The Drying Up Process

December 30th.
Oswald Chambers
"AND EVERY VIRTUE WE POSSESS"
"All my fresh springs shall be in Thee." Psalm 87:7 (P.B.V.)

Our Lord never patches up our natural virtues, He re-makes the whole man on the inside. "Put on the new man," i.e., see that your natural human life puts on the garb that is in keeping with the new life. The life God plants in us develops its own virtues, not the virtues of Adam but of Jesus Christ. Watch how God will wither up your confidence in natural virtues after sanctification, and in any power you have, until you learn to draw your life from the reservoir of the resurrection life of Jesus. Thank God if you are going through a drying-up experience!

The sign that God is at work in us is that He corrupts confidence in the natural virtues, because they are not promises of what we are going to be, but remnants of what God created man to be. We will cling to the natural virtues, while all the time God is trying to get us into contact with the life of Jesus Christ which can never be described in terms of the natural virtues. It is the saddest thing to see people in the service of God depending on that which the grace of God never gave them, depending on what they have by the accident of heredity. God does not build up our natural virtues and transfigure them, because our natural virtues can never come anywhere near what Jesus Christ wants. No natural love, no natural patience, no natural purity can ever come up to His demands. But as we bring every bit of our bodily life into harmony with the new life which God has put in us, He will exhibit in us the virtues that were characteristic of the Lord Jesus.

"And every virtue we possess
Is His alone."

Trials

Lately, Father is constantly at work in me, creating within me needs through situations which I find myself in - where He is the answer; where I need Him to help me get His perspective of simple faith and peaceful trust in Him. He has the answer, the only answer, because He is the answer. He is always the answer.

Often it seems it's things going on with the children. God is so faithful. Now what is happening is I have noticed a sudden loss of strength in my right arm. Though I am still fine and capable to use my arm, I have significant loss in my arm when I lift anything heavy & there is pain associated with the movement. It has been investigated preliminarily and the only negative result found was a low potassium blood level. I would appreciate your prayers for me ! I have another doctor visit scheduled this Monday. It seems the last few months have been one consecutive trial after another - one is resolved, then quickly another appears. I am sure you can relate. Still in all I am very thankful for so much and trust God will continue to keep my heart where it needs to be.

When I think back to the last few weeks, and what He has been doing is allowing circumstances and situations in my life, that, though they trouble me and are definitely trials for me, I am truly convinced that they are there for the purpose of God getting me closer to Him; (as I said in the previous post of Wanting More) and deeply aware of His divine presence / love over all my life.

When I am in a trial and struggling, it brings me peace knowing that God is in control. It seems ironic that we mankind, can actually think we are in control, but we do. We all do. Realizing I am not or never have been in control always stretches me and causes me to just release to Him the factors in my life that really, when I have His perspective, I do not have control over anyway.

Though this seems simple to grasp in our minds, in reality it is a struggle in our hearts & in our relationships because of human nature. Unfortunately religious practices have definitely reinforced the idea that humanity can maintain control over our lives in respect to God.

Wanting More

Just a quick update.

The past few weeks have been very busy, which included a trip to Peterborough to meet Maureen (once again - I hope there are many more) followed by a whirlwind trip to Hamilton to pick up Angie, then home. Thank God for a safe, first-time-I-have-ever-drove-through-Toronto trip (and for great traveling companions!) Maureen was my compass and I don't think I could have done that without her: )

I am enjoying a SO quieter season right now. I was thinking this morning about the miracle of the fish and loaves. There was so much left over, wasn't there? There was as much as they could have really ever wanted :) and isn't it the same for us? There is as much as we want of Christ. There is still more, and more, and more.

Even as the people present at that miracle didn't at all realize that they could have actually had more - this has in much the same way happened to me. I have become very complacent in my heart and in my relationship with Christ. I am now realizing that there is so much more. God is awakening my heart to this truth ever so gently. I simply want to have more, and God has impressed it deeply upon my heart that there is definitely more of Him, and this, my friends, is exactly what I am after these days.

Break Time!

HI guys!

I think it's about time, I too, take a short break from blogging. This actually has been my second blog.

I want to get back to just enjoying my relationship with Father, including enjoying time spent in his Word with Him. And seeking out the fellowship that He has for me with others.

I have been finding recently that blogging has become another distraction, or a 'thing', a 'ritual' that I feel like I 'have to be doing' 'producing'. Daily if possible :)).

'A ritual to keep up with'. Which means it has become more about me than I realized, and most importantly, I have returned back to what I thought I was actually free from (light bulb experience here:)) .

I think we can be on the same track of religion, which -- though we say we have left -- still we are there -- if we think that God wants to speak through US day after day after day, to the multitudes. This is basically the same scenario as pastors sunday pulpit.
The only difference is perhaps they are in a building and we are on the 'internet'. But lately I am not seeing that as a difference, but a similarity. So I think I will just listen out there and get quiet again.

Though we have, or say we have, experienced change in certain areas, it's easy for me to see personally that the church mentality still exists and wants to operate and it will certainly use the 'blogging' mode as part of that, to take me back there.

love Ruth