JOURNEY OF FAITH
Day One Hundred Twenty
WHY DO I EXIST
CHAPTER EIGHT
SUFFERING: GOD’S PATHWAY TO GLORY
Friends & neighbors; brothers and sisters…
If you remember nothing else from the pages of “WHY DO I EXIST”…never forget this: GOD LOVES YOU.
God’s Love 4 U is…
Unconditional
Unfailing
Unchanging
Unending
Beloved…I love you because of Who I am…not as a response to who you are, or what you do, or what you refrain from doing.
If only you would know in the depths of your soul, if only you would just fully embrace, the greatness of My love I have lavished upon you…that the most intense desire of My heart is to gather you to Myself as one of My Own children, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. That is the depth of My love for you.
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SUFFERING: PATHWAY TO GLORY
Child of God! My Divine Son Jesus, being consecrated and perfected through suffering, has consecrated the way of suffering for all My children to pass through unto Glory!
My beloved child…it is fitting that My children must follow the same route and receive the same reward that My Divine Son Jesus did.
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when you have stood the test, you will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Me.
THE PATH JESUS WALKED: OUR EXAMPLE
My beloved child…are you sorely troubled and vexed by various pressures, trials and afflictions that worry and weary a human soul? You must follow the example of Christ My Son and go into the Garden, there to walk along the same Path that He walked…the Path of obedience and suffering, self-sacrifice and self-denial, death to sin and death to self.
ADVERSITY COMES FROM MY LOVING HAND
Whenever an adversity touches your life, the first thing you need to acknowledge, and embrace in your heart, is that it comes from My loving hand. Nothing can touch your life apart from My having either Personally allowed it to happen, or having caused it to do so…and all to accomplish My Own good purpose.
When I allow an adversity to touch your life, it is because I have a special blessing laid aside for you I want you to have…a blessing that can only be appropriated by your patiently enduring the particular adversity I have allowed to touch your life.
I assure you…My blessings that come through suffering are the richest of rewards your faith can win!
MADE PERFECT THROUGH SUFFERING
Have you considered My Divine Son Jesus? Although He was a Son, in the character of His human nature He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.
In bringing My many children into their glorious inheritance, it was appropriate for Me…for Whom and through Whom all Creation exists… to make My Divine Son Jesus, the Leader of your salvation, perfect through suffering. In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for Whom and through Whom everything exists, should make the Author of their salvation perfect through suffering.
Christ Jesus My Son was totally obedient to God His Father…the very point of Adam’s failure and sin…even unto death, a death on the cross! And having taken upon Himself a human nature, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death…even death on a cross!
AUTHOR AND PERFECTER OF MY FAITH
My beloved child…consider My Divine Son Jesus, the Author and perfecter of your faith, Who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, heedless of its shame. He is your preeminent example of faith; He lived the supreme life of faith. He was tempted in all things as you are, yet endured without sin. When Satan tempted Him in the wilderness, Jesus’ reply each time was the expression of trust in His Father and My Word. Jesus would not bypass My will just to get food, or to test My protection or Lordship. He waited until I Myself supplied or protected or directed. He trusted Me implicitly, for everything and in everything.
OUR EXAMPLE IN SUFFERING
He also set for you the pattern for suffering…and to this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps.
Therefore, precious child, since Christ My Son has suffered in the flesh, arm yourself also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has turned his back on sin, and no longer has any desire to keep on sinning. From now on then, you must live the rest of your Earthly life controlled by God’s will and not by your human desires.
CHRIST’S AGONY IN THE GARDEN
In the Garden of Gethsemane that night, Christ My Son filled was with terror and shuddering awe. He took Peter, James and John along with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is crushed with anguish and dread to the point of death,” He said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
The two Greek verbs [ekthambeisthai kai adeemonein: to be extremely distressed and troubled] used together describe an extremely acute emotion, a compound of bewilderment, fear, uncertainty and anxiety, nowhere else portrayed in such vivid terms as here.
