January 27th. Oswald Chambers My Utmost.
LOOK AGAIN AND THINK
"Take no thought for your life." Matthew 6:25
A warning which needs to be reiterated is that the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in, will choke all that God puts in. We are never free from the recurring tides of this encroachment. If it does not come on the line of clothes and food, it will come on the line of money or lack of money; of friends or lack of friends; or on the line of difficult circumstances. It is one steady encroachment all the time, and unless we allow the Spirit of God to raise up the standard against it, these things will come in like a flood.
"Take no thought for your life." "Be careful about one thing only," says our Lord - "your relationship to Me." Common sense shouts loud and says - "That is absurd, I must consider how I am going to live, I must consider what I am going to eat and drink." Jesus says you must not. Beware of allowing the thought that this statement is made by One Who does not understand our particular circumstances. Jesus Christ knows our circumstances better than we do, and He says we must not think about these things so as to make them the one concern of our life. Whenever there is competition, be sure that you put your relationship to God first.
"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." How much evil has begun to threaten you to-day? What kind of mean little imps have been looking in and saying - Now what are you going to do next month - this summer? "Be anxious for nothing," Jesus says. Look again and think. Keep your mind on the "much more" of your heavenly Father.
We all long for happiness. We make it our lifes quest to search for it. But the Christian life is a paradox. Many times we place God to fit our lives and plans and not the other way around... not knowing that the key to true happiness... the key to eternal joy is make God the sole object of desire and passion. In this case ignorance is bliss, and obsessing over Him will lead us to that which we all seek. Happiness. In my case, the more I have, the more I want... the more I'm given the more anxiety and stress enter my life. And sometimes these things come masquerading as noble intentions. For me, the desire to provide for my family, to give them the comforts of life... and NOT greed or personal gain in stature becomes a motive. But like all things it becomes an encroachment that deters intimacy from Him. As Christ states those who follow Him but do not hate their father and mother, wife and kids, cannot be a disciple. Such a sacrifice... such a calulated loss. Yet the paradox is that those who truely do, find true joy for themselves as well as their own family. I realize that the longer we live without revelation... the longer we grind in the rat race of life without truth, the harder it is to let go and be purged of the anxiety, stress, and fear that follow.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
