A New Revelation and Resolution

• All of God's children, I am convinced, feel instinctively in their moments of divine illumination that a life of inward rest and outward victory is their inalienable birthright.

• To state it in brief, I would say that man's part is to trust, and God's part is to work.

• I have tried to settle the question as to the scripturalness of the experience sometimes called the Higher Christian Life but which is the only true Christian life, and which to my own mind is best described in the words, the "life hid with Christ in God."

• We received Him by faith, and by faith alone. Therefore we are to walk in Him by faith, and by faith alone. And the faith by which we enter into this hidden life is just the same as the faith by which we were translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son -- only it lays hold of a different thing. Then we believed that Jesus was our Saviour from the guilt of sin, and according to our faith it was unto us. Now we must believe that He is our Saviour from the power of sin, and according to our faith it shall be unto us. Then we trusted Him for forgiveness, and it became ours. Now we must trust Him for righteousness, and it shall become ours also. Then we took Him as a Saviour in the future from the penalties of our sins. Now we must take Him as a Saviour in the present from the bondage of our sins. Then He was our Redeemer. Now He is to be our Life. Then He lifted us out of the pit. Now He is to seat us in heavenly places with Himself.(Hannah Whithall Smith, The Christian Secret to a Happy Life)

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ. . . . Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.

And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death.

(Colossians 3:1-9a, The Message)

Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!

(Matthew 2:9-10, The Message)

 

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Beginning Well

The New Year gives us an opportunity to make a new sort of resolution: a life abandoned to God.

But real surrender—real abandonment to Christ—begins with a clear understanding of what such a life actually entails. One of the first things we must understand is that there are not two or more classes of Christians, as though some are merely Christians and others are disciples. There is only one way to be with Jesus: as his disciple. That is his calling. That is the choice placed before us.

We may be very inexperienced disciples, needing much instruction, patience, and reassurance. Or we may become seasoned disciples, living our Christ-life with greater ease and regularity. But we are still disciples. We trust our Lord, and we grow in that trust. We grow as well in his strength and grace. Along the way, we discover that we need him more than we first imagined—more for the journey, not less.

This kind of life is indeed hidden, though it is not completely undetectable.

Eyes that are fixed on sorting—on who is right and who is wrong, on who benefits me more or less—will likely miss the Christ-life at work in another person. They are simply looking in the wrong places. But eyes that seek the goodness and mercy of God may begin to notice something else.

These eyes may notice a loosening of sin’s grip. They may see a growing wholeness, a quiet virtue emerging over time. They may hear words or observe ways of being that remind them, gently but unmistakably, of Jesus. They may even sense a healthy indifference to the panic and frustration that so often govern life—an unexplainable peace and joy taking their place.

Such hints of glory are encouraging. They give hope.

Yes, we can trust. And God will work. Surrender is made of this hidden life with Christ in God.

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Experience for Epiphany

Take time to notice what a life abandoned to Jesus might look like in your own place—in the ordinary settings and relationships of your days.

You may find it helpful to write a few things down. Choose three or four characteristics that seem to describe such a life as it could be lived by you. Hold these before God over the coming week. Speak with him about them. Listen as well.

Resist the urge to form a quick or heroic resolution. Instead, allow space for a resolution that Christ himself can shape and sustain in you over the coming year—and perhaps longer.

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Prayer

Lord, this feels like a good time to begin again.
It is also a good time to continue—more thoughtfully—on the journey I am already on.

Guide my thoughts and lift my heart as I seek to abandon my life to you.
I trust that you are gentle and humble at your core.
I trust that you know what is best for me,
and what is best for my place in this world.

I place myself in your care.
Amen.

God's Word Brings Faith By Quieting the Mind

Devotional Classics, Madame Guyon, Excerpts from Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ

In coming to the Lord by means of "praying the Scripture," you do not read quickly; you read very slowly.  You do not move from one passage to another, not until you have sensed the very heart of what you have read.  You may then want to take that portion of Scripture that has touched you and turn it into prayer.

Of course, there is a kind of reading the Scripture for scholarship and for study - but not here.  That studious kind of reading will not help you when it comes to matters that are divine!  To receive any deep, inward profit from the Scripture you read until revelation, like a sweet aroma, breaks out upon you.

In "beholding the Lord" you come to the Lord in a totally different way.  Perhaps at this point I need to share with you the greatest difficulty you will have in waiting upon the Lord.  It has to do with your mind.  The mind has a very strong tendency to stray away from the Lord.  Therefore, as you come before the Lord to sit in his presence, beholding him, make use of the Scripture to quiet your mind.

