rnal life can gush forth even in a desert waste, and "where
sin abounds grace doth much more abound." Let us bring our hardness to the
Lord. Let us see what He can make of our flint. When we are dry and
"feelingless," and desire is dead, let us bring this Sahara to the great
Restorer, and "the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the rose."

FEBRUARY The Fourth

_SPIRITUAL BUOYANCY_

"_When thou passeth through the waters they shall not overflow thee._"
--ISAIAH xliii. 1-7.

When Mrs. Booth, the mother of the Salvation Army, was dying, she quietly
said, "The waters are rising but I am not sinking." But then she had been
saying that all through her life. Other floods besides the waters of death
had gathered about her soul. Often had the floods been out and the roads
were deep in affliction. But she had never sunk! The good Lord made her
buoyant, and she rode upon the storm! This, then, is the promise of the
Lord, not that the waters of trouble shall never gather about the
believer, but that he shall never be overwhelmed. He shall "keep his head
above them." Yes, to him shall be given the grace of "aboveness." He shall
never be under, always above! It is the precious gift of spiritual
buoyancy, sanctified good spirits, the power of the Christian hope. When
we are in Christ Jesus circumstances shall never be our master. One is our
Master, and "we are more than conquerors in Him that loved us, and washed
us from our sins in His own blood."

FEBRUARY The Fifth

_EVERYWHERE THE GATE OF HEAVEN_

"_Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not._"
--GENESIS xxviii. 10-22.

That is the first time for many a day that Jacob had named the name of
God. In all the dark story of his wicked intrigue the name of God is never
mentioned. Jacob wanted to forget God! God would be a disturbing presence!
But here he encounters Him in a dream, and in the most unlikely place.
"And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place!"

Jacob had yet to learn that there is everywhere "a ladder set up on the
earth and the top of it reaches to heaven." There was a ladder from the
very tent in which he wore his deceptive skin. There was a ladder from the
secret place where he and his mother wove their mischievous plot. There is
no corner of earth which is cut away from the Divine vigilance. God gets
at us everywhere.

But there is a merciful side to all this. If the ladder be everywhere, and
God can get at us, then