Well, my precious Heartdwellers, I ran across something that was sent to me by Lisa, one of our core members. And it was so on point, and so encouraging for those of us who have suffered these things that I really felt it necessary to share with you. It's from a tract that came from Faith Prayer and Tract League in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
And it begins:
"If God has called you to be really like Jesus, He will
draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility, and put upon you such
demands of obedience that you will not be able to follow other people,
or measure yourself by other Christians. And in many ways He will seem
to let other people do things which He will not let you do.
Other Christians and ministers who seem very religious
and useful may push themselves, pull wires, and work schemes to carry
out their plans, but you cannot do it.
Others may boast of themselves, of their work, of their
successes, of their writings, but Holy Spirit will not allow you to do
any such thing. And if you begin it, He will lead you into some deep
embarrassment that will make you despise yourself and all your good
works.
Others may be allowed to succeed in making money, or may
have a legacy left to them, but it is likely God will keep you poor,
because He wants you to have something far better than gold. Namely, a
helpless dependence upon Him, that He may have the privilege of
supplying your needs day by day out of an unseen treasury.
The Lord may let others be honored and put forward, and
keep you hidden in obscurity, because He wants to produce some choice,
fragrant fruit for His coming glory, which can only be produced in the
shade. He may let others be great, but keep you small. He may let others
do a work for Him and get the credit for it, but He will make you work
and toil on without knowing how much you are doing. And then to make
your work still more precious, He may let others get credit for the work
which you have done, and thus make your reward ten times greater when
Jesus comes.
The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch over you, with a
jealous love, and will rebuke you for little words and feelings, or for
wasting your time, which other Christians never feel distressed over.
So, make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign,
and has a right to do as He pleases with His own. He may not explain to
you a thousand things which puzzle your reason in His dealings with
you, but if you absolutely sell yourself to be His love, He will wrap
you up in a jealous love, and bestow upon you many blessings which come
only to those who are in the inner circle.
Settle it forever then, that you are to deal directly
with the Holy Spirit, and that He is to have the privilege of tying your
tongue, or chaining your hand, or closing your eyes in ways that He
does not seem to use with others.
Now, when you are so possessed with the living God that
you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar,
personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy
Spirit over your life - you will have found the entranceway of Heaven.
When you are forgotten or neglected, or purposely set at
naught, and you smile in-wardly, glorying in the insult or the
oversight, because thereby you're counted worthy to suffer with Christ -
that is victory.
When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are
crossed, your taste offended, your advice disregarded, your opinions
ridiculed, and you take it all in patient, loving silence - that is
victory.
When you are content with any food, any raiment, any
climate, any society, any solitude, any interruption by the will of God -
that is victory." (end of article)
So, I have found every single article of this little
paper to be totally accurate in my life, and I think that's one of the
reasons why the Lord has kept us hidden for basically 40 years. In the
wilderness, hidden, before He brought us into public ministry. And I'm
so glad He did - because these are some of the lessons that we learned,
that have ended up being our greatest protection.
The Lord bless you, Family. I hope you enjoy this little
article. I really feel it's going to give you the strength to
persevere.
Source: Heartdwellers
