| | Living Simply...Yet FocusedI read these encouraging words in Oswald Chambers' My Utmost For His Highest yesterday...
"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor
spin"— they simply are! Think of the sea, the air, the sun, the stars,
and the moon— all of these simply are as well— yet what a
ministry and service they render on our behalf! So often we impair
God’s designed influence, which He desires to exhibit through us,
because of our own conscious efforts to be consistent and useful. Jesus
said there is only one way to develop and grow spiritually, and that is
through focusing and concentrating on God. In essence, Jesus was
saying, "Do not worry about being of use to others; simply believe on
Me." In other words, pay attention to the Source, and out of you "will
flow rivers of living water." We cannot discover the source of our natural life through common sense
and reasoning, and Jesus is teaching here that growth in our spiritual
life comes not from focusing directly on it, but from concentrating on
our Father in heaven. Our heavenly Father knows our circumstances, and
if we will stay focused on Him, instead of our circumstances, we will
grow spiritually— just as "the lilies of the field."
The people who influence us the most are not those who detain us
with their continual talk, but those who live their lives like the
stars in the sky and "the lilies of the field"— simply and
unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mold and shape us.If you
want to be of use to God, maintain the proper relationship with Jesus
Christ by staying focused on Him, and He will make use of you every
minute you live— yet you will be unaware, on the conscious level of
your life, that you are being used of Him."
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| | Posted 5/19/2006 4:22 PM - 1 view - 1 comments
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