Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Called To The Valleys Where The Lost Souls Live

My Utmost For His Highest
 
We have received…the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. —1 Corinthians 2:12
 
“My experience is not what makes redemption real— redemption is reality. Redemption has no real meaning for me until it is worked out through my conscious life. When I am born again, the Spirit of God takes me beyond myself and my experiences, and identifies me with Jesus Christ. […] My experiences are not worth anything unless they keep me at the Source of truth— Jesus Christ.[…] Be relentless and hard on yourself if you are in the habit of talking about the experiences you have had. Faith based on experience is not faith; faith based on God’s revealed truth is the only faith there is.”
CHAMBERS
 
Martie and I have served in some difficult places between 2005 and 2015.  During that time we have seen God do some amazing things through and around us.  It is easy to be drawn to the experiences and look for more experiences as if they were “fuel” our faith. But it is in the day to day simple experiences of life where your faith is wrought.  It is easy to trust God on the mountain top.  Not so much in the valley.  When we are in the valley we tend to focus on ourselves and our plight.  On the mountain, we focus on the God and His glory.  It’s natural to want to pick the latter over the former.  Who wouldn’t.  But our spiritual nature and our faith are tried, tested, and strengthened in the valley.  It is there that we learn about God’s sufficiency and His faithfulness.  We should appreciate those mountaintops but we should not desire to live there.  (Mark 9:2-9) We have been called to the valleys … where the lost souls live.  Your life is not your own. Your testimony is not about how you reveled on the mountain in the presence of God, but how you persevered in the valley by your faith in God.   ELGIN

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