Total Love

By Frances J. Roberts

Through prose, poetry, and prayers, beloved author Frances J. Roberts shares the message of God's "total love" for His children. A companion book to Roberts' million-selling Come Away, My Beloved, Total Love provides fresh food for the hungry soul through its Spirit-anointed messages. Addressing many of today's life issues, Roberts provides Bible teaching, encouragement, and spiritual challenge to help Christians grow in their knowledge of and commitment to God. With section titles such as "In Pursuit of His Person," "The Attitude of Gratitude," "God Is Not Mocked," and "Billows of Blessing," Total Love promises an invigorating reading experience for all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barbour Publishing
• Release date: May 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781624168475

Frances J. Roberts

FRANCES J. ROBERTS (1918–2009) is best known for her classic devotional Come Away My Beloved. She founded The King's Press in 1964, where she authored and published Come Away and eight other books, selling over 1.5 million copies in 30 years. After graduating from Moody Bible Institute in 1938, Roberts served as Florida’s state director for Child Evangelism Fellowship, writing the popular “Wordless Book Song” during her tenure there. An accomplished musician with eighty-eight published hymns, Roberts also taught at a Spanish mission school and worked as a professional accompanist, performing at various churches.

Book preview

eternity!

Our God and Father, in Jesus’ name, we come to Thee with empty hands and open hearts. We have nothing to bring Thee other than our love and our gratitude. We praise Thee for every divine grace bestowed upon us, and we praise Thee for Thyself alone, apart from Thy gifts. In Thee our hearts find peace, rest, and consolation. Thou art our source of strength, life, and staying power. Thou art our joy. In a world of change, loss, and decay, we are renewed daily by Thine indwelling Spirit, for Thou art the unchanging One, and in Thee life is ever vibrant. Save us from deadening monotony. Lift us above the sordid scenes of the world about us, and let us be ever reminded that we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies, and let our spiritual eyes view the beauties of the kingdom of heaven. Minister Thy comforting touch to every needy soul, we pray, and speedily bring to pass Thy will upon earth. Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

In Pursuit of His Person

Jesus knew He had come into this world to die. Beloved, we also are here to die—to die to our sinful nature, our unsanctified desires, our selfishness and willfulness, yes, our rebellion and our resentments. We are here to die to our right to ourselves, to our demands for satisfaction, to self-pity, and to self-righteousness. In all our living, we are forever dying, but we are dying in order to enhance our living. For to truly live is Christ—to find life and live life—is to find Christ and live Christ, and we truly live to the degree that we are identified with Him.

We are ever in search of the clarity of vision that will bring Christ into focus in our personal awareness. We are in pursuit of His person in all the dimensions of His being. We are engaged in a quest to know Him as He is and to become more like Him; and the essence of Christlikeness comes not so much by our piety as by His purity. It is not what we are in ourselves so much as what we become in Him. We see ourselves grappling with giants of evil, but He is dispatching angels of light for our protection. We feel that we are trapped in time: He dwells in eternity, and He sees us in Himself—unfettered and unlimited. We need not grovel in the dust of defeat. The Overcomer lives within, and He is unrestricted by all physical limitations. Our liberation is to the degree of our conscious identification with Christ.

It is our love for Him that will draw us into union, and our love for Him is but the response to His love poured out on us. God is continually exercising the power of redemption. It is an ongoing process, working its way through every child of God—operating according to His will and ultimately bringing sons to glory. This is His mandate and His supreme desire. For this Christ gave His life. For this we, too, shall give our lives, until we can truly say, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20).

Dear Lord and Savior, we bring to Thee hearts that hunger after Thy righteousness and spirits that long for Thy fellowship. Without Thee life is emptiness. Apart from Thy love there is no comfort. In Thy presence is fullness of joy. Let Thy goodness and mercy follow us all our days, and grant that we may dwell in Thy house forever. In Jesus’ precious name, amen.

The Law of Patience

God is not to be bullied into bestowing His blessings. Once we seek His kingdom and His righteousness, that is to say, His rulership and His purity, we find we have in our possession the combination that opens the vaults of heaven’s treasure houses. We seek Him, then, not in fleshly determination and stubborn willfulness, but in the unrelinquishing plea of the utterly destitute. It is the ultimate moment of either-or—the decisive crisis.

Every creative work of the Spirit of God within the human soul is preceded by devastation; for the Spirit moves as a whirlwind, wrenching out the offending thing, and then follows as a warm breeze on a quiet sea. For as the heart yields to the desire for Him, it finds that desire not satiated but intensified. The hunger grows deeper and stronger, for it can be satisfied only with His fullness.