Rawlinson: shuddering awe, amazement, deep distress; Swete: amazed awe…overpowering mental distress. Cf. the following translations: distress and dread (Goodspeed); appalled and agitated (Moffatt); full of terror and distress (Weymouth, Montgomery); dismay and distress (Manson); appalled and sorely troubled (BFBS); surprised and terrified (Lagrange); fright and anguish (Synodale, Brazilian).
Now Jesus Himself feels amazement as He directly faces the struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was being tempted by Satan to desire His Own will rather than the will of God in that which He was to suffer: For since He Himself was tempted to desire His Own will rather than the will of God in that which He has suffered [Heb 2:18].
He asked, “Abba, Father, everything is possible for You. If it is possible, within the framework of Your plans, Your purposes, Your will, may this cup of suffering be taken from Me.”
If it is possible [within the framework of Your plans, Your purposes, Your will], take this cup of suffering from Me. That was our human preference crying out to the Father…a valid request since our Father assured us that He would grant us our request that is in agreement with His will: Father…You have assured me that I may have this confidence in approaching God: “If you make any request in agreement with My will, I shall hear you. And since you know that I will hear you in whatever you ask, you may be sure, beyond the shadow of any doubt, that I shall grant you the request that is in agreement with My will you have made of Me.
He wins the victory over Himself in the Garden that night, setting an example for you to follow, saying, “Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, then not My will, but Thy will be done.” With that surrender of faith, He was then enabled to endure the cross, despising the shame.
SUFFERING THE HARBINGER OF A SPECIAL BLESSING
His joy was not in the anguish and suffering He was to endure, as if it were something pleasant to Him. No…My Son Jesus accepted the cross, even welcoming it, as the necessary and only means through which He could appropriate the wonderful and eternal blessings I had set aside for Him. His joy was a joyful expectation, an excited anticipation, in the blessings that were to be His…and with His heart fixed on those blessings, He patiently endured the adversity necessary to appropriate those blessings…the cross, heedless of its shame.
My Son Jesus said in His heart: Father, if it is not possible for this cup of suffering to pass from Me unless I drink it…if this cup of suffering is the only means through which I can appropriate the blessings You have laid aside for Me…then not My will, but Your will be done. I will gladly accept the suffering of the cross I must endure, heedless of its shame.
NECESSITY FOR SUFFERING
My beloved child…why are you bewildered by the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though some strange thing has happened to you? Don’t you yet understand that I Myself have Personally allowed it to touch your life…and for My Own good purpose? Knowing that I have Personally allowed these adversities to touch your life…why, then, are you frightened? Why are you downcast; why so vexed? Do you still have no faith? Are you still unwilling to trust with an unwavering child-like trust in My unfailing Love for you, and in My absolute Sovereignty over all Creation?
Consider it pure joy, my child, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Moreover, be full of joy even now; exult and triumph in your troubles and rejoice in your sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith…of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire…may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Christ Jesus My Son is revealed.
Therefore, do not become discouraged and lose heart. Though your outer man is progressively decaying and wasting away, yet your inner self is being progressively renewed day after day. For your light, momentary afflictions…these slight distresses of the passing hour…are ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for you an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent Glory and blessedness never to cease! Therefore, fix your attention, not on things of the physical realm that are seen, but on things of the spiritual realm that are unseen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
So then, My child, whenever you suffer because it is God’s will, you should by your good actions trust yourself completely to your Creator, for I always keep My promise. You are regarded favorably in the sight of God if you endure the pain of unjust suffering. After all, what kind of glory is there in it if, when you do wrong and are punished for it, you take it patiently? But if you bear patiently with suffering which results when you do right and that is undeserved, it is acceptable and pleasing to God. For even to this were you called. Christ My Son also suffered for you, leaving you His Personal example, so that you should follow in His footsteps.
SUFFERING: PATHWAY TO GLORY
Child of God! My Divine Son Jesus, being consecrated and perfected through suffering, has consecrated the way of suffering for all My children to pass through unto Glory.
