval. She is not dismayed nor discouraged by any circumstances through which I arrange that she shall pass; she trusts Me when sense and reason and every finer instinct of the natural heart would rebel;--because she knows that I am working in her for eternity, and that what I do, though she knows not the explanation now, she will understand hereafter. "I am silent in My love because I love beyond the power of words to express, or of human hearts to understand, and also for your sakes that you may learn to love and trust Me in Spirit-taught, spontaneous response to My love, without the spur of anything outward to call it forth." He "will do marvels" if you will learn the mystery of His silence, and praise Him, for every time He withdraws His gifts that you may better know and love the Giver. --Selected ｜ Mrs. Charles Cowman
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