But let patience have her perfect work, and accept patiently each growing pain as He enlarges thy heart; for His fullness cannot be received in a moment. Heaven’s best is not attained in one wild bound. We climb the steep ascent of heaven through patience, toil, and pain. The very hunger that seems to be a frustration is but His arm around us, drawing us ever closer. Chafe not at the reins, for the pulling of the bit is caused by the resistance of the flesh; for He knows the heart and tries the reins. His Spirit strives with our spirits until He gains the mastery.

Lay your heart open. Fear not the knife; for He removes only the proud flesh. He wounds only that He may heal. Doubt not His love nor His healing. He holds you upon the wheel until He has formed a receptacle that pleases Him for His own dwelling; and when He takes you at last from the wheel, He will fill you with Himself. Resist Him not, lest your vessel be marred in His hands. Chide Him not for His seeming delay; ask your own heart how many times you have hindered Him by your slowness to respond. Even now, by your impatience and attempt to hurry Him, you have become a hindrance.

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13).

Our Father, we lift our eyes to Thee in adoration and worship, knowing that all our good comes from Thy hand, and from Thee we daily draw our life and strength. We rest our hearts in Thy love, like a baby bird in a nest. We need no other source of consolation. We ask nothing but the gift of grace to love Thee more perfectly and to understand how to share this love with others in such a way that both we and they may be drawn closer to Thee. Grant it, O Lord, we pray. In Jesus’ name, amen.

The Eye of God

Reflections on Suffering and Afflictions

Daniel 6:20 reads, Is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?

Thy God! Daniel’s life had been an open witness to King Darius, the king of Babylon, who spoke these words. He recognized that Daniel was on close terms with his God, and it had been apparent by Daniel’s way of life that he served Him continually. Ah, that was the secret! Daniel had not been serving King Darius, even though not to do so threatened his very existence. He served His God continually! What a testimony concerning a true witness, and it comes from the lips of a heathen monarch! It comes from the mouth of his would-be executioner.

Bless you, Daniel! In the least likely environment, you flourished in spiritual health, like a rose growing out of a rock. Yes, and the spiritual secret of this survival against odds is that the heart that is sold out to serving God is planted by Him in the rich soil of His love and is nourished by devotion. It is not dependent on any help from the outside. It is sustained by the inner strength of the union of spirit with Spirit. It will survive the cold of persecution and the flames of hate. It will come out of every experience unscathed. There will be no bitterness, no blight.

To rest content in the providence of God is to arm the soul with its most powerful defense. To dwell in God is to be engulfed in His presence as an image is captured in the eye. The worshiping soul is captured by the eye of God and held in His embrace. Daniel was not so much in the lion’s den as he was in the eye of God. His love for God put him there, and God’s response brought the angel to close the mouths of the lions that they gave him no harm. Devotion to God will bring the powers of heaven to the rescue of the suffering saint and shut the jaws of the devourer.

Suffering in the lives of God’s children is a problem probing the mysteries of this life and the next. Some say we would not suffer except for our sin and rebellion. Sometimes this may be true, but it is not always so. Daniel was in the lion’s den not because of his sins but because of his righteousness. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all (Psalm 34:19). How and when that deliverance comes is a matter partly of divine sovereignty. In the meantime, the trusting soul will rest in His love.

Life is brutal at times, but it is not the reflection of God’s character nor any indication that He is unaware or uncaring. His love for us stands totally apart from our circumstances. It is in finding the reality of His love towering above our pain that we can be lifted from it even while we may still be in it. If I demand God to take away my pain in order to prove to me His love, I am on the wrong track. My pain has nothing to do with His love. He does not love the person who is well and happy more than He loves the one who is sick and destitute. He loves because He is love, and nothing changes His character. We have to separate our hurts from His heart.

Our hope lies in living in the Spirit—God’s presence—where there is abundant life, perfect health, love, peace, and joy. When we get into that place and dwell there, and train our sights on all that God is—all His mercy, His forgiveness, His power, His majesty, His authority over darkness, His unbounded grace, and His fathomless love—the goodness that is in God will make its way into our consciousness, and as it does, it will begin to transform our darkness into light, our sorrow into joy, our desolation into hope, and our bitterness into love. His healing power will begin to manifest itself. The bitter waters will be sweetened, and praise will replace complaint. God is not hiding Himself in our times of desperation. Every promise He ever made is true. Everything He ever claimed to be, He is. It is we who nullify His divine love and power by distrusting His intentions when we need to be embracing His person and judging Him by how great He is rather than by the size of our personal pain. God is not in our pain. God is in God, and in God there is no pain, and we can get into God and find our strength and comfort there.