Have you never understood and fully embraced the truth that the sufferings I allow to touch your life are not only necessary and unavoidable…they are hereby made honorable, useful, and your same pathway to Glory as My Own Beloved Son? Now if we are children, then we are heirs…heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His Glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
My beloved child…it is fitting that My children must follow the same route and receive the same reward that My Divine Son Jesus did.
In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for Whom and through Whom everything exists, should make the Author of our salvation perfect through suffering. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps.
CROWN OF LIFE
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when you have stood the test, you will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Me.
This, then, is to be your attitude…the same that was in Christ Jesus My Son…in any of the trials I allow you to face: Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, YET WILL I REJOICE IN THE LORD…I WILL BE JOYFUL IN GOD MY SAVIOR.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength. He makes my feet like hinds feet; He gives me strength and courage, enabling me to walk upon my high places…places of trouble and suffering and responsibility.
MY CHILDREN EMBRACE THE MIND OF CHRIST THEIR EXAMPLE
My child, let this same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus My Son. For the joy of the special blessings I have laid aside and desire for you to have, set your heart to patiently endure the suffering of the necessary afflictions I have allowed in order for you to be able to appropriate those blessings, heedless of their vexation.
My beloved child, listen to the exhortation of My Son Jesus: “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life for himself and his own interests will lose it, but whoever loses his self-life for My sake will save it. Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.”
So do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be distressed or dismayed, for I am your Father and your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Beloved…because you have set your love upon Me, therefore I will deliver you. I will set you on high, because you trust in My Name. When you call upon Me, I will answer you. I will be with you in trouble; I will rescue you and honor you. I will reward you with long life and show you My salvation.
EMBRACING THE RICH BLESSINGS THAT RESULT FROM SUFFERING
Abba Father…I understand. For the joy of the great and special blessings You have reserved for me and are to be mine, that can only be appropriated by my patiently enduring the particular adversities You have allowed to touch my life, I willingly and gladly bear the suffering of my cross, heedless of its vexation.
I want to know Jesus, ever more deeply, ever more intimately. I want to know Him in the Power of His resurrection and in the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed ever more deeply into the likeness of His death…death to sin and death to self…in order that I may thereby attain, more and more, to the Power of His resurrection life out from the dead… the power to walk through each and every day as more than a conqueror, and with overwhelming victory! Hallelujah!
POWER OF THE INDWELLING HOLY SPIRIT
If only you would enter into My promised rest and abide there, your soul need never remain vexed. If you try to live a spiritual life in the power of your flesh…through reliance upon your human capabilities and capacities, by your own efforts and in your own strength, according to your own wisdom, knowledge, and understanding…you will surely die spiritually. Just as a baby cannot provide for its physical life, neither can you provide for your spiritual life. You can only walk this path in the Power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. [Father God…John 15:4-5]
PATHWAY DEDICATED BY CHRIST OUR FORERUNNER
Beloved…you walk along that Path and enter through that Gate that opens into the Heavenly Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies solely and only by faith. The way into My promised rest is through…
your unwavering child-like trust in Me,
your unreserved child-like dependence upon Me, and
your unquestioning child-like obedience to, and acceptance of, My will.
Only the Power of My Holy Spirit will enable you to walk along that Path, and enter through the Gate that bears on its header the inscription THY WILL BE DONE…The Gate that opens into the Heavenly Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies. The power of your flesh is hopelessly helpless to do so; there is no way it would even want to! My Spirit alone works in you both to will and to do.
It is not humanly possible to walk that path; only the Holy Spirit can set me free to walk that path, in His Power and in reliance upon His strength. I can’t do it apart from Him. Even so…If only I would just give Him free reign over the living-out of my every day life, He will Personally live out this life of Christ Jesus in me to also walk that same path. And He will Personally work out the death of Jesus in me…death to sin and death to self…conforming me ever more deeply into the likeness of His death, in order that I may thereby attain, more and more, to the power of His Resurrection life out from the dead…the power to walk through each and every day as more than a conqueror and with overwhelming victory.
