‘Most of us can do things if we are always at some
heroic level of intensity, simply because of the natural selfishness of our own
hearts. But God wants us to be at the drab everyday level, where we live in the
valley according to our personal relationship with Him. Peter thought it would
be a wonderful thing for them to remain on the mountain, but Jesus Christ took
the disciples down from the mountain and into the valley, where the true
meaning of the vision was explained.’ CHAMBERS
I was thinking about the Promise Keeper ministry
as I read Chambers’ devotion today.
Thousands of men experienced a order of worship and fellowship that was
exponentially beyond what they experienced in their churches. They would return home and, as their wives
would often tell me, after two weeks, they were back to the same old ways. The fire was out .. the glow was gone. What happened to the good intentions and the
new, spiritual commitments? Life in the
valley, that's what. What those men had failed to do
was stay connected to the Source of what they experienced at the conference, and were depending upon the experience to sustain them. It’s our nature. We rely on an experience as our source of
energy for our daily spiritual walk. But
it is an intimate relationship with Jesus, being connected to the Vine that will
cause you to not lose the ‘glow’.
It could be a mission trip for you … anything that
kindles the fire of the Holy Spirit in you.
But what keeps the fire burning? Staying close to Jesus. The reality that people are unkind. What you want is not always what you
get. You still struggle with sin. What you thought .. is not what is, in
reality. Very disappointing. Any and all of those things can be water
thrown on the fire .. but if the fire is hot enough, the water will evaporate
before it ever gets to the source of the flame. Don’t let the reality of life in the valley
discourage you from serving there. Look
to Jesus and find your strength and perspective.
Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)
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