Is the Lord's Hand Shortened? God's Challenge to Faith

The question "Is the Lord's hand waxed short?" confronts a divinely-revealed purpose that staggers human reason. God's purpose is explicit: "God hath sent His Son into the world, that the world through Him might be saved." Yet formidable obstacles obscure this gracious design. The inveterate carnality of the human heart resists the Divine will. Stolid indifference pervades Christian lands toward religion's practical duties. Growing scepticism undermines the gospel's verities. Idolatrous systems and heathen superstitions grip great masses of mankind. Subtle rationalism and keen-witted infidelity flourish in civilised countries. Such a "formidable host of evil" requires strong faith to survey calmly, then stand beside Christ confident in His triumph.

Yet these words assert Divine power warranting human confidence. God's purpose is His promise; He stakes His character upon fulfilling His Word. He cannot forget. He cannot fail through insincerity or inadequate power. This is God's challenge to the earnest faith, prayer, and cooperation of His people. The true Christian labourer stands with one hand of believing prayer grasping God, the other hand of loving labour grasping fallen man—that the fallen may be raised and the lost saved. When we are ready for blessing, God will not fail to bestow it. The Church often behaves as though questioning whether the Lord's hand has shortened, yet we lack the champions—few Careys, few Knibbs—who leap as warriors upon the citadel's wall, planting the standard where it never stood before.