I'll start by making a quick recommendation. I've seen the practice described in this article used, and have myself wondered how to counter it - given the tendency of all fallen men and women to want to manipulate each other for their own goals and agendas, we ought to be particularly aware of techniques like this one. As Scripture notes, we are to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves. This article ends up - albeit, in all likelihood, quite unintentionally - giving good advice on how to do that in any and all "confrontations." Enjoy the read. I can't speak for the rest of the site, as I've yet to read it.
Sourced: Boundless Line
On a more personal note, I have to point out that growth is a very slow, but very rewarding process. It's easy to get caught up in the difficulty of the moment and simply lose sight of the big picture and all the things God is doing in our hearts. I was meeting with Chris Goree today, and I found in the midst of my conversation that I was remembering things the Lord has been working in my heart for a very long time - months and months, and in some cases years. I am also struck by the fact that, ultimately, these last six to seven months, as terribly difficult as they've been in so many ways ("bone-draining" was the adjective Chris used to describe the kinds of wounds and experiences I've gone through, and I'd have to agree with his assessment), nevertheless this is just a season. And as Solomon in his wisdom noted, there are times and seasons for everything under the sun. This is a season: a season of loneliness, of testing and trial, and of trust. Something tells me, too, that the particular instances of each of those that I've been experiencing will eventually be resolved, they will nevertheless continue to be descriptive of this existence until we make our transition to a better place. Only when we are transformed to perfection in Christ's likeness as we step through the doorway from this world into the next will we cease to be lonely, will we cease to be tested and tried, will we learn to truly trust. Oddly, though that seems like it ought to be discouraging, I find it instead to be encouraging - perhaps because I can see that this (long) moment is but an instant in God's greater plan for my life, and because I know that He does have ultimate resolution of these difficulties in mind for me. That is a very great comfort.
So we endure. We press on. We continue to learn to trust and know simply that God is God. Until our time is complete, we wait... but not without hope of a reward. No, indeed, for we know that our reward is in Christ; we have died and our lives are hidden with Him. If we are dead and we live for Him, then suddenly these "momentary afflictions" seem just that: momentary, in comparison with His eternal plan and the security inherent in knowing that He holds every one of our days in His hands, that He knows every hair on our head, that He not only knows every intimate detail of our existence but also cares about every moment of our lives... that He loves us more deeply than we can comprehend.
Truly, this is to live: to know Him and to seek His glory, to honor Him with every breath and to see His name magnified in our every deed.
I'm ready to start living.
- Chris
Sourced: Boundless Line
On a more personal note, I have to point out that growth is a very slow, but very rewarding process. It's easy to get caught up in the difficulty of the moment and simply lose sight of the big picture and all the things God is doing in our hearts. I was meeting with Chris Goree today, and I found in the midst of my conversation that I was remembering things the Lord has been working in my heart for a very long time - months and months, and in some cases years. I am also struck by the fact that, ultimately, these last six to seven months, as terribly difficult as they've been in so many ways ("bone-draining" was the adjective Chris used to describe the kinds of wounds and experiences I've gone through, and I'd have to agree with his assessment), nevertheless this is just a season. And as Solomon in his wisdom noted, there are times and seasons for everything under the sun. This is a season: a season of loneliness, of testing and trial, and of trust. Something tells me, too, that the particular instances of each of those that I've been experiencing will eventually be resolved, they will nevertheless continue to be descriptive of this existence until we make our transition to a better place. Only when we are transformed to perfection in Christ's likeness as we step through the doorway from this world into the next will we cease to be lonely, will we cease to be tested and tried, will we learn to truly trust. Oddly, though that seems like it ought to be discouraging, I find it instead to be encouraging - perhaps because I can see that this (long) moment is but an instant in God's greater plan for my life, and because I know that He does have ultimate resolution of these difficulties in mind for me. That is a very great comfort.
So we endure. We press on. We continue to learn to trust and know simply that God is God. Until our time is complete, we wait... but not without hope of a reward. No, indeed, for we know that our reward is in Christ; we have died and our lives are hidden with Him. If we are dead and we live for Him, then suddenly these "momentary afflictions" seem just that: momentary, in comparison with His eternal plan and the security inherent in knowing that He holds every one of our days in His hands, that He knows every hair on our head, that He not only knows every intimate detail of our existence but also cares about every moment of our lives... that He loves us more deeply than we can comprehend.
Truly, this is to live: to know Him and to seek His glory, to honor Him with every breath and to see His name magnified in our every deed.
I'm ready to start living.
- Chris
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