"Be still and know that I am God.He says that spiritual tenacity "is more than hanging on, which may be but the weakness of being too afraid to fall off. Tenacity is the supreme effort of a man refusing to believe that his hero is going to be conquered....Then comes the call to spiritual tenacity, not to hang on and do nothing, but to work deliberately on the certainty that God is not going to be worsted."
Wow! What a powerful reminder. It's so true. He says that the worst fear of man isn't condemnation; it's that we will discover that our Savior isn't as powerful as we have believed and that in the end, He will be "worsted" -- that is, that our hope will be disappointed (though Scripture clearly says in Romans 5:5 that hope does not disappoint).
Oswald goes on to say this:
"If our hopes are being disappointed just now, it means that they are being purified. There is nothing noble the human mind has ever hoped for or dreamed of that will not be fulfilled. One of the greatest strains in life is the strain of waiting for God. 'Because thou has kept the word of my patience'."That really hit me. I have some hopes that seem to be disappointed right now. One of which is seminary. I thought I would be able to start taking seminary classes later this year through online education and perhaps even finish a certificate of graduate studies. Then this week, I found out that due to limitations in our internet service, that won't be possible. At least not as far as I can see right now. That was pretty disappointing, but I found myself really encouraged by this devotion to remember that the Lord is greater than my limitations, and His timing is perfect: "Be still and know that I AM GOD." And if He is choosing to purify my hopes through this waiting process, then so be it. May His hopes become my own. May yours as well!
As Ozzie closed, so I do:
"Remain spiritually tenacious."
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