Isa 30:31 “This is the way, walk ye in it….” “Do you ask, ‘How can I keep the blessing?’

Do not let your poor heart be burdened with the thought that you have to do it all yourself. He loves you more than a mother loves her little child, and He is going to help you to keep the blessing. Remember that the blessing is simply the result of His indwelling in our heart, and you are not to think so much about keeping the blessing as about keeping Him. (note John 15:2; Jude 24; Is 41:10; Rom 8:35, 37-39)

To keep the blessing you must keep all upon the altar. What you have given to the Lord you must not take back. You gave all to get the blessing and you must continue to give all to keep it. As someone put it, ‘My all is on the altar, I’ll take it back no more.’ The devil will try to get you to come down from the cross; the world will allure you, the flesh will cry out against you, your friends may weep over you, or frown upon you, or tease and torment, or threaten you; some of your comrades will criticize you and doubt you, but you must stick to Jesus and take nothing back that you have given to Him.

If you would keep the blessing, you must be quick to obey God. I do not mean by this that you are to get into such haste that you will not take time to think and pray about all that you do. God wants you to use your head and your heart and all the good sense He has given you. He wants you to take time to speak to Him, to consider and find out His will; but once you have found it out, if you would have His smile and favour, and keep the blessing, you must not delay, but obey at once. Oh the losses of peace and power, joy and sweet communion with God that people suffer through hesitation at this point!

If you have lost the blessing through a failure to promptly obey (haven’t we all!), do not be utterly discouraged, but do not trifle with God again; pray and believe for His help to obey lest a worse thing come upon you.

If you would keep the blessing you must not depend upon your feelings, but as a friend of mine used to say, ‘Stand by your facts.’ Young Christians are very likely to be betrayed into mistakes by their feelings-by their happy feelings as well as their unhappy ones.

When they are feeling happy they are in danger of thinking themselves better than they are, of not watching and praying as they should; and when they are not happy they are likely to get discouraged, cast away their confidence in the Lord, and conclude that it is useless for them to try to be holy. The safest way is to pay attention to your facts and let your feelings take care of themselves…. When you are happy, sing songs and when you are heavy-hearted pray, and try and sing a little too, and never cast away your confidence fo there is ag reat reward before you ifyou will be faithful.

One of the greatest helps to keeping the blessing is for two or three young people who have it to meet together as often as possible to read the Bible, and pray with and encourage each other…. This practice helped me more than anything else. Put a

burning coal or stick by itself and the fire wil often go out, it will be cold and black; but put several sticks or coals together and they will burn brightly. At such little meetings it is well to unite in prayer for others whom you are eager to see converted or to enter into the blessing, and, as you see them getting saved and sanctified, this wil add mightily to your own faith and love.”

Brengle, S. L., The Way of Holiness