Spiritually Confused??

Ok, so I actually have two things I want to post..... and I didn't want to wait and forget so.... this is gonna be one LONG post ( but, that's ok for ME... because it's not my usual habit.. ;) They are both from the book "MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST" ( my favorite book as you all should know by now )
The first part is about spiritual confusion....


GOING THROUGH SPIRITUAL CONFUSION

"Ye know not what ye ask." Matthew 20:22
There are times in spiritual life when there is confusion, and it is no way out to say that there ought not to be confusion. It is not a question of right and wrong, but a question of God taking you by a way which in the meantime you do not understand, and it is only by going through the confusion that you will get at what God wants.

The Shrouding of His Friendship.
Luke 11:5-8.
Jesus gave the illustration of the man who looked as if he did not care for his friend, and He said that that is how the Heavenly Father will appear to you at times. You will think He is an unkind friend, but remember He is not; the time will come when everything will be explained. There is a cloud on the friendship of the heart, and often even love itself has to wait in pain and tears for the blessing of fuller communion. When God looks completely shrouded, will you hang on in confidence in Him?

The Shadow on His Fatherhood.
Luke 11:11-13.
Jesus says there are times when your Father will appear as if He were an unnatural father, as if He were callous and indifferent, but remember He is not; I have told you - "Everyone that asketh receiveth." If there is a shadow on the face of the Father just now, hang onto it that He will ultimately give His clear revealing and justify Himself in all that He permitted.

The Strangeness of His Faithfulness.
Luke 18:1-8. "When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?"
Will He find the faith which banks on Him in spite of the confusion? Stand off in faith believing that what Jesus said is true, though in the meantime you do not under stand what God is doing. He has bigger issues at stake than the particular things you ask.

So, even when it appears that God does not really care for you, hang onto the fact that he is never-changing and soon God will bring out the real reason He seemed so far away. Remember He sees the big picture - you do not!

This second part is about the step that comes after surrender....

AFTER SURRENDER - WHAT?

"I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do." John 17:4
Surrender is not the surrender of the external life, but of the will; when that is done, all is done. There are very few crises in life; the great crisis is the surrender of the will. God never crushes a man's will into surrender, He never beseeches him, He waits until the man yields up his will to Him. That battle never needs to be re-fought.

Surrender for Deliverance.
"Come unto Me and I will give you rest."
It is after we have begun to experience what salvation means that we surrender our wills to Jesus for rest. Whatever is perplexing heart or mind is a call to the will - "Come unto Me." It is a voluntary coming.

Surrender for Devotion.
"If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself."
The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, my self with His rest at the heart of it. "If you would be My disciple, give up your right to yourself to Me." Then the remainder of the life is nothing but the manifestation of this surrender. When once the surrender has taken place we never need "suppose" anything. We do not need to care what our circumstances are, Jesus is amply sufficient.

Surrender for Death.
John 21:18-19. ". . . another shall gird thee."
Have you learned what it means to be bound for death? Beware of a surrender which you make to God in an ecstasy; you are apt to take it back again. It is a question of being united with Jesus in His death until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.

After surrender - what? The whole of the life after surrender is an aspiration for unbroken communion with God.

One of the main things I got from this was that surrender is not just on the exterior. So many times I " surrender something, but in my heart I know that I am not really willing to give it up. Or I get one thing right, and then I kinda just expect that things will be "ok" again. But, am I truly searching where I need to change? And am I really giving things over to God so that he can use me? Or am I doing it because I know it's best for me? ( cooperative rebel ) Our goal with surrender is to have an unbroken relationship with him!!!!
Praying for you always!
Rachel
~The Bible will keep you from sin, and sin will keep you from the Bible!