That I May Know Him

And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. ~ 1 John 5:20 (KJV)

Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Jeremiah 23:29

Thursday, March 09, 2006

I Stand Corrected

Often during prayer I say something like "Lord, if you will just do this, so I that may give all glory to you".

That is not correct. I realized that it is not so through my Oswald Chambers daily devotional, and I stand corrected. I shall share with you what I have learned:

AFTER OBEDIENCE - WHAT?

And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Behtsaida, while he sent away the people. Mark 6:45

We are apt to imagine that Jesus Christ constrains us, and we obey Him, He will lead us to great success. We must never put our dreams of success as God's purpose for us; His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have an idea that God is leading us to a particular end, a desired goal; He is not. The question of getting to a particular end is a mere incident. What we call the process, God calls the end.
What is my dream of God's purpose? His purpose is that I depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay in the middle of the turmoil calm and unperplexed, that is the end of the purpose of God. God is not working toward a particular finish; His end is the process - that I see Him walking on the waves, no shore in sight, no success, no goal, just the absolute certainty that is is alright because I see Him walking on the sea. It is the purpose, not the end, which is glorifying to God.
God's training is now, not presently. His purpose is for the minute, not for something in the future. We have nothing to do with the afterwards of obedience; we get wrong when we think of the afterward. What men call training and preparation, God calls the end.
God's end is to enable me to see that He can walk on the chaos of my life just now. If we have a further end in view, we do not pay sufficient attention to the immediate present: if we realize that obedience is the end, then each moment as it comes is precious. ~My Utmost for His Highest - Oswald Chambers

This has definitely been an eye opener, and I certainly stand corrected. It is a beautiful process getting to know the Lord more and more each day!

posted by Redeemed @ 7:54 PM  

9 Comments:

  • At Friday, March 10, 2006 8:23:00 AM, Blogger Carey said…

    Yes it is, Sarah! Thank you for those thoughts - very encouraging!

     

  • At Friday, March 10, 2006 8:43:00 AM, Blogger Redeemed said…

    Thanks Carey!

     

  • At Friday, March 10, 2006 11:41:00 AM, Blogger Matthew Celestine said…

    Interesting thoughts. I think he is probably correct.

    My email address is fundamentalist1981@yahoo.co.uk

    God Bless

    Matthew

     

  • At Friday, March 10, 2006 12:13:00 PM, Blogger Redeemed said…

    You think he is probably correct. You're funny!

    Thanks Matthew.

     

  • At Friday, March 10, 2006 1:31:00 PM, Blogger Matthew Celestine said…

    Well, there is very little Scripture cited here. I would be cautitous about accepting a theological statment like this without some Scriptures being mentioned.

    Every Blessing in Christ

    Matthew

     

  • At Friday, March 10, 2006 2:33:00 PM, Blogger Consecrated said…

    Sarah,
    You have indirectly brought up the subject of prayer and that is a big topic. In this respect I just want to mention Moses and refer to how many times he (and Abraham for example) has been able to impact God's decision when conversing with God.

    As far as Oswald Chambers comment God is not working toward a particular finish; His end is the process" goes. I tend to disagree.

    Think of Philippians 1:6 - Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

    The process is not the end. I believe the end is to perfect us and present us a chaste virgin to Christ.

     

  • At Friday, March 10, 2006 4:31:00 PM, Blogger Matthew Celestine said…

    Good point, Leila. But is he actually denying that there is an end goal or just affirming the intrinsic value of the obediance along the way?

    I have never read this author before, apart form what people have psoted of him on the internet.

    God Bless

    Matthew

     

  • At Friday, March 10, 2006 4:47:00 PM, Blogger Consecrated said…

    Probably not. I realize that in this particular devotional he was stressing the importance of obedience, but I wanted to record my objection to the notion that the process is not the end itself. Even if we have to learn from our mistakes at times, God is good, and loving and he does answer prayers while teaching us obedience in the process.

     

  • At Friday, March 10, 2006 10:51:00 PM, Blogger Redeemed said…

    Hum, very interesting. I too think he was stressing on obedience. Maybe people focus on the end too often, and he wanted to make the point that the process of obedience is also glorifying to the Lord.

     

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