Going Through Spiritual Confusion

 

Appropriate for the feelings of this transitional season in our lives.

O. Chambers

September 12, 2012

Jesus answered and said, ’You do not know what you ask’ —Matthew 20:22

There are times in your spiritual life when there is confusion, and the way out of it is not simply to say that you should not be confused. It is not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of God taking you through a way that you temporarily do not understand. And it is only by going through the spiritual confusion that you will come to the understanding of what God wants for you.
The Shrouding of His Friendship (see Luke 11:5-8). Jesus gave the illustration here of a man who appears not to care for his friend. He was saying, in effect, that is how the heavenly Father will appear to you at times. You will think that He is an unkind friend, but remember?He is not. The time will come when everything will be explained. There seems to be a cloud on the friendship of the heart, and often even love itself has to wait in pain and tears for the blessing of fuller fellowship and oneness. When God appears to be completely shrouded, will you hang on with confidence in Him?
The Shadow on His Fatherhood (see Luke 11:11-13). Jesus said that there are times when your Father will appear as if He were an unnatural father?as if He were callous and indifferent— but remember, He is not. “Everyone who asks receives . . .” (Luke 11:10). If all you see is a shadow on the face of the Father right now, hang on to the fact that He will ultimately give you clear understanding and will fully justify Himself in everything that He has allowed into your life.
The Strangeness of His Faithfulness (see Luke 18:1-8). “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Will He find the kind of faith that counts on Him in spite of the confusion? Stand firm in faith, believing that what Jesus said is true, although in the meantime you do not understand what God is doing. He has bigger issues at stake than the particular things you are asking of Him right now.

God's Ways

Thinking today on how wonderful and perfect God is to us. As the devotion that follows explains, we are learning about God and His Son Jesus through the suffering of this life. As we come to know our Heavenly Father, He teaches us through our circumstances, the truth of His character. We know this truth from His Word. We read of His longsuffering, justice, mercy, love, but until we can put them into action in our hearts through our circumstances, we don't really KNOW Him. It is the circumstances that we must bring before Him and measure and define our understanding of Christ likeness and our position as God's child. We are indeed working out our salvation in our own hearts, coming ever morespeedily into the arms of our Father. Trusting Him more, by knowing Him more, by seeking Him more... in our hearts through His Word and our walk.

 

. . . but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings . . . —1 Peter 4:13

If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a number of experiences that are not meant for you personally at all. They are designed to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what takes place in the lives of others. Because of this process, you will never be surprised by what comes your way. You say, “Oh, I can’t deal with that person.” Why can’t you? God gave you sufficient opportunities to learn from Him about that problem; but you turned away, not heeding the lesson, because it seemed foolish to spend your time that way.
The sufferings of Christ were not those of ordinary people. He suffered “according to the will of God” (1 Peter 4:19), having a different point of view of suffering from ours. It is only through our relationship with Jesus Christ that we can understand what God is after in His dealings with us. When it comes to suffering, it is part of our Christian culture to want to know God’s purpose beforehand. In the history of the Christian church, the tendency has been to avoid being identified with the sufferings of Jesus Christ. People have sought to carry out God’s orders through a shortcut of their own. God’s way is always the way of suffering— the way of the “long road home.”
Are we partakers of Christ’s sufferings? Are we prepared for God to stamp out our personal ambitions? Are we prepared for God to destroy our individual decisions by supernaturally transforming them? It will mean not knowing why God is taking us that way, because knowing would make us spiritually proud. We never realize at the time what God is putting us through— we go through it more or less without understanding. Then suddenly we come to a place of enlightenment, and realize— “God has strengthened me and I didn’t even know it!”

She's With Me

http://youtu.be/oj6GXVTAOiU Great song by artist Collin Raye. The words are perfect for the way we feel about "our girl"  The little girl in the video is Collin's grandaughter and so, so reminds of Carly. What a blessed tribute... God uses the weak things of this world to confound the things which are mighty.

Jesus and Carly

John 17 was the chapter that brought me great comfort after Carly went to be with Jesus.  It was the focus of the funeral testimony that God gave us to share with our family and friends. Jesus was in the garden and praying to God the Father. I recently came across this devotion which brought me back to the message of Carly's life in John 17. I Pray this will encourage you as you walk!

