Chambers

Every once in a while I'll read a devotional from "My Utmost for His Highest." I keep a copy of it in my backpack so its there when I have some time and don't want to study. The other day I read the page for February 14 and have since gone back to read it again several times. I think it is particularly insightful and convicting, especially in my present situation. The verse at the top of the page is Matthew 10:27

"What I tell you in darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops."

"At times God puts us through the disciple in darkness to teach us to heed Him. Song birds are taught to sing in the dark, and we are put into the shadow of God's hand until we learn to hear Him. "What I tell you in darkness"- watch where God puts you into darkness and when you are there keep your mouth shut. Are you in the dark just now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? Then remain quiet. If you open your mouth in the dark, you will talk int he wrong mood: darkness is the time to listen. Don't talk to other people about it; don't read books to find out the reason of the darkness, but listen and heed. If you talk to other people you cannot hear what God is saying. When you are int he dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else when you get into the light.
After every time of darkness there comes a mixture of delight and humiliation (if there is delight only, I question whether we have heard God at all), delight in hearing God speak, but chiefly humiliation- What a long time I was in hearing that! How slow I have been in understanding that! And yet we God has been saying it all these days and weeks. Now He gives you the gift of humiliation which brings the softness of heart that will always listen to God now."
- Oswald Chambers "My utmost for His Highest" Feb 14th

I believe there is so much wisdom in what is said in that short passage. I know the first thing I always want to do when I am confronted with a big decision or problem is talk to people about it. I want to process it out loud. Then, if I still can't figure it out, the next thing I do is read books about it. The idea of just sitting and waiting and listening for God to come and clue me in to the solution is way down the list of things I will try. I don't like to listen for what God is saying because it takes discipline and patience, neither of which are virtues I am great at. I like to have answers quickly, not after days, weeks, or even months of waiting...and listening.

The down side to that is that I often miss what God is doing because I am in to much of a hurry to see it. Running ahead of God is like leaving the airport for California in a car because I didn't want to wait 2 more hours for my pilot to show up. I am sure that I often spend my time working harder than I have too trying to keep up, when I could have waited for God to move and carry me with Him. I know there are things I have not just seen partially, but missed altogether because God just wasn't ready to do His thing yet. I can't enter the promise land until God says its time to go.

The other thing, and this seems more subtle to me, I miss out on a chance to grow in my faith and understanding of God's character. Waiting on God to answer, being faithful in the silence, is a unique kind of growth opportunity. It also gives us a chance to show a little faith in our Big God. I want to be more faithful in the darkness.

The reward for that faith is another awesome opportunity. When we are faithful in the darkness, having the patience to listen and hear what God is saying, then we have a new responsibility. When we have heard from God and know what He is doing, then we become like a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. When we know God's heart we get to tell other people about it, and that is an incredible privilege. The closer we get to the light of God the brighter we shine to the people around us. A large part of our ability, if not all our ability, to lead other people to Christ comes from the vitality of our personal relationship with God.

Knowing God's heart and through that living the John 10:10 "abundant life" is what makes being a Christian irresistible to the people who see us doing it. In America becoming a Christian is not a sacrifice, at least not a hard one. There are still many countries around the world where becoming a Christian means risking your life. The people that choose Christ under those circumstances see Christ in people differently. Something about that kind of faith is attractive even in the face of death. I want to know God in a way that makes me a city on a hill; I want people to see my faith and because of it want to have a faith of their own. God help me to have mustard seed faith.