August 18, 2011
When he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich —Luke 18:23
The rich young ruler went away from Jesus speechless with sorrow, having nothing to say in response to Jesus’ words. He had no doubt about what Jesus had said or what it meant, and it produced in him a sorrow with no words with which to respond. Have you ever been there? Has God’s Word ever come to you, pointing out an area of your life, requiring you to yield it to Him? Maybe He has pointed out certain personal qualities, desires, and interests, or possibly relationships of your heart and mind. If so, then you have often been speechless with sorrow. The Lord will not go after you, and He will not plead with you. But every time He meets you at the place where He has pointed, He will simply repeat His words, saying, “If you really mean what you say, these are the conditions.”
“Sell all that you have . . .” (Luke 18:22). In other words, rid yourself before God of everything that might be considered a possession until you are a mere conscious human being standing before Him, and then give God that. That is where the battle is truly fought— in the realm of your will before God. Are you more devoted to your idea of what Jesus wants than to Jesus Himself? If so, you are likely to hear one of His harsh and unyielding statements that will produce sorrow in you. What Jesus says is difficult— it is only easy when it is heard by those who have His nature in them. Beware of allowing anything to soften the hard words of Jesus Christ.
I can be so rich in my own poverty, or in the awareness of the fact that I am nobody, that I will never be a disciple of Jesus. Or I can be so rich in the awareness that I am somebody that I will never be a disciple. Am I willing to be destitute and poor even in my sense of awareness of my destitution and poverty? If not, that is why I become discouraged. Discouragement is disillusioned self-love, and self-love may be love for my devotion to Jesus— not love for Jesus Himself.
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August 18, 2011
Journal Entry for Today-JDV
Lord, I think I beginning to understand how to hear your voice more clearly with Your power and strength to follow Your direction. I think I can grasp the sliver of reality about how to actually hear your voice, and be eager to be obedient…with the courage and strength to be obedient. It also appears that I am learning how and why to quickly get off the broken road and back on track when I am more human than I had imagined. …Thank You for these lessons and your Spirit that allows me the understanding.
And God says…”Walking by faith takes practice. And the day to day troubles of this life are designed to help you practice and grow that faith. When you were a very young believer, you thought your life could be more comfortable if you simply stayed on the right path and were obedient. So you struggled with obedience and growth so that I might “bless you’ in your righteousness, or at the very least, not punish you for your disobedience. Now you are learning that I love you enough to leave you inside of the shaping and molding of difficult times. And you are learning that the circumstances really do not matter when you are connected to Jesus, and allow Him to live through you. When you are connected you are able to walk by faith, living with joy and a peace that passes all understanding.”
Aug 18th
Good morning Lord,
That last line of Oswald’s caught my attention. Could that be me? Can I be more in love with the idea of relationship with you than really in love with you? I suppose I could. Actually it’s easier to be in love with an idea of a person than really the person. That way I can pick and choose … and avoid the messy parts or as Oswald suggests, the parts I dont like.
You’ve got it pretty clear. Now just live with this realization. It is a good self check to ask yourself. Are you walking with me or an idea about me? Are you in relationship with me or just an idea about relationship with me?
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