by Vance Havner
“Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.” Joshua 13:1
Mind you, God did not say to this veteran, “You are getting old and you’ve had it”! On the Pillars of Hercules was a warning to sailors, Ne plus ultra, which means “no more beyond.” That was the limit beyond which mariners dared not venture. But Joaquin Miller in his immortal poem about Columbus began,
Behind him lay the gray Azores,
Behind the Gates of Hercules.
I did not come to bring peace but a sword —Matthew 10:34
Never be sympathetic with a person whose situation causes you to conclude that God is dealing harshly with him. God can be more tender than we can conceive, and every once in a while He gives us the opportunity to deal firmly with someone so that He may be viewed as the tender One. If a person cannot go to God, it is because he has something secret which he does not intend to give up— he may admit his sin, but would no more give up that thing than he could fly under his own power. It is impossible to deal sympathetically with people like that. We must reach down deep in their lives to the root of the problem, which will cause hostility and resentment toward the message. People want the blessing of God, but they can’t stand something that pierces right through to the heart of the matter.
Standing For God 