A HIGHER CALLING
If God has called you to be truly like Jesus in all your spirit, He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility. He will put on you such demands of obedience that you will not be allowed to follow other Christians. In numerous ways, He seems to let other good people do things which He will not let you do.
Others who seem to be very religious and useful may push themselves, pull wires, and scheme to carry out their plans, but you cannot. If you attempt it, you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.
Others can brag about themselves, their work, their successes, their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing. If you begin to do so, He will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.
Others will be allowed to succeed in making great sums of money, or having a legacy left to them or in having luxuries, but God may supply you only on a day-to-day basis, because He wants you to have something far better than gold, a helpless dependence on Him and His unseen treasury.
The Lord may let others be honored and put forward while keeping you hidden in obscurity because He wants to produce some choice, fragrant fruit for His coming glory, which can only be produced in the shade.
God may let others be great, but keep you small. He will let others do a work for Him and get the credit, but He will make you work and toil without knowing how much you are doing. Then, to make your work still more precious, He will let others get the credit for the work which you have done; this to teach you the message of the Cross, humility and something of the value of being cloaked with His nature.
The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch on you, and with a jealous love rebuke you for careless words and feelings, or for wasting your time, which other Christians never seem distressed over. So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign and has a right to do as He pleases with His own, and that He may not explain to you a thousand things which may puzzle your reason in His dealings with you.
God will take you at your word; if you absolutely sell yourself to be His slave, He will wrap you up in a jealous love and let other people say and do many things that you cannot. Settle it forever; you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit, He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue or chaining your hands or closing your eyes in ways which others are not dealt with.
However, know this great secret of the Kingdom: When you are so completely possessed with the Living God that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life, you will have found the vestibule of heaven, the high calling of God.
8 comments:
Beautiful!
a brother
oh Maureen, this was so good. At first I thought I was reading Oswald Chambers, it sounded like some of the things he posted.
Anyhow, I can identify with the
"but you cannot". God deals with us all as He wills. Why He deals a certain way with us as in comparison with another we don't know. WE can never assume to think we know either. I guess you could say it is the definition of 'surrender'. Surrendering to what God wills, thanks for posting this.
BTW did u ever read the account of Hudson Taylor's mother watching as her son left on the ship (from the shoreline) ? knowing they would not meet again on earth. talk about anguish, in surrender. watching your son's ship pulling away and knowing you will probably never see him again. Hudson said he would never forget the anguish of his mother's cry as the ship pulled away. "It went
through me like a knife. I never knew so fully, until then, what "God so loved the world"
meant. And I am quite sure that my precious mother learned more of the love of God to the perishing in that hour than in all her life". WE never know what God requires or may require of another. love ya
Yes Ruth it is so beautiful. No I haven't read a lot about Hudson Taylor. I know there is much written about him, and I think reading of him would be very edifying.
This piece is especially encouraging in this day and age when "success" is measured in fame and followers. Truly, though, the most blessed place to be is in humble waiting for God's personal directing and governing of your life. It is so tempting to measure ourselves against others, but it's true that His dealings with each of us are uniqe, and tailor made to do that work that He has committed to do in changing us into the image of His Son. Blessed thought.
Hi sis,
I liked this one but it dose make my flesh flinch.
Best
Leonard
Great God, in public and private, in sanctuary and home, may my life be steeped in prayer, filled with the spirit of grace and supplication, each prayer perfumed with the incense of atoning blood. Help me, defend me, until from praying ground I pass to the realm of unceasing praise. Urged by my need, invited by Thy promises, called by Thy Spirit, I enter Thy presence, worshipping Thee with godly fear, awed by Thy majesty, greatness, glory, but encouraged by Thy love.
I am all poverty as well as all guilt, having nothing of my own with which to repay Thee, but I bring Jesus to Thee in the arms of faith, pleading His righteousness to offset my iniquities, rejoicing that He will weigh down the scales for me, and satisfy thy justice. I bless Thee that great sin draws out great grace, that, although the lest sin deserves infinite punishment because done against an infinite God, yet there is mercy for me, for where guilt is most terrible, there Thy mercy in Christ is most free and deep. Bless me by revealing to me more of His saving merits, by causing Thy goodness to pass before me, by speaking peace to my contrite heart; strengthen me to give Thee no rest untiI Christ shall reign supreme within me in every thought, word, and deed, in a faith that purifies the heart, overcomes the world, works by love, fastens me to Thee, and ever clings to the cross.
From Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers
Anonymous: That would be found on page 148.
(Are you "ike"?)
Yes, but I do not know if that is good or bad???? You make the call. Do you know me?
Anon: I don't think I know you, just saw a comment on another blog where you quoted from Valley of Vision, and made a guess. Do you know ME?????
(my email addy is in my profile)
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