Individual Discouragement and Personal Growth

Moses saw the oppression of his people and felt certain that he was the one to deliver them, and in the righteous indignation of his own spirit he started to right their wrongs. After he launched his first strike for God and for what was right, God allowed Moses to be driven into empty discouragement, sending him into the desert to feed sheep for forty years. At the end of that time, God appeared to Moses and said to him "'...bring My people...out of Egypt.' But Moses said to God, 'Who am I that I should go...?'" (Exodus 3:10-11) In the beginning Moses had realized that he was the one to deliver the people, but he had to be trained and disciplined by God first. He was right in his individual perspective, but he was not the person for the work until he had learned true fellowship and oneness with God.
We may have the vision of God and a very clear understanding of what God wants, and yet when we start to do it, there comes to us something equivalent to Moses' forty years in the wilderness. It's as if God had ignored the entire thing, and when we are thoroughly discouraged, God comes back and revives His call to us. and then we begin to tremble and say, "Whom am I that I should go...?" We must learn that God's great stride is summed up in these words--"I AM WHO I AM...has sent me to you" (Exodus 3:14) We must also learn that our individual effort for God shows nothing but disrespect for Him--our individuality is to be rendered radiant through a personal relationship with God, so that He may be "well pleased" (Matthew 3:17) We are focused on the right individual perspective of things; we have the vision and can say, "I know this is what God wants me to do." But we have not yet learned to get into God's stride. If you are going through a time of discouragement, there is a time of great personal growth ahead.

taken from My Utmost for His Highest Oct. 15

Going Through Spiritual Confusion

"Jesus answered and said, 'you do not know what you ask.'" -Matthew 20:22

There are times in your spiritual life when there is confusion, and the way out of it is not simply to say that you should not be confused. It is not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of God taking you through a way that you temporarily do not understand. And it is only by going through the spiritual confusion that you will come to the understanding of what God wants for you.
The Shrouding of His Friendship (see Luke 11:5-8). Jesus gave the illustration here of a man who appears not to care for his friend. He was saying, in effect, that is how the heavenly Father will appear to you at times. You will think that He is an unkind friend, but remember--He is not. The time will come when everything will be explained. There seems to be 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 fellowship and oneness. When God appears to be completely shrouded, will you hang on with confidence in Him?
The Shadow on His Fatherhood (see Luke 11:11-13). Jesus said that 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. "Everyone who asks receives..." (Luke 11:10). If all you see is a shadow on the face of the Father right now, hang on to the fact that He will ultimately give you clear understanding and will fully justify Himself in everything that He has allowed into your life.
The Strangeness of His Faithfulness (see Luke 18:1-8). "When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8). Will He find the kind of faith that counts on Him in spite of the confusion? Stand firm in faith, believing that what Jesus said is true, although in the meantime you do not understand what God is doing. He often has bigger issues at stake than the particular things you are asking of Him right now.

taken from My Utmost for His Highest, Sept. 12

Ten little monkeys...

I ran across this poem early this evening. Monica and I (with some help from Greg) made it up a few years ago. It's silly, but I hope it gives you a laugh!

There's ten little monkeys
That's quite the gentlemen
But one helped the wrong person
And there went monkey ten

They went into a restaurant
'Cause it was time to dine
One ate too much sushi
And there went monkey nine

Mama bought a tiger
And forgot to buy it's mate
The tiger then got angry
And there went monkey eight

Mama baked some bread
Forgot to add the leaven
The little monkeys ate it
And there went monkey seven

Monkeys got a magic book
And tried to do some tricks
One caused himself to vanish
And there went monkey six

The monkeys all grew up
Mama taught them how to drive
But they crashed into a semi
And there went monkey five

The monkeys tried some back flips
They got a little sore
One was too ambitious
And there went monkey four

The monkeys all went to the beach
But they had to pay a fee
They forgot the checkbook
So there went monkey three

A single pair of monkeys
Visited the zoo
One was confiscated
And there went monkey two

A solitary monkey
Tried to lift a ton
He only got it started
Alas poor monkey one...