The path that Jesus dedicated for me…the path He Personally walked as my Forerunner…is the ONLY path that leads up to the Gate that opens into the Heavenly Sanctuary and into the Holy of Holies…into the inaccessible Light of the Glory of my Father’s unclouded Presence. The Gate bears on its header the inscription “THY WILL BE DONE.” No one can pass through that Gate and enter into the Heavenly Sanctuary, wherein lies the Holy of Holies, without first checking his/her own will there with the gatekeeper in absolute and unconditional surrender.
Blessed Holy Spirit…You alone are the Divine source of strength that works in me both the desire and the power to walk along the path that Jesus walked in the Garden that night…the only path leading up to the Gate that opens into the Heavenly Sanctuary wherein lies the Holy of Holies. It is the path of obedience and suffering, self-sacrifice and self-denial, death to sin and death to self…the way that Jesus Personally dedicated for me…a new and living way to God, through the veil, that is to say, through the veil of the flesh…my sin-enslaved human nature. It is the veil of my flesh that that hangs in front of the entrance into the Holy of Holies…an impenetrable curtain prohibiting entrance into the Presence of God my Father; it must be rent in two from top to bottom for me to enter in and abide there.
Wherefore, brethren, having now boldness to enter into the Holy of Holies by the Blood of Jesus, by the way which He dedicated for us…a new and living way to God through the veil…that is to say, through the veil of His flesh…let us then without further hesitation or delay draw nigh in fullness of faith; here let us continually abide in the fullness of faith. [Heb 10:19-20, 22]
Jesus Himself, by virtue of the Eternal Power and the Eternal Worth of His Blood poured out on my behalf on that cross at Calvary, rent the veil in two, from top to bottom…that veil that hung in front of the entrance into the Holy of Holies prohibiting entrance into the Presence of God, under penalty of death. By virtue of the rent veil of His Own flesh…the offering of His will unto death on the altar of sacrifice in obedience to the Father…He guaranteed and secured my Eternal Access into the Holy of Holies and the inaccessible Light of the Glory of my Father’s unclouded Presence, as my birth-right. And having taken upon Himself a human nature, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death…even death on a cross! [Phil 2:8]
POWER OF MY LIFE; SOURCE OF MY STRENGTH
Blessed Holy Spirit…continually and unceasingly, day and night, I need to breathe in the breath of life that comes from You and sustains my spiritual life…just the same as my lungs need, continually and unceasingly, to breathe in that breath of life that comes from the outside air and sustains my physical life. You are the Power of the Most High God, given to me by my Father and sent by the Son to dwell in me… never to leave me, never to forsake me. It is Your Power in me that guarantees and secures my capability to live my everyday life…
faithful to my solemn marriage vows as the bride of Christ the Son,
faithfully within the Holy of Holies, in the inaccessible Light of the Glory of my Father’s unclouded Presence…which is my birth-right as a child of the Most High God!
Spirit of the Living God, day by day, moment by moment, You Personally live out the life of Christ Jesus the Son in me…a life of obedience and suffering, self-sacrifice and self-denial, as I give You free reign to do so. And You Personally work out the death of Jesus in me, conforming me ever more deeply into the likeness of His death…death to sin and death to self…in order that I may thereby attain, more and more, to the Power of His resurrection life out from the dead…the power to walk through each and every day as more than a conqueror and with overwhelming victory.
KNOWING JESUS
I fully understand, and my heart is inflamed with yearning, to know Jesus in the Power of His Resurrection, which can only be attained through the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings. For my determined purpose is that I may know Jesus…that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly…and that I may in that same way come to know the Power out-flowing from His resurrection which it exerts over God’s children, and that I may so share in the fellowship of His sufferings as to be continually transformed in spirit into His likeness even unto His death, that I may attain to the spiritual and moral resurrection that lifts me out from among the dead even while still in the body. [Phil 3:9-11] Hallelujah!
