“Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face evermore!” (Psalm 105:4).
Lord, I know You are not abandoning me when I can’t sense Your presence or hear Your voice. You have only stepped further ahead, Your hands beckoning me to follow. “Come further, My child,” You say.
But, because I am undergoing such a severe trial, I think at first that you are cruel to remove Your presence. Now, though, I see just the opposite: You love me so much, You desire to build up my character and strength.
You force me to dwell in the darkness, with no one and nothing to turn to for direction or consolation — no one but You. And because I can’t sense You or feel You, I must dwell in pure faith, and I learn that what I once called “faith” now becomes “true faith.”
You force me, with all that is within me, to look to You and Your strength. You force me to seek Your face with the fervency of a mother bird seeking food for her young. She will die trying to find morsels to put into their weak, helpless little bodies. She has only one mission, and she will not rest — not even slacken her pace — until she completes it. This is what she lives for. She has no purpose other than her mission, no identity apart from it.
Are you stumbling around in difficult circumstances? Are you afflicted in ways that drain your energy and make you want to give up? Take heart. These trials do not “cancel you out,” for Jesus has entrusted you with purpose. The darkness is part of His path for you. Simply accept it as such, and allow Him to lead you.
“I see your desire to live for Me. Now I will take you further. You can trust Me. When you can’t see Me, just follow My voice; when you can’t hear Me, just follow My heart. As you do this, you will learn to walk by faith and not by sight. The more you walk by faith, the less you depend upon yourself … and the less you depend upon yourself, the more you depend upon Me.
“I cannot use those ruled by self. I delight in selfless love, and I will do whatever I will to bring My true followers out of themselves and into Me. I delight in pure hearts, and I have promised that ‘they shall see God.’ Purification of the heart takes time, and sometimes it comes about quite painfully. You must realize that the things I take from you are not eternal. They may appear to be crucial at the time, but eternity is so far from t his earthly realm. You can only carry into eternal life what you have cultivated in the Spirit.
“Do not miss My opportunity. Do you desire to share in My holiness? Do you desire only My best? Then do not resist. Trust Me, and let Me lead.”
SCRIPTURE
Further References: Jeremiah 32:39; Ezekiel 11:19; John 6:63; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15; Hebrews 12:9-14; 1 John 3:2-3
©2005 Masterpiece of the Wilderness, Deanna Deering
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Posted on November 5, 2012 by admin
“Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face evermore!” (Psalm 105:4).
Lord, I know You are not abandoning me when I can’t sense Your presence or hear Your voice. You have only stepped further ahead, Your hands beckoning me to follow. “Come further, My child,” You say.
But, because I am undergoing such a severe trial, I think at first that you are cruel to remove Your presence. Now, though, I see just the opposite: You love me so much, You desire to build up my character and strength.
You force me to dwell in the darkness, with no one and nothing to turn to for direction or consolation — no one but You. And because I can’t sense You or feel You, I must dwell in pure faith, and I learn that what I once called “faith” now becomes “true faith.”
You force me, with all that is within me, to look to You and Your strength. You force me to seek Your face with the fervency of a mother bird seeking food for her young. She will die trying to find morsels to put into their weak, helpless little bodies. She has only one mission, and she will not rest — not even slacken her pace — until she completes it. This is what she lives for. She has no purpose other than her mission, no identity apart from it.
Are you stumbling around in difficult circumstances? Are you afflicted in ways that drain your energy and make you want to give up? Take heart. These trials do not “cancel you out,” for Jesus has entrusted you with purpose. The darkness is part of His path for you. Simply accept it as such, and allow Him to lead you.
“I see your desire to live for Me. Now I will take you further. You can trust Me. When you can’t see Me, just follow My voice; when you can’t hear Me, just follow My heart. As you do this, you will learn to walk by faith and not by sight. The more you walk by faith, the less you depend upon yourself … and the less you depend upon yourself, the more you depend upon Me.
“I cannot use those ruled by self. I delight in selfless love, and I will do whatever I will to bring My true followers out of themselves and into Me. I delight in pure hearts, and I have promised that ‘they shall see God.’ Purification of the heart takes time, and sometimes it comes about quite painfully. You must realize that the things I take from you are not eternal. They may appear to be crucial at the time, but eternity is so far from t his earthly realm. You can only carry into eternal life what you have cultivated in the Spirit.
“Do not miss My opportunity. Do you desire to share in My holiness? Do you desire only My best? Then do not resist. Trust Me, and let Me lead.”
SCRIPTURE
Further References: Jeremiah 32:39; Ezekiel 11:19; John 6:63; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15; Hebrews 12:9-14; 1 John 3:2-3
©2005 Masterpiece of the Wilderness, Deanna Deering
Category: Deanna's Words, Encouragement
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