Having read MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST for many years, there are a few teachings that have escaped by understanding. Try as I may I can't quite grasp some of Oswald Chamber's thoughts. So today, I am going to work on one called ALL OR NOTHING, dated April 17. It is based on the passage John 21:7 and reads: "When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment and plunged into the sea." And it goes on, "Have you ever had a crisis in your life in which you deliberately, earnestly, and recklessly abandoned everything? It is a crisis of the will. You may come to that many times externally, but it will amount to nothing. The true crisis of abandonment or total surrender is reached internally, not externally. The giving up of only external things may actually be an indication of your being in total bondage."
I want to take a moment and take the above words and try to make sense of them to me and maybe to you.Simon's putting on his clothes before jumping in the water to go see the Lord is an outer attempt to cover Simon's despair at being left alone by the death of Jesus to do the work Jesus asked of his disciples before his crucifixion. He had given up without Jesus. He had decided he would just go fishing, and all the rest of the disciples followed. Do you think that is what Jesus wanted? No. I don't think so. But Simon and the rest of the men were crisis burned. So they went fishing.
But, Jesus intended to help them through their crisis, simply because they had not yet learned to tackle the problem crisis internally. Now, what does that mean? I can only make a guess, but if Simon Peter had only said to himself and the other disciples, "Look! Jesus promised He would not leave us alone. So we must trust that He will send us the Holy Spirit. We must not give up and go fishing as if our hearts are broken. We must trust!" Trusting is an internal decision. Leaving to go fishing is an external decision. If they had not reached the crucial point in their experience they may never have gotten through the disappointment of being left without Christ's guidance.
We have a seriously sick doggie,by the way. Today Max is back at the vet's to get a treatment which
adds water to and through the pancreas. (At least that is my understanding!) We are to return at 2:00. The past weekend has been awful. His poor system demanded being fed with watered down food, which has caused serious mess throughout the house by morning. So for the past few days, we have not only worried about our pooch, but have had to clean him up,as well as his mess for the past two days! Or has it been three?
Now, what do we do regarding the possible death of our Max? Do we determine that he will outlive whatever procedures he is given? Do we determine it is doubtful he will survive these treatments? Or do we trust in God that He knows what needs to be done and in what order. We can trust God to know when it is the right time for a 13yr. old Pomeranian to go home to doggie heaven. And we can trust God to give us the strength and determination to continue whatever regime is necessary for his life to continue with us. We trust in God. Thanks be to God.
Keep with us for further developments, and stay in prayer for our right choices,
Jo INMN
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