UNWAVERING CHILD-LIKE TRUST
Abba Father, You have lovingly encouraged me, as well as all of Your children: Trust in Me with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own wisdom, knowledge, and understanding; but in all your ways…watch for Me and wait before Me, look off unto Me and listen for My voice; acknowledge Me in this way, and I will most assuredly direct your paths…I will most assuredly lead you and guide you by My indwelling Holy Spirit. I have laid aside the blessings of obedience for My children!
WITNESS OF DAVID
Consider the heart of My servant David when surrounded by his enemies: But You are a shield around me, O Lord; You bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the Lord I cry aloud, and You answer me from Your holy hill. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because my Lord sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.
WITNESS OF JOSEPH
Beloved, I work all things together for the good of those who love Me! Have you not considered Joseph, who said to his brothers, “Do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here. You intended to harm me, but God, Who allowed it, intended it for His Own good purpose, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
WITNESS OF PAUL
Has not My servant Paul instructed you: Rejoice as you confidently look forward to sharing in the glory of God’s Divine splendor that is your inheritance! Not only so, but even now take joy in your sufferings, because you know that suffering produces endurance; and endurance develops strength of character; and character produces confident assurance!
My child, embrace the same mind that was in My servant Paul. When I told him I would not remove the thorn in his flesh that was buffeting him…that My strength would be sufficient for his weakness, he responded, “I will then all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the Power of Christ may overshadow me! So for the sake of Christ, I will take pleasure in infirmities, insults, hardships, persecutions, perplexities and distresses; for when I am weak in terms of human strength, then am I truly strong in Christ’s Divine strength!”
Are you so slow to understand? See…as silver is refined in the furnace, I am testing you in the furnace of affliction. For My sake, My Own sake, I do this. I will refine you like silver and test you like gold. Then you will call on My name and I will answer you. I will say, “This is My child;” and you will respond, “The Lord is my Father and my God!”
WITNESS OF JOB
Have you considered My servant Job? In his afflictions, his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!”
But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we indeed welcome and accept only blessings from the hand of God and not also accept the misfortune and adversity He allows? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come? I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked and without possessions when I depart this world. The Lord gave me everything I have, and they were His to take away. Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him. May the Name of the Lord be praised!”
WITNESS OF THE 3 HEBREW YOUTHS
Have you considered the unwavering child-like trust of My three faithful Hebrew youths? When threatened with being cast into a blazing furnace, they replied, “Our God is able to deliver us from your fiery furnace, O king. But even if He chooses not to…even so, we will not bow down before your golden statue.”
PROOF OF GENUINE FAITH
My beloved child…although you greatly rejoice in your promised inheritance, it may be necessary for a season that you suffer various trials. I have allowed these to come so that your faith…far more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire…may be proved genuine, and thereby result in praise, glory and honor when My Divine Son Jesus is revealed.
Consider the occasion with an unclouded child-like carefree joy, My beloved, whenever you encounter various tests and trials! Be assured that this testing and proving of your faith is from My loving hand, and My purpose is to develop and perfect patient endurance in you.
SUFFERING IS MY WILL
Child of God, trust yourself completely to Me. Whenever you suffer adversity because it is My will for you, keep on doing what is right, and entrust your life to the God Who created you, for I will never fail you. I always keep My promises! I consider you favorably when you endure unjust suffering because you are conscious of My will. When you patiently endure suffering which results from doing what is right, it is well-pleasing to Me. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ My Son also suffered for you, leaving you His Personal example for you to follow in His footsteps.
UNWAVERING CHILD-LIKE TRUST
So don’t be disheartened…I will not allow tests and trials to touch your life other than what is common to all mankind. And I am faithful; I will not allow you to be tested beyond what you are able to endure. Whenever you are tested, I will also provide a way to overcome, so that you can stand up under it as more than a conqueror and with overwhelming victory!
No matter how deep your sadness and sorrow, no matter how intense your crying and pain, no matter how overwhelming your grief, your loneliness, your broken-heartedness…be still, and know that I AM GOD. I assure you, nothing can touch your life without My permission!