When we cease moaning, we will hear the singing of the birds. When we look up rather than down, we will see that the sun is shining. When we love and serve Him with the constancy of Daniel, yes, He will deliver us from the lions and from the pit.

And if healing never comes to us or to a loved one, should we complain if in infinite love and wisdom He gathers us into His bosom where healing is not only complete but eternal? Could it be disappointment to enter into glory and be released from the prison house of this body of clay? Is it defeat to be promoted and receive an eternal reward? No. For if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (2 Corinthians 5:1). Nowhere in God’s Word are we promised immunity from the trials and tribulations of this life. No saint in the Bible escaped trouble, nor were the vicissitudes they endured the result of lack of faith. We invite consternation and confusion, frustration and discouragement, resentment and despair if we portray faith as a magic weapon guaranteed to eliminate all the unwelcome experiences of life. It is in our struggles that God builds within us confidence in His integrity and the loyalty of love that can cry, Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him (Job 13:15).

The human spirit in us does not want to hear this message, but we dare not distort the truth of the divine Word to please man’s rebellious spirit. The Spirit of Christ within our hearts is witness to the fact that we need not expect to escape suffering in this life. But in every pain there is a promise of grace, and in every battle with adversity, an opportunity to rise to a higher level of endurance. And who shall dare to dictate to the Almighty what our lot shall be? But we have His promise: As thy days, so shall thy strength be (Deuteronomy 33:25). Is this not enough? In the words of the songwriter, It is the way the Master went; shall not His servants tread it still?

We can turn back and submit to weakness and cowardice. We can deem the price too high and choose a way demanding less sacrifice and accept a popular message that erroneously promises total reprieve from pain as the reward of faith. But true Bible faith is confidence in God. It is not a blanket panacea for every problem. "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us … and he will deliver us…But if not…" (Daniel 3:17–18). But if not, we will not defect. But if not, we will love Him no less, and out of that love shall eventually come our deliverance!

Our loving heavenly Father, our hearts turn to Thee at the beginning of this day, first of all to bless Thy name and praise Thee for Thy continued faithfulness and mercy. Our hearts have no home but in Thee. Our souls cry out to Thee, for to whom else can we go? Thou art the one and only source of life. By Thee we are sustained. All that we have is from Thy hand. We offer it up to Thee, lest we take it unto ourselves and grasping destroy. For if all else were taken from us, had we only Thee, we would have all. Let us not be deceived by the transient things of the world, for they are of no lasting value, and all will perish with time. Thy Word shall endure after the world and all that is in it has passed away; so let us treasure it above all else and hide it in our hearts, for it will be our greatest source of strength in the day of adversity even as it is our greatest source of consolation at all times. Keep us from sloth, and grant us with each new day the resolution to go on, knowing that every action of the soul Godward draws from Thee a response of enabling grace. Comfort, dear Lord, the sick, the dying, and all who mourn. In Jesus’ name, amen.

On Enduring Hardness

Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 2:3). Enduring is a wonderful thing. James 5:11 says, Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. Matthew 24:13 reads, But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And it was written of Jesus in Hebrews 12:2–4, 7: Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin… . If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?"

Indeed, so much is said about endurance in the Word of God that we would be greatly advantaged to give it more consideration. Not all unfavorable circumstances in life can be changed by one quick miracle or one simple prayer, however great our faith. The famous alcoholic’s prayer has considerable merit and wisdom: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. There are many difficulties in life that yield to believing power and faith. There are others that greet us every morning despite the most fervent supplication for their removal. These are the things that call for endurance. If this is an unacceptable thought, then at least we must surely agree that until they shall be changed or removed from our lives, we do well to preserve our peace and equanimity of spirit by enduring the hardness as good soldiers. Hebrews 6:15 says of Abraham that "after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. And of Moses the Bible says, By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible" (Hebrews 11:27).

We have by no means exhausted the scriptures on this subject, but the foregoing should be sufficient to point out the fact that faith and prayer have a counterpart in patience and endurance. Ephesians 6:13 reads, "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Having done all what? Having prayed and believed and committed and released the problem to God, if it still persists, then stand—endure—wait in patience, and faint not. Jesus said, Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me (Matthew 11:6). Blessed are those who are not in consternation when things seem to be going wrong. Blessed are those who do not pout when answers to prayer are delayed. Blessed are those who can and do keep on praising when the battle seems to be going against them. God is still on the throne. Victory is secured. Right does triumph over wrong. Evil will be avenged. Morning does come, however long and black the night. Behind a frowning providence God hides a smiling face.

I was never more acutely aware of the loving care and protection of my mother and father than the night we arrived in Florida when the sky was churning with black clouds of an approaching hurricane. The house we expected to rent was occupied, and we