"'If you obey Jesus you will have a life of joy and delight.' Well, it is not true. Jesus said to the disciples—'Let us cross over to the other of the lake,' and they were plunged into the biggest storm they had ever known. ... "If you are experiencing the darkness of desolation on
individual lines, go through with it, and you will find
yourself face to face with Jesus Christ as never before.
'I have come that
they may have life' 'and that they may have it more abundantly.'" Oswald Chambers Daily Devotional Bible, p. 317
"At the beginning we were sure we knew all about Jesus Christ, it was a delight to sell all and to fling ourselves out in a hardihood of love; but now we are not quite so sure. Jesus is on in front and He looks strange. 'Jesus went before them: and they were amazed.' "There is an aspect of Jesus that chills the heart of a disciple to the core and makes the whole spiritual life gasp for breath. This strange Being with His face set like a flint and His striding determination strikes terror into me. He is no longer Counsellor and Comrade, He is taken up with a point of view I know nothing about, and I am amazed at Him. At first I was confident that I understood Him, but now I am not so sure. I begin to realize there is a distance between Jesus Christ and me; I can no longer be familiar with Him. He is ahead of me and He never turns round; I have no idea where He is going, and the goal has become strangely far off. "Jesus Christ had to fathom every sin and every sorrow man could experience, and that is what makes Him seem strange. When we see Him in this aspect we do not know Him, we do not recognize one feature of his life, and we do not know how to begin to follow Him. He is in front, a Leader Who is very strange, and we have no comradeship with Him. "The discipline of dismay is an essential necessity in the life of discipleship. The danger is to get back to a little fire of our own and kindle enthusiasm at it (cf. Isaiah 50:10-11). When the darkness of dismay comes, endure until it is over, because out of it will come that following of Jesus which is an unspeakable joy." My Utmost for His Highest, March 15
" At times God puts us through the discipline of darkness to teach us to heed Him. 'What I tell you in darkness...' Are you in the dark just now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? ... When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else when you get into the light."My Utmost for His Highest, February 14 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John16:33 |