Fear not, My child, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you! When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you! When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze! You are precious and honored in My sight!
I shall cover you with My pinions, and under My wings shall you trust and find refuge. You will be safe in My care; My truth and My faithfulness will protect and defend you. Do not be afraid of any terror of the night, nor the dangers and sudden attacks during the day, nor of any dreaded diseases that stalk in darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
Don’t you yet understand? Your spiritual life cannot grow and mature by trying… only by crying out to Me, and trusting that I will hear your cry and satisfy your needs. Like a newborn baby crying in its thirst…crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up into full spiritual maturity, now that you have tasted the goodness and kindness of the Lord. [1 Peter 2:2-3; Ps 34:8]
PRAISE YOUR LOVE AND SOVEREIGNTY
Abba Father, thank You; in Your Presence, there is fullness of joy…joy unspeakable, and full of glory! I am like a sheltered olive tree flourishing in the house of my God; I will surely trust in, and rely upon, Your unfailing love, Father… forever and ever! I shall praise You forever for all You have done; You continually deliver me and keep me safe! I wait upon You with a sure hope, trusting in the goodness of Your Name!
I will praise You in the presence of the congregation! Henceforth, in the midst of the storms touching my life, I shall know that my Redeemer lives, and on that final Day He will reveal Himself on this Earth. And though my skin will be destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see my God; I myself will behold You with my own eyes…and not as a stranger! My heart pines away and is consumed with longing within me!
One thing I ask of You, Father; this is what I seek: that I may abide in the Holy of Holies…in the inaccessible Light of the Glory of Your unclouded Presence…all the days of my life, to behold Your delightfulness and to inquire in Your Temple. For in the day of trouble You keep me safe in the shelter of the Most High; You hide me in the secret place of Your Tabernacle, and make me secure upon a high rock! Hallelujah!
FAITH: THE ONLY WAY INTO MY PROMISED REST
My beloved child…without faith, it is impossible to please Me. Genuine Faith is the only means of entry into My Promised Rest. Even so, it is so simple a child can understand it. It is so simple, though, that only a child can embrace it and enter in.
Faith is the living out of your life in a manner that bears witness to the truth of what you say you believe; it is an action that bears witness to your…
- Unwavering child-like trust in Me;
- Unreserved child-like dependence upon Me;
- Unquestioning child-like obedience to do My will, and to accept My will.
No matter how fierce the storms raging in your life may be, the confirmation in your spirit that you have genuine faith will always be…
- Resting in Me with an unruffled child-like rest;
- Abiding in Me with an unclouded child-like carefree joy.
GENUINE FAITH ALWAYS TRIUMPHANT
Genuine faith is triumphant in its power to overcome all obstacles, all adversities.
There is an active power of faith that victoriously overcomes and conquerors by securing deliverance from the evil, when deliverance is in accordance with My will.
There is a passive power of faith that overcomes by persevering and enduring evil, even unto death, when deliverance is not My will.
FOUR STAGES OF FAITH: PHASE 1
My beloved child…there are four stages of faith you need to understand in order to finally attain to the perfected faith exhibited by My Divine Son Jesus which characterized His life on Earth.
The lowest level of faith…phase 1…is the faith that seeks your human nature’s preference. This is the “my will be done” phase.
When you are in the furnace of affliction, all you can think of is crying and moaning for Me to get you out of the fire.
There is nothing wrong with asking Me to remove a cup of suffering from you; My Divine Son Jesus did so, for several hours, in the Garden that night. What is wrong is that you are consumed with being “healed, restored, delivered, whatever;” you never get to the place as He did, “Not My will, but Thy will be done.”
As a result, you never cooperate with My will for you [it wasn’t healing]; you never embrace My plans and purposes for allowing you to be in the fire. You never become what I wanted you to become, nor do what I wanted you to do, nor learn what I intended for you to learn. You are simply stuck in Phase 1…whining, moaning, and complaining.