My Utmost For His Highest

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers

. . . that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us . . . —John 17:21

If you are going through a time of isolation, seemingly all alone, read John 17 . It will explain exactly why you are where you are— because Jesus has prayed that you “may be one” with the Father as He is. Are you helping God to answer that prayer, or do you have some other goal for your life? Since you became a disciple, you cannot be as independent as you used to be.
God reveals in John 17 that His purpose is not just to answer our prayers, but that through prayer we might come to discern His mind. Yet there is one prayer which God must answer, and that is the prayer of Jesus— “. . . that they may be one just as We are one . . .” (John 17:22). Are we as close to Jesus Christ as that?
God is not concerned about our plans; He doesn’t ask, “Do you want to go through this loss of a loved one, this difficulty, or this defeat?” No, He allows these things for His own purpose. The things we are going through are either making us sweeter, better, and nobler men and women, or they are making us more critical and fault-finding, and more insistent on our own way. The things that happen either make us evil, or they make us more saintly, depending entirely on our relationship with God and its level of intimacy. If we will pray, regarding our own lives, “Your will be done” (Matthew 26:42), then we will be encouraged and comforted by John 17, knowing that our Father is working according to His own wisdom, accomplishing what is best. When we understand God’s purpose, we will not become small-minded and cynical. Jesus prayed nothing less for us than absolute oneness with Himself, just as He was one with the Father. Some of us are far from this oneness; yet God will not leave us alone until we are one with Him— because Jesus prayed, “. . . that they all may be one . . . .”

When you see Jesus

This sweet devotion perfectly explains the need to share Carly and the blessings of her life, with others. The reason for Carly's Gift Blogspot:

After that, He appeared in another form to two of them . . . —Mark 16:12

Being saved and seeing Jesus are not the same thing. Many people who have never seen Jesus have received and share in God’s grace. But once you have seen Him, you can never be the same. Other things will not have the appeal they did before.
You should always recognize the difference between what you see Jesus to be and what He has done for you. If you see only what He has done for you, your God is not big enough. But if you have had a vision, seeing Jesus as He really is, experiences can come and go, yet you will endure “as seeing Him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27). The man who was blind from birth did not know who Jesus was until Christ appeared and revealed Himself to him (see John 9). Jesus appears to those for whom He has done something, but we cannot order or predict when He will come. He may appear suddenly, at any turn. Then you can exclaim, “Now I see Him!” (see John 9:25).
Jesus must appear to you and to your friend individually; no one can see Jesus with your eyes. And division takes place when one has seen Him and the other has not. You cannot bring your friend to the point of seeing; God must do it. Have you seen Jesus? If so, you will want others to see Him too. “And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either” (Mark 16:13). When you see Him, you must tell, even if they don’t believe.

Fixed on Jesus

Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
As children of God we must keep our gaze fixed on Jesus Christ. We are to abide in Him, Christ, as instructed in 1 John 2. If we abide we are able to walk worthy of the vocation to which we are called.  Christ will shine in us and will enable and empower us through the Holy Spirit to endure the circumstances He takes us through for His glory. It is when we look away from God's purpose and begin to search the circumstances that we begin to falter, doubt and fear.
" Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith"....focus, focus, focus !Fix your gaze on Jesus Christ. Matthew 6:22 For the light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

Choices

Everyday we must make choices.  Some simple and some very complex. When we look back at the choice we made to place our daughter's life in the hands of God, it was a necessary decision. There was no other option for us. We knew that our Heavenly Father gave Carly each breath. There was no doubt in our minds who was in control of this situation. The doctors all had their ideas regarding Carly's condition and the, "quality of life" that they presumed she would have. We had a choice to make. Do we believe the dismal portrait of despair they paint for us and her? If we had, we may have missed out on the 11 years of blessings we experienced through Carly's life.  Could the doctors have been correct? Do many babies born with Trisomy 18 die in the first days, weeks and months? Yes. Do we live waiting to die? Should we live and care for our children as if everyday might be the last? Of course we should. If we lived in the light of the love of Jesus Christ, we would be ever reminded of the precious gifts that each day brings. Every new morning, every sunset, every smile and tear are gifts from God. We must choose to appreciate them. To accept the truth of His love for us, His provision for us, His plan for us.  We must choose to believe God's truth and reject thinking that doesn't line up with His Word. He tells us who we are. He tells us His plans for us as His children. He tells us how to have peace and joy in this dark world. It is a choice to seek, to know, to believe the truth.