.JPG)
When we have hit bottom and are emptied of all we thought important to us, then we truly pray, truly become humble and detached, and live in the bright darkness of faith. In the midst of the emptying we know that God has not deserted us. He has merely removed the obstacles keeping us from a deeper union with Him. Actually we are closer to God than ever before, although we are deprived of the consolations that we once associated with our spirituality. What we thought was communion with Him was really a hindrance to that communion.
The Signature of Jesus-Brennan Manning
Rich
6 comments:
as I just responded on your other blog.....so very very true.
Kent,
What we try to resist only because of the lies of fear that still grip us is experiencing total weakness, and then hearing His voice saying, "You are blessed, to be envied in being empty, now, let Me fill you to over-flowing my son."
I have found this to be very true in my life. For me, the times when I come to the end of myself are when life caves in - when I realize just how sinful and lost I am without Him. I wonder whether I will ever experience this when there is no crisis at hand. But then, I suppose that without the crisis I am not prone to see the need for more than the "consolations" of life.
And, though it may sound strange, there is a genuine peace in the pain when I am emptied of myself. I imagine it's because the emptiness is filled by His spirit.
So, thank you God for emptying me and help me to stay there longer. And thank you Rich for the post.
RC,
Thank you so much for what you shared here, I especially liked this: "But then, I suppose that without the crisis I am not prone to see the need for more than the "consolations" of life.
And, though it may sound strange, there is a genuine peace in the pain when I am emptied of myself. I imagine it's because the emptiness is filled by His spirit."
One word in particular that stood out to me in what you shared here was "crisis"!
In my opinion, living independently from Christ is a crisis looking for a place to happen.
He uses all things in bringing us to sobriety so that all things might be summed up in Him.
Yes, agreed with this.
I have a question, is it our job to do the emptying, or His job to empty us upon our asking.
There is a song on contemporary christian radio that essentially is asking God to "Empty Me," and I always ask myself if that's right or not. Do we do the emptying or does He? It's an honest question.
free spirit,
Great question!
The first thought that came to mind was that as He increases, we decrease.
I think when we forget that everything that happens in our walk with Father, is initiated by Him, and we either respond or not.
I really am wondering about all of this (any and all focus upon self) especially in light of readin what our brother Darrin Hufford shared on this blog entry. http://freebelievers.com/blog-entry/the-meaning-of-life
Post a Comment