The Antidote of Awareness
Several weeks ago I picked up a book that has been on my bookshelf for quite some time and has remained unread (until now). The title of the book is "A Passion for Fullness" by Jack Hayford. As I began to flip through this book the following arrested me and has not let me go since:
"The greatest monster threatening abounding fruitfulness in my life...isn't lust, greed, conceit, or error; it's the unperceived smugness that drugs the soul with the notion that our boundaries of understanding God are the boundaries of His readiness to reveal Himself to us...He isn't asking us if we think we know everything...He's asking how much are we willing to receive of Him-of the newness of His Spirit today!"
As I read that I was acutely aware that over the past several years my smugness wasn't only unperceived but it was obnoxiously apparent. I had somehow decided that I needed to be the authority on everything and in the process lost my pathway to His presence.
I had boxed God in and decided that He didn't need to move anymore that I needed Him too. The problem is that God does not respect my boxes and as a matter of fact the last time He was in a box if you touched it you would die.
The good news is that if you were or are like me there is an antidote that carries the cure for a smug soul. It is the antidote of awareness that freed my soul and opened my eyes to see and taste that the Lord is still always good!
As I was praying one day God showed me an inner picture that helped me. It was a picture of a series of two inner chambers that were separated by a door. The door was prayer and as the door was open there was a continual flow of the glory of God from God to me and back to Him. The Glory was symbolized as a golden river that flowed continually as the door remained opened. The door (prayer) was propped open by a door stop which the Father showed me was awareness.
It is the awareness that awakens my heart and allows me to see and hear what the Father is saying and doing. A.W Tozer defined it this way "A habitual conscious communion" with God.
I do not have to strive or work my way into His presence I can just go and so can you. In Ephesians 3:12 Paul tells us that it is our faith that gives us access to the Father with freedom and without fear.
So won't you join me today and ask the Father to reveal Himself? He is ready, willing, and able to provide you with an antidote for your smug soul (if you need it). He is drawing you into a place of surrender so that He can gather you close and whisper the mysteries of His heart to you if you will just look and listen.
Forever ruined by the Father's Love,
Jim and Christie Wilbur
"The greatest monster threatening abounding fruitfulness in my life...isn't lust, greed, conceit, or error; it's the unperceived smugness that drugs the soul with the notion that our boundaries of understanding God are the boundaries of His readiness to reveal Himself to us...He isn't asking us if we think we know everything...He's asking how much are we willing to receive of Him-of the newness of His Spirit today!"
As I read that I was acutely aware that over the past several years my smugness wasn't only unperceived but it was obnoxiously apparent. I had somehow decided that I needed to be the authority on everything and in the process lost my pathway to His presence.
I had boxed God in and decided that He didn't need to move anymore that I needed Him too. The problem is that God does not respect my boxes and as a matter of fact the last time He was in a box if you touched it you would die.
The good news is that if you were or are like me there is an antidote that carries the cure for a smug soul. It is the antidote of awareness that freed my soul and opened my eyes to see and taste that the Lord is still always good!
As I was praying one day God showed me an inner picture that helped me. It was a picture of a series of two inner chambers that were separated by a door. The door was prayer and as the door was open there was a continual flow of the glory of God from God to me and back to Him. The Glory was symbolized as a golden river that flowed continually as the door remained opened. The door (prayer) was propped open by a door stop which the Father showed me was awareness.
It is the awareness that awakens my heart and allows me to see and hear what the Father is saying and doing. A.W Tozer defined it this way "A habitual conscious communion" with God.
I do not have to strive or work my way into His presence I can just go and so can you. In Ephesians 3:12 Paul tells us that it is our faith that gives us access to the Father with freedom and without fear.
So won't you join me today and ask the Father to reveal Himself? He is ready, willing, and able to provide you with an antidote for your smug soul (if you need it). He is drawing you into a place of surrender so that He can gather you close and whisper the mysteries of His heart to you if you will just look and listen.
Forever ruined by the Father's Love,
Jim and Christie Wilbur
posted by Jim and Christie Wilbur at
11:19 AM
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