Forget What is Behind, Reach Forward
My son is an arborist and had just taken the top off of this tree. It is a dangerous job which he loves. He had stopped for a moment to thank God for His hand of protection over his life. What a powerful picture!
Why does God seem near at times and other times a thousand miles away? There are moments I feel Him so close my body tingles and my heart feels His warmth. I sing, raise my hands and feel He him touching the tips of my fingers. I read a devotion and the words reach into the depths of my soul to where I feel God in such a mighty way.
But there are days I talk to Him, sing along to the praise songs, read a scripture from the Word and I hear quiet. My heart feels nothing. Lord, where are you? Why can't I feel something; receive a Word or hear you speak to my heart. Why are you quiet?
I read a devotion where a Christian woman had a dream. In it she saw three other women at prayer. As they knelt, the Master drew near to them.
As He approached the first of the three, He bent over her in tenderness and grace, with smiles full of radiant love and spoke to her in accents of purest, sweetest music.
Leaving her, He came to the next, but only placed His hand upon her bowed bead, and gave her one look of loving approval.
The third woman He passed almost abruptly without stopping for a word or glance.
The woman dreaming said to herself, “How greatly He must love the first one, to the second He gave His approval, but none of the special demonstrations of love He gave the third one. The third one must have grieved Him deeply, for He gave her no word at all and not even a passing look. I wonder what she has done, and why He made so much difference between them?"
As she tried to account for the actions of her Lord, He Himself stood by her and said:
"O woman! how wrongly hast thou interpreted Me. The first kneeling woman needs all the weight of My tenderness and care to keep her feet in My narrow way. She needs My love, thought and help every moment of the day. Without it she would fail and fall.
The second has stronger faith and deeper love, and I can trust her to trust Me however things may go and whatever people do.
The third, whom I seemed not to notice, and even to neglect, has faith and love of the finest quality, and her I am training by quick and drastic processes for the highest and holiest service. She knows Me so intimately, and trusts Me so utterly, that she is independent of words or looks or any outward intimation of My approval. She is not dismayed nor discouraged by any circumstances through which I arrange that she shall pass; she trusts Me when sense and reason and every finer instinct of the natural heart would rebel because she knows that I am working in her for eternity, and that what I do, though she knows not the explanation now, she will understand hereafter.
God went on to say to the woman, “I am silent in My love because I love beyond the power of words to express, or of human hearts to understand, and also for your sake that you may learn to love and trust Me in Spirit-taught, spontaneous response to My love, without the spur of anything outward to call it forth."
He "will do marvels" if you will learn the mystery of His silence, and praise Him, for every time He withdraws His gifts that you may better know and love the Giver. --Selected
I am definitely not the third woman. God, please don't pass me by. I need Your touch and approval. I want You to stop so I can feel Your presence whether it's a good day or a day when I feel like the world is crashing down on me. I know we all have to grow in our walk with you and our faith must increase. And you will place circumstances in our lives that we will have to pass through. We don't know the why's. Some we may understand here, but others we may not understand them until the hereafter. I know, through my journaling, how God works. It makes absolutely no sense when we are walking through the fire because our natural heart wants to rebel or take matters into our own hands. We want to lash out and sometimes, even be just as vindictive as the one on the giving end. We cry out "why". It is just not fair.
That is when God sees us in distress, stops, places His hand on our head, and lets us know He has this. We will look back, as I know I have done so many times before, and see God was all over the situation, guiding every step. He was working in us and others for eternity.
Just how powerful is our God? The same Spirit that rose Jesus from the dead is the same Spirit lives inside of a born again Christian! That’s power! I am a conquerer. You are a conqueror. But, on this earth, we will have troubles. We will fall short. But God .... oh yes, But God ... He forgives when we ask. We are no longer under the law that says we should die for our sins, but we are under grace. Jesus paid for our sins with HIS precious blood on the cross at Calvary.
It is the Spirit that lives within us that gives us the power and courage to keep praying, keep believing, keep seeking His purpose for our life. It is the power that drives us to do what we have to do even when the odds are stacked against us. It is the power within us to stand up and be bold and speak knowing God is our advocate and He can overcome any power of darkness that may be huddling in the alleyways of our lives. That is how God designed us.
“... I will never leave you or abandon you.” He is close; He is within us.
Hebrews 13:5 (TLB)
So, when you feel unworthy to be loved by Him, reach inside and take hold of the Spirit that He has given you. Live victoriously and press forward. He lets you grow where you are to prepare you for where you are going.
We do not know what our journey looks like, but He does. I look where He has brought me from, and I can see how far I’ve come. I challenge you to do the same! See how far you’ve come and be encouraged knowing just how far He wants to take you!
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