The way you do this is really quite simple.  First, read a passage of Scripture.  Once you sense the Lord's presence, the content of what you have read is no longer important.  The Scripture has served its purpose; it has quieted your mind; it has brought you to him.

Turn your heart to the presence of God.  How is this done?  This, too, is quite simple.  You turn to him by faith.  By faith you believe you have come into the presence of God.

Now, waiting before him, turn all your attention towrd your spirit.  Do not allow your mind to wander.  If your mind begins to wander, just turn your attention back again to the inward parts of your being. . . .  The Lord is found only within your spirit, in the recesses of your being, in the Holy of Holies; this is where he dwells.  The Lord once promised to come and make his home within you (John 14:23)

Oh, it is not that you will think about what you ahve read, but you will feed upon what you have read.  Out of love for the Lord you exert your will to hold your mind quiet before him.  When you have come to this state, you must allow your mind to rest.

In this peaceful state, swallow what you have tasted.  At first this may seem difficult, but perhaps I can show you a simple way.  Have you not, at times, enjoyed the flavor of a very tasty food?  But unless you were willing to swallow the food, you received no nourishment.  It is the same with your soul.  In this quiet, peaceful, and simple state simply take in what is there as nourishment.

For a long time I have sought to "practice the presence of Christ," as Brother Lawrence puts it, and have found myself more burdened than blessed.  It seems so strenuous and somewhat confusing.  My mind wanders because of a desire to "scheme" my way through life when I seek to stay with God throughout a day.  However, my mind also wanders because of confusion.  What am I supposed to think?  What am I supposed to be doing?

I have moved mostly toward regular times with God rather than "constant prayer."  I recharge throughout the day.  Still, even this can prove taxing.  Some days are better than others.  More often than not, though, I am flapping like a chicken rather than soaring like an eagle.  God meets me graciously and instructs, helps, and guides me.  But I want to know if this "constant prayer" is more than just a fantasy.

Through Madame Guyon's discussion of "beholding the Lord," I have come to understand more of what this "practicing the presence" is.  I have long recognized certain feeling associated with God's presence.  The feelings aren't always the same, but there is similarity to them.  Really the feelings are not so much God himself, but my attitude toward God when I am receptive to his presence.

This feeling has always been somewhat nebulous to me.  I didn't know what it was exactly or how it helped me.  Without knowing, I felt confused.  When confused, my mind wandered more.  So what has helped me is Madame Guyon's simple instruction to enter the "beholding of the Lord" through faith.

I find the word trust more helpful.  Trusting is not so much a feeling, but there is a certain kind of feeling that often accompanies it.  Also, her suggestions about resting my mind fit well with this trust.  In order to trust, often I must let go of certain thoughts and desires.  I must be open to God and therefore I must be closed to certain thoughts and desires.  The Scripture opens my mind to God and closes it to living life without him.

Trust and confidence are really actions of the will and heart more than the mind.  Although thoughts and feelings in the mind may accompany or facilitate trust, such confidence comes from the intention and action.  Trusting God involves a lot of waiting on him and resting in him.  Trust never involves hurry or frantic behavior, even if it does include quick action at times.  This faith is a readiness to do certain things.

A.W. Tozer speaks of faith as the "gazing soul on the saving God."  This lines up with Madame Guyon's "beholding the Lord."  It makes me realize that the command "Pray without ceasing" is really the same as "Do all things with faith."  Also I see that the reason faith is opposed to sight is that it is sight in itself.  Faith opposed temporal or physical sight.  This is analogous to a comment from C.S. Lewis Christianity and education: "Christianity does not require education because it is an education."  Faith is sight.

Such trust is possible on all occasions.  What I needed was recognition of that continuing faith followed by practice.  God opening my eyes to the experience of faith has made it easier to remain with him in faith.  Madame Guyon's admonition to look inward for me is not morbid self-absorption, but a reminder to attend to my trust in God and let go of the things that worry and obsess my mind.  The Scripture quiets the mind by refocusing my mind on God's goodness and love and encouraging my heart (will) to trust God.  Trust is the natural reaction to love.

This is how God's word goes out and brings people to him.  When people come to hear and realize the goodness and love of God, they are drawn into faith, trusting him.  This is not a one-time action, but a continual work of letting go of the things that seem so important to grasp the things that are important.  God's word, used honestly, brings faith.

Lord, may I be immersed in your word, so that my mind may be at rest and my heart full of trust.  Amen.


Now I feel I have grounds to practice this "prayer of the heart."  It is faith from "first to last."  People like Madame Guyon have explained and demonstrated this faith in practical terms.  The Bible is full of such descriptions.  Much of Jesus' teaching might be seen as a description of this faith and its outcome in God's kingdom and in this world.  I want to test this against the Scriptures.