FOUR STAGES OF FAITH: PHASE 2
The second level of faith…Phase 2…is a determined resignation to do My will. This is the “grin and bear it” phase.
With a determined resignation, you acknowledge that if this is My will, you will bear it. Although you are immersed in intense suffering, you smile whenever in the presence of other Christians so as to appear “more spiritual”…but you are not smiling at all when alone; there is no joy.
FOUR STAGES OF FAITH: PHASE 3
The third level of faith…Phase 3…is a joyful acceptance of My will “in spite of” the suffering.
There is no connection, however, between the suffering and the joy; the two simply exist side by side. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet will I rejoice in the Lord; I will be joyful in God my Saviour…in spite of the adverse circumstances, events, and things touching my life.
FOUR STAGES OF FAITH: PHASE 4
The fourth level of faith…the highest and well-pleasing to Me, is Phase 4: a joyful acceptance of My will “because of” the suffering. My precious child…it is well-pleasing to Me when you have a joyful acceptance of My will though you are suffering.
Here is the highest level of response…a godly response to trials and suffering. There is joy because of the suffering. The joy is in knowing that I am working and accomplishing a special blessing through You, with you, and in you…through the suffering I have willed for you.
You understand, and fully embrace, that there is a direct connection between the suffering and the joy…a connection of cause and effect: because of this suffering that I have willed for you to experience [cause], you are filled with joy [effect]…a joyful expectation, an excited anticipation of the blessing I am working through you, with you, in you.
Your present suffering is the means through which you will receive a great blessing; in other words…no suffering, no blessing. You have fully embraced the truth that the particular blessing I have for you can only be appropriated through the particular suffering I have ordained for you.
THE JOY THAT WAS SET BEFORE HIM
My beloved child, you need to embrace the mind-set and heart-set of My Divine Son Jesus…for the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, heedless of its shame.
The joy that was set before Him was the great and special blessing that I had laid aside for Him, that He could only appropriate as His Own by patiently enduring the adversity that I allowed…the suffering of the cross.
What was it that enabled My Divine Son Jesus to endure the cross? It was His faith that enabled Him to endure. Have this same mind, then, in you that was in Christ Jesus My Son: For the joy set before Him…
the joy of seeing sinners saved;
the joy of reconciling sinners back to God;
the joy of restoring your relationship with God that had been severed by sin;
the joy of repairing that mirror of the Almighty that God intended for you to be, that had been shattered by sin…
He willingly endured the cross on your behalf with a joyful acceptance of the Father’s will [not just a determined resignation to do the Father’s will], heedless of its shame. [Heb 12:2]
BLESSING OF THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE
In the Garden that night, Christ My Son entreated Me, “Abba, Father, everything is possible for You. If it is possible, within the framework of Your plans, Your purposes, Your will, may this cup of suffering be taken from Me.”
He was being tempted by Satan to desire His Own will rather than the will of God: Since He Himself was tempted to desire His Own will rather than the will of God in that which He has suffered, He is thereby able to come to the aid of those who are likewise tempted. He wins the victory in Gethsemane over the self-will that characterizes human nature, and then, for the joy set before Him, He can endure the cross, despising its shame: Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, then not My will, but Thy will be done.
When My Son Jesus said, “Not My will, but Thy will be done,” these words were much more than a determined resignation [as in grit your teeth and bear it] or a joyful acceptance “in spite of” to do the will of God. It is a joyful acceptance ‘because of” the will of God, as the very best, very kindest, most loving thing that can possibly be…knowing that My Father purposes to make all things work together for My good.
NOT MY WILL BUT THY WILL BE DONE
My beloved child, these words “not my will, but Thy will be done” involve a change of preference…no longer a preference for your natural human desire, but a preference now for the will of God…whatever it is.
This change of preference is not something merely verbal, or just in your thoughts. It is a real change, in the heart, that can truly say before Me, and know that you actually mean it, “It no longer matters to me whether You take this cup of suffering from me or not…what matters to me is that You keep my heart lovingly and joyfully joined with Your will…whatever it is.”
