Saturday, November 30, 2019

Orange Moon Cafe Part 2 - Quiet Glory

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe



"IS"

Part 2 - Quiet Glory



    Regarding the "IS" of God, we are challenged by the fact that it often belies our expectations and inclinations.

    "Surely the Lord is in this place and I knew it not" Genesis 28:10).
    "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are you ways My ways" (Isaiah 55:8).

    Born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ must accustom ourselves to expecting the unexpected working of God in our lives, the lives of others, and the world.  Our Savior, the risen Christ and King of kings, still frequently manifests Himself in ways that limit the full revelation of His power and glory.  "My strength is made perfect in weakness" (II Corinthians 12:9).  Indeed, size, noise, and exhilaration often denote human or even devilish activity, as opposed to the working of the Divine heart and hand.  As in days of old, "a still, small voice" may confirm the presence and power of God, as opposed to "wind… earthquake… and fire" (I Kings 19:11-12).  Failure to realize this clearly revealed Biblical truth can hinder the realization of our Lord's working as He acts according to His thoughts and ways.  

    Such working may also run counter to the desires of our flesh, which "lusteth against the Spirit" (Galatians 5:17).  Our spiritual enemies tempt us to desire God on our terms (or their terms) rather than His determination and design.  Israel, in proper response of waiting on the promised Messiah, rejected Him when He appeared because a manger, servanthood, and a cross characterized the Lord's first coming rather than a slashing and piercing sword of deliverance.  The same challenge sometimes confronts our inclinations regarding God's working in our lives.  He may answer our prayers and fulfill our expectations of faith in ways that greatly discomfit our human sensibilities.  The often missed truth of the Apostle Paul's thorn in the flesh is that it likely resulted from his prayer that the Rose of Sharon would be greatly revealed and beautified in his life (II Corinthians 12:7; Song of Solomon 2:1).  This led to more prayer for the thorn's removal, and God's response that the thorn must remain.  No prick of the thorn, no presentation of the Rose.  Paul learned - as we must - that in our present earthly lives, God's glory often challenges the comfort of our flesh, even as it fills and fulfills the hearts of those who trust Him.  "Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day" (II Corinthians 4:16).  

   God's "IS" often stands in stark contrast and challenge to our expectations and inclinations.  We must therefore "walk by faith, not by sight" (II Corinthians 5:7).  We must be "spiritually minded" rather than "carnally minded" (Romans 8:6).  Great adventure awaits us along the everyday paths of life wherein we expect the unexpected and uncomfortable "IS" of God.  We will thereby find Him in unlikely venues wherein the presently quiet glory of the Lord Jesus fills and thrills our hearts no less - and sometimes more - than obvious manifestations of His power and glory.

"He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him."
(Isaiah 53:2)

Weekly Memory Verse
   In Him we live and move and have our being.
(Acts 17:28)
















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