Standing alone
with God
My Goal is God Himself. . .
At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.
"Behold, as the eyes of
servants look unto the hand of their master, . . . so our eyes wait upon
the Lord our God. " Psalm 123:2.
"This verse is a description
of entire reliance upon God. ... Spiritual leakage begins when we cease to
lift up our eyes unto Him. The leakage comes not so much through trouble on
the outside as in the imagination, when we begin to say—‘I expect I have
been stretching myself a bit too much, standing on tiptoe and trying to look
like God instead of being an ordinary humble person.’ We have to realize
that no effort can be too high....
"Your rational friends come and say—‘Don’t be a
fool, we knew when you talked about this spiritual awakening that it was a
passing impulse, you can’t keep up the strain, God does not expect you to.’
And you say— ‘Well, I suppose I was expecting too much.’ It sounds humble to
say it, but it means that reliance on God has gone and reliance on
worldly opinion has come in.... Recognize that something has
been coming between you and God, and get it readjusted at once."
My utmost for his highest:
November 24
"We all with open face
beholding . . . the glory of the Lord." 2 Cor. 3:18.
"A servant of God must stand so
much alone that he never knows he is alone. In the first phases of Christian
life disheartenments come, people who used to be lights flicker out, and
those who used to stand with us pass away. We have to get so used to it that
we never know we are standing alone.
“All men forsook me: . . .
notwithstanding the Lord stood with me”
(2 Tim. 4:16-17). We must
build our faith, not on the fading light, but on the light that never fails. ...
"A
Christian worker is one who perpetually looks in the face of God and then goes
forth to talk to the people. ... The secret of the worker’s life is that
he keeps in tune with God all the time."
My utmost for his highest:
April 22
"Now thanks be to God,
which always causeth us to triumph in Christ."
2 Cor. 2:14
"The viewpoint to maintain is that
we are here for one purpose only, viz., to be captives in the train of
Christ’s triumphs. We are not in God’s showroom, we are here to exhibit one
thing—the absolute captivity of our lives to Jesus Christ. How small the other
points of view are—‘I am standing alone battling for Jesus’; ‘I have to maintain
the cause of Christ and hold this fort for Him.’ Paul says—‘I am in the train of
a conqueror, and it does not matter what the difficulties are, I am always
led in triumph.’ ...
"Paul’s secret joy was that God took him, a red-handed rebel against Jesus
Christ, and made him a captive, and now that is all he is here for."
My utmost for his highest :
October 24
"Perfecting holiness in
the
fear of God."
2 Cor. 7:1
“...am I realizing that my body is
the temple of the Holy Ghost, or have I a habit of body that plainly will not
bear the light of God on it? By sanctification the Son of God is formed in me,
then I have to transform my natural life into a spiritual life by obedience to
Him. God educates us down to the scruple. When He begins to check, do not
confer with flesh and blood, cleanse yourself at once....
"Am I forming the mind of Christ, Who
never spoke from His right to Himself, but maintained an inner watchfulness
whereby He continually submitted His spirit to His Father?"
My utmost for his highest:
March 18
"Behold, the hour cometh .
. . that ye shall be scattered."
John 16:32
"After we have been perfectly
related to God in sanctification, our faith has to be worked out in actualities.
We shall be scattered, not into work, but into inner desolations and
made to know what internal death to God’s blessings means. Are we prepared
for this? It is not that we choose it, but that God engineers our circumstances
so that we are brought there. ...
'“. . .
and shall leave Me alone.'
Have we left Jesus alone by the scattering of His providence?... Are we prepared
to let God do as He likes with us—prepared to be separated from conscious
blessings?... God is never in a hurry; if we wait, we shall see that God
is pointing out that we have not been interested in Himself, but only in His
blessings. "
My utmost for his highest:
April 4
"That they all may be one; as
Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us."
John 17:21
"If you are going through a
solitary way, read John 17, it will explain exactly why you are where you
are—Jesus has prayed that you may be one with the Father as He is. Are
you helping God to answer that prayer, or have you some other end for your life?
"
My utmost for his highest:
May 22
"And he saw him no more." 2
Kings 2:12
"It is not wrong to depend upon
Elijah as long as God gives him to you, but remember the time will come when
he will have to go; when he stands no more to you as your guide and
leader, because God does not intend he should. You say—‘I cannot go on without
Elijah.’ God says you must.
"Alone at your Jordan. v. 14. Jordan is
the type of separation where there is no fellowship with anyone else, and
where no one can take the responsibility for you. ... If you want to know
whether God is the God you have faith to believe Him to be, then go through your
Jordan alone.... Determine to trust in God and do not look for Elijah any
more."
My utmost for his highest:
August 11
"But none of these things
move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself." Acts 20:24
"It is easier to serve God without
a vision, easier to work for God without a call, because then you are not
bothered by what God requires; common sense is your guide, veneered over
with Christian sentiment. ...
"What do I really count dear? If I have not been
gripped by Jesus Christ, I will count service dear, time given to God dear, my
life dear unto myself. Paul says he counted his life dear only in order that he
might fulfill the ministry he had received; he refused to use his energy for any
other thing....
"Practical
work may be a competitor against abandonment to God, because practical work
is based on this argument—‘Remember how useful you are here,’ or—‘Think
how much value you would be in that particular type of work.’ That attitude does
not put Jesus Christ as the Guide as to where we should go, but our
judgment as to
where we are
of most use. Never consider whether you are of use; but ever consider that
you are not your own but His."
My utmost for his highest:
March 4