More Deep Devotion

Okay, well I gotta do it again. My heart is stirred by what I read in my devotions this morning, but it is deeeeeep and uncomfortable. Read at your own risk. ;)

This is from "Meditations on The Heart of God" (pg. 31) by Francois Fenelon, which my good friend Whitney nudged me to pull off my bookshelf and read. To think all this incredible stuff has just been sitting there dusty, waiting to be re-read. I've been missing out. Anyway, here 'tis:

Do this, and you will live. (Jesus Christ, in Luke 10:28b, RSV)

"We often say we would like to know what to do to advance in virtue--but when the Spirit of God shows us what to do, we often lack the courage to carry it out. We have a strong feeling that we are not what we ought to be. We see how our burdens grow day by day. Yet we feel we are doing a lot just by saying we want to be delivered out of ourselves.

"Let us count it as nothing if we say we are willing to follow God, and then do not go as far as sacrificing the things that stop us from walking in God's ways. Let us not hold the truth captive through our unrighteous half-heartedness."

Those last two lines are the kicker, aren't they? Listen, this stuff is not for the legalist. If you struggle with legalism, you may want to consider letting the Lord help you with the issue of freedom in Christ first. But if you have been a Christian awhile, have set aside legalism, and you've been walking free in the Spirit, then this is for you. It's for me too. It's where I am.

I want the deeper life because I love the Lord. I want to be righteous because I love the Lord. I want to live whole-heartedly devoted to Him, because the Spirit of God is pressing the matter within me.

Is He doing the same in you?

Psalm 86:11 (NIV)

Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.

Father God, I'm almost speechless. I'm in awe of Your goodness, even at a time in my life when my groanings are louder than ever. I have need for nothing. You have given me every single thing I need, and to be honest, most of what I want as well. But Lord, You have placed this restlessness within me for a deeper fellowship with You--not an anxious restlessness, but a holy one. Lord, help me to mean it when I say I want You to lead and direct my ways. Help me to tell the truth when I offer to be a living sacrifice for You. Replace my timid spirit with Your spirit of power. Substitute my selfish heart with Your heart of sacrificial love. I pray that You would do the same, Lord of all, with my brothers and sisters who answered a "yes" to the question above. May we fully rely on Your Holy Spirit in us to do this work. In Your magnificent name I pray, Amen.

In the Key of HE,

Through...

Oh, how Amy Carmichael has ministered to my soul this morning, and I pray she does for you as well. The trials come, my friends, and when they do, we must put our wading boots on and grab the Lord's hand. Here's how Amy puts it:

"I want to give you a word that helped me all yesterday and will help me today. It is the "through" of Psalm 84:6 and of Isaiah 43:2, taken with Song of Songs 8:5.*

We are never staying in the valley or the rough waters; we are only passing through them, just as the bride in the Song of Songs is seen coming up from the wilderness leaning upon her Beloved.

So whatever the valley is, or however rough the waters are, we won't fear. Leaning upon our Beloved, we shall come up from the wilderness and, as Psalm 84:6 says, even use the valley as a well, make it a well. We shall find the living waters there and drink of them."

*
Psalm 84:6 (ASV): "Passing through the valley of Weeping, they make it a place of springs."
Isaiah 43:2 (KJV): "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee."
Song of Songs 8:5 (KJV): "Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?"

~Excerpt taken from Candles In The Dark by Amy Carmichael

Friends, when we wade through the valley of weeping, may we drink from the Living Water. And when we come out dripping, may we also be leaning securely upon our Beloved Father. This is what I want. It is my heart's desire. Amen.


In the Key of HE,