April 21, 2011
Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? —John 14:9
Our Lord must be repeatedly astounded at us-astounded at how “un-simple” we are. It is our own opinions that make us dense and slow to understand, but when we are simple we are never dense; we have discernment all the time. Philip expected the future revelation of a tremendous mystery, but not in Jesus, the Person he thought he already knew. The mystery of God is not in what is going to be-it is now, though we look for it to be revealed in the future in some overwhelming, momentous event. We have no reluctance to obey Jesus, but it is highly probable that we are hurting Him by what we ask-”Lord, show us the Father . . .” (John 14:8). His response immediately comes back to us as He says, “Can’t you see Him? He is always right here or He is nowhere to be found.” We look for God to exhibit Himself to His children, but God only exhibits Himself in His children. And while others see the evidence, the child of God does not. We want to be fully aware of what God is doing in us, but we cannot have complete awareness and expect to remain reasonable or balanced in our expectations of Him. If all we are asking God to give us is experiences, and the awareness of those experiences is blocking our way, we hurt the Lord. The very questions we ask hurt Jesus, because they are not the questions of a child.
“Let not your heart be troubled . . .” (14:1, 27). Am I then hurting Jesus by allowing my heart to be troubled? . If I believe in Jesus and His attributes, am I living up to my belief? Am I allowing anything to disturb my heart, or am I allowing any questions to come in which are unsound or unbalanced? I have to get to the point of the absolute and unquestionable relationship that takes everything exactly as it comes from Him. God never guides us at some time in the future, but always here and now. Realize that the Lord is here now, and the freedom you receive is immediate.
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April 21, 2011
Journal Entry for Today-JDV
Lord sometimes I feel like there is way too much to remember after the three hundred and eighty fifth devotional….one more reminder by Chambers that I need to try and remember. Or in Chambers’ case two or three more important things to remember. He says..I need to remain balanced in my expectations. Avoid asking You to give me experiences, or I will hurt You….and not allow questions that are unbalanced. These are just the admonitions of Chambers for today! How can I keep it all together when I am also trying to keep a handle on my nature?
And God says…”You are not capable of remembering all the lessons, and sometimes My greatest teachers can deliver too much. Come to Me as a little child, trust Me as children trust their parents. Focus on Me and let Me transform you. There is only one thing to remember; love Me and trust in Me with all your heart, mind and soul and you will be transformed into the image of Christ. Everything else will take care of itself. You do not have to remember or recall all the lessons you have been taught, you are not strong enough. But I am strong enough and I live through you.”
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