"God must bring us to a point--I cannot tell you how it will be, but he will do it--where, through a deep and dark experience, our natural power is touched and fundamentally weakened, so that we no longer dare trust ourselves. He has had to deal with some of us very strangely, and take us through difficult and painful ways, in order to get us there....But then at last is is that he can begin to use us...
We would like to have death and resurrection put together within one hour of each other. We cannot face the thought that God will keep us aside for so long a time; we cannot bear to wait. And of course I cannot tell you how long he will take, but in principle I think it is quite safe to say this, that there will be a definite period when he will keep you there...All is in darkness, but it is only for a night. It must indeed be a full night, but that is all. Afterwards you will find that everything is given back to you in glorious resurrection; and nothing can measure the difference between what was before and what now is!"
I feel it's easy to get caught up in the "blessings" side of Christianity. We assume that if we are in God's will, if we are being obedient, that life will be all smiles and happiness. But it's important to remember that He has begun a good work in us (Phil 1:6) and He wouldn't be a good Father if He didn't work to complete it in us.
We would like to have death and resurrection put together within one hour of each other. We cannot face the thought that God will keep us aside for so long a time; we cannot bear to wait. And of course I cannot tell you how long he will take, but in principle I think it is quite safe to say this, that there will be a definite period when he will keep you there...All is in darkness, but it is only for a night. It must indeed be a full night, but that is all. Afterwards you will find that everything is given back to you in glorious resurrection; and nothing can measure the difference between what was before and what now is!"
Watchman Nee (China)
taken from 'Devotions for Lent'
from the Mosaic Holy Bible
I feel it's easy to get caught up in the "blessings" side of Christianity. We assume that if we are in God's will, if we are being obedient, that life will be all smiles and happiness. But it's important to remember that He has begun a good work in us (Phil 1:6) and He wouldn't be a good Father if He didn't work to complete it in us.
It is the surrendering to the troubles that is so hard for me. I want to fight them and conquer them. Like the author said, I want them to be over immediately.
I find myself comparing my troubles to the troubles of other people. "I shouldn't be so upset over this. There are people going through things way worse than me." But, this isn't the point.
God can use the small troubles to form and shape us just as He can use the large ones.
It's these small troubles that can catch us off guard, to just wobble our walk a bit. After enough wobbling, we will fall over if our feet aren't planted firm.
It's my desire to embrace the hardship. Even REJOICE in it so that I can grow in maturity and wisdom (James 1:2-4). Instead of praying for the hard times to pass, pray for God to teach me and grow me through these things.
Beautiful!! And SO what I needed this morning!
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I'm wondering if I could beg a couple copies of the new New Life worship C?:) I'd like one for me and one or two to give away on my blog. Let me know:)
Hey Sarah! Send me an email with your address and we'll take care of you :)
ReplyDeleteAndrea... lovely picture of your family and nice discovering your blog. I am an old friend of the Parsleys. I have known Brad since he was a little boy. I have been trying to find a certain picture of him and Ross to post on fb. You would love it! They may be off the hook because I haven't been able to locate it. I love blogging as well. Please feel free to visit. I am cogitating and ruminating my post for Easter. Will probably have it ready soon. Blessings to you! Tell Brad "Hello".
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