Submitting to God's Purpose

The things that God has been revealing to me can be summed up through today's devotional in Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest."

http://utmost.org/submitting-to-god%E2%80%99s-purpose/

It is easy for me to say, "I want to do this for God," "I want to go there for God," or "I want to do great things for God!" BUT... God has been reminding me every single day that that line of thinking is wrong because it is self-centered. My purpose, instead, is to submit to God's purpose. My thoughts should revolve around wondering about and seeking out what God wants to do. God reminds me, "It is not you who has chosen Me; rather, I have chosen you."

God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as He chooses. And why is He doing it? He is doing it for only one purpose— that He may be able to say, “This is My man, and this is My woman.”

 It is clear that God is doing exactly this in my life right now. I am trying to rush Him along, saying, "Come on, God, let's get going! We've waited long enough. Let's go now!" But He is gently rebuking me, reminding me, "I'm not done bending, breaking, and molding you yet. You think it's time to go, but you're far from ready. Be patient with the process, and let Me do what I need to do."

And so.. every day is a struggle... to submit to God's purpose.. to let go of the reins of my life and say, "God, let Your will be done in my life." It's so hard, and yet God is so faithful to and patient with me in the process.

Struggling...

The devotional material from Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest has been hard to comprehend these past few days. Sometimes, Chambers takes one topic and fleshes it out over the course of two or three days. The topic that he has written about for the past few days is temptation.

This excerpt came from the first meditation on temptation:

"Temptation is not something we can escape; in fact, it is essential to the well-rounded life of a person. Beware of thinking that you are tempted as no one else - what you go through is the common inheritance of the human race, not something that no one has ever before endured. God does not save us from temptations - He sustains us in the midst of them (see Hebrews 2:18 and 4:15-16)."

God pierced my heart with this excerpt. Usually when I go through hard times or struggle because of my pride, my first response does not involve turning to the Lord and asking Him for help. That lack of response reveals my pride.. pride that reassures me, "I can do this on my own".. pride that puts me down by derisively saying, "How could you have fallen for this again? Didn't you learn your lesson last time? How could you think that God will help you this time?" I also have this tendency sometimes to think that no one can relate to me in my struggles or difficult circumstances. And yet, as Chambers reminds us, "what you go through is the common inheritance of the human race, not something that no one has ever before endured."

The part of Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest that I have a hard time understanding is when he starts writing about Jesus' temptations. Here is some context for the term:

"The temptations of Jesus continued throughout His earthly life, and they will continue throughout the life of the Son of God in us. Are we going on with Jesus in the life we are living right now? We have the idea that we ought to shield ourselves from some of the things God brings around us. May it never be! It is God who engineers our circumstances, and whatever we may be we must see that we face them while continually abiding with Him in His temptations. They are His temptations, not temptations to us, but temptations to the life of the Son of God in us. Jesus Christ's honor is at stake in our bodily lives. Are we remaining faithful to the Son of God in everything that attacks His life in us?"

Upon reading through it again... I'm starting to piece it together a bit (but I'm still confused). I think the point Chambers is trying to make is that we ought not to separate ourselves from Jesus whenever we go through temptations. As Christians, we are one with Christ, even in our temptations. So.. they are not just our temptations or temptations that we go through; rather, they are His temptations. Jesus was tempted throughout His earthly life; His temptation was disregarding the Father's will by doing things His own way. Similarly, that is a temptation that I struggle with.. wanting to do things my way. And yet, even though Jesus was tempted in this way, He never faltered. He showed perfect obedience through the earthly life He lived by always turning to the Father for guidance and strength. Considering that Jesus remained obedient even in the midst of trials, it gives me hope to know that as I walk with Jesus - the One who has all authority in heaven and on earth - will bring me through each temptation with power and faithfulness.

Treasuring Wisdom

I've started reading the book of Proverbs with the Good News translation. I like reading with this translation because it explains things very simply so that I can understand it better.

I've been seeing a theme throughout the book of Proverbs so far.. that wisdom/righteousness leads to life, and wickedness/foolishness leads to death. If that's the case, I want to have wisdom.

One verse in particular that left the deepest impression on my heart was Proverbs 12:1: "Any who love knowledge want to be told when they are wrong. It is stupid to hate being corrected." I never want to be in a place in my life where I am not teachable or ready to be molded and refined by the Holy Spirit. As my blog name suggests, I am still a "work in progress" - always requiring sharpening, molding, and refining to be more like my Father in heaven.

Step by Step through Intimacy with God

I've started reading through the book of Job. The first thing that strikes me about Job's character is his knowledge of God. His response to the death of his children and the loss of his livestock and property demonstrates his deep understanding who God is. Instead of blaming God, Job humbly declares, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised" (Job 1:21).

Wow... I tried putting my myself in Job's situation, and wondered if I would be able to respond in the way that Job had responded - with great humility and recognition of God's character. Job further shows his understanding of God when he rebukes his wife: "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" (Job 2:10). Job acknowledges God's sovereignty, and is willing to accept good and trouble alike. Even though he might not know why God is allowing this trouble in his life to happen, Job trusts that God knows what He is doing, and accepts the trouble.

This kind of understanding can only come from a faith that is molded and refined through daily worship and devotion to God. This is something that I oftentimes overlook because I underestimate how important it really is. God, however, is reminding me how crucial being in an intimate relationship with Him is to my life.

Oswald Chambers asserts, "A private relationship of worshiping God is the greatest essential element of spiritual fitness" (My Utmost for His Highest, "Missionary Weapons"). God did not choose me primarily to work and do things for Him; He chose me to be in an intimate relationship with Him.

And yet, I always give Him the cold shoulder by not having quiet time with Him. He wants me to know Him more so that I may live. He wants me to know Him more so that I would stop worrying and being anxious about everything. He wants me to know Him more so that I will trust in Him as Job trusted in the Lord.

He understood the meaning of "Lord"... Master and Ruler over all things. The master of anything has full understanding and control over everything that belongs to him. In the same way, God - as Master of my life - understands me and is in full control of everything in my life. And most importantly, I belong to Him.

I want to be used by God. But that means that I must be in an intimate relationship with Him - an intimate relationship that grows and flourishes everyday.

First entry!

First blog post.
I haven't blogged in a while, so this should be interesting. I want to get into blogging again because I need an outlet for me to write out my thoughts. But I don't want this blog to be a medium through which I simply whine and express my opinions. I want to be able to encourage and strengthen others through whatever I may choose to post up here. I want to be able to show God's glory to others by being salt and light, as Jesus commanded me to be (Matthew 5:13-16).

To conclude this really short first entry, I want to share a song that I've been listening to today: "With Us" by Hillsong. This song reminds me that God's love is boundless, and that He is with me.