Whatever the prospect of hardship or suffering, My Divine Son Jesus entrusted Himself to Me, His Father. My will was what He lived by and died by; it was all My Son Jesus ever considered.
HIGH CALLING OF FAITH
Abba Father, I understand…but this level of faith is too wonderful for me; it is high above me, I cannot attain to it. I need the Power of Your Holy Spirit to enable me to fully embrace this truth and to live out my everyday life in a manner that bears witness to this truth! For the joy of the great and special blessings You have set aside for me and are to be mine…that can only be appropriated by my patiently enduring the particular adversities You have allowed to touch my life…I willingly and gladly bear the suffering of my cross, heedless of its vexation.
Because of Your steadfast love for me, Father, I know there is nothing You would ask of me, to be for You or to do for You, to learn of You or just, perhaps, to suffer because it is part of Your plans, Your purposes, Your will for me…that would be unreasonable, or too much to ask. And so, it no longer matters to me where You place me, or how…whether in serious perplexity, or in positions of great difficulty, or in circumstances of great pressure and trial; whether You place me at all, or when; where You lead me to go, or what You show me to do. That is rather for You to consider than for me. For in the easiest position, still, You must give me Your grace, and in the most difficult, Your grace is more than sufficient. It is enough for me, knowing that You know why You place me where I am…whether to do, or to learn, or just, perhaps, to suffer. It no longer matters to me what I do or what I suffer. All that matters is that You keep my heart lovingly and joyfully joined with Your will. I know that if You place me in serious perplexity, You will give me much guidance; in positions of great difficulty, much grace; in circumstances of great pressure and trial, much strength. I have no concern that Your resources might prove to be unequal to the emergency…and Your resources are mine, for You are mine and are with me, and dwell in me, and have promised never, never, to leave me; never, ever to forsake me…assuredly not.
OUR LORD WILL TEST MY SURRENDER
Beloved child of God…is there really nothing I would ask of you that would be unreasonable, or too much to ask? Does it really no longer matter to you where I place you, or how? “Are you really willing to die for Me, Peter? I am telling you the truth: before the rooster crows twice you will say three times that you do not know Me.” [John 13:38]
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Arise My bride, and prepare to see My Face
Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.
Then the angel said to me, “Write this down: Blessed are those summoned to the marriage banquet of the Lamb…all true believers who are members of His Universal Church. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with Power and great Glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect…God’s holy people…from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” And he said to me further, “These are the True Words of God.” [Rev 19:9]
Blessed Jesus…I rejoice and shout triumphantly for joy! I celebrate and ascribe to You glory and honor, for the marriage of the Lamb draws near, and Your bride, the Universal Church and each of her members, has been preparing herself and has made herself ready! [Rev 19:7] Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! For our Lord God, Sovereign All-Ruler, reigns! Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him Glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. The finest linen, dazzling and white, was given her to wear. Then the angel said to me, “Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage banquet of the Lamb!” [John…Rev 19:6-9; Luke 14:15-23]
The washing of one’s robes and the keeping of one’s garments relates to this very attitude and habit of looking for the return of Christ as an imminent event. Brethren, as you hope to walk those golden streets, and eat of those immortal fruits, see to it that you have your garments clean and your loins girded about like unto men waiting for their Lord. [Seiss…Rev 21:9-22:5]
Then the king said to his servants, “The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.” So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding garment. “Friend,” he asked, “How did you come in here without putting on the appropriate wedding garment?” The man was speechless. Then the king told the attendants, “Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are invited and summoned, but few are chosen.” [Matt 22:8-14]
ENDURE TO THE END
Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will deprive you of your crown. Everyone who overcomes by means of their faith…I will make a pillar in the Sanctuary of My God. Never again will you leave it. I will write on you the name of My God and you will be a citizen in the city of My God…the new Jerusalem…which will come down out of Heaven from My God; I will also write on you My Own new name.
Holy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcx2O9WXvn8&feature=youtu.be
Preserve Christian Family 