Have you ever walked in the snow at night? Or just before dawn? I did just that this morning and it was beautiful! With a dim light coming from the barn roof lamp, the snow sparkled like diamonds around my feet. As I shuffled along in my boots, I kicked up clouds of what seemed to be precious jewel dust and watched it fall silently to the ground to sparkle once more. The silence outdoors just before dawn is welcoming to my ears. It is in these times I can hear the voice of God speak so clearly.
Even yesterday, as I plodded to the barn for early morning chores, the Lord got my attention once again in the snow. It was a continuation of sorts from earlier in the morning as He showed me a bit more about His grace. With each step, God brought to my spirit how we must learn to walk in His grace. It should be effortless and with a quiet confidence in the completeness of His gift in Christ. But we tend to make things far more difficult than they really are, turning our love walk into a man-pleasing arena of works.
I thought about a friend of mine who shared recently how she was struggling in her faith. She has grown tired of the mundane routine of 'church' and longs for intimacy with Jesus. She cannot seem to find the real Jesus in church, only organizational meeting places where her loyalty to the Lord is measured by the amount of service to a ministry. Her words echoed a philosophy of works teaching that has been handed down to her for years, which she took as truth. Only now, she finds an emptiness and lack of depth that is unsettling to her spirit. As she waits on the Lord, she said she thought she was doing everything right: praying, sending offerings to churches she doesn't attend, supporting various local ministries, even giving of her time for some very good causes. As she poured our her heart and frustration, I sensed the Lord prompting me to give her a gentle reminder of the simplicity of the Gospel.
His words were to tell my friend that nothing can ever gained by doing things for the Lord. In fact, when we attempt to gain His favour by performance - even while doing good things - we have failed Christ. The only way we can come to Jesus is with the death of ourselves. There is nothing we can do to earn the favour of God. We cannot gain understanding or acceptance if we are still trying to come to Him in our own ability. While we talked, I shared some words of Oswald Chambers as they came to mind. "Beware of anything that competes with loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service for Him. It is easier to serve than to be drunk to the dregs. The one aim of the call of God is the satisfaction of God, not a call to do something for Him."
Isn't it strange to our earthly ears when we hear the things of God as total opposites of man? I recall hearing a minister once say Christianity was the only 'religion' that says, "in order to really live, you first have to die" That statement has stuck with me a long time. During my snow walk, I was also reminded of a devotional entry in My Utmost for His Highest:
DO YOU WALK IN WHITE? "Buried with Him ... that ... even so we also should walk in newness of life." Romans 6:4. One enters into the experience of entire sanctification without going through a "white funeral" - the burial of the old life. If there has never been this crisis of death, sanctification is nothing more than a vision. There must be a "white funeral," - a death that has only one resurrection - a resurrection into the life of Jesus Christ. Nothing can upset such a life, it is one with God for one purpose, to be a witness to Him.Have you come to your last days really? You have come to them often in sentiment, but have you come to them really? You cannot go to your funeral in excitement, or die in excitement. Death means you stop being. Do you agree with God that you stop being the striving,earnest kind of Christian you have been? We skirt the cemetery and all the time refuse to go to death. It is not striving to go to death, it is dying - "baptized into His death."Have you had your "white funeral," or are you sacredly playing the fool with your soul? Is there a place in your life marked as the last day, a place to which the memory goes back with a chastened and extraordinarily grateful remembrance - "Yes, it was then, at that 'white funeral,' that I made an agreement with God.""This is the will of God, even your sanctification." When you realize what the will of God is, you will enter into sanctification as naturally as can be. Are you willing to go through that "white funeral" now? Do you agree with Him that this is your last day on earth? The moment of agreement depends upon you."
My precious Lord, help me to walk in Your grace and in the new life You have given to me. Continually guide my steps as I walk in Your perfect will for my life. Renew me this day in my pursuit of Your best, of knowing you intimately, personally and eternally. Show me, Lord, the things that distract me from Your presence and from doing Your will. Give me the strength to release those things which delay me from reaching You. Thank you Jesus, for your precious gift of grace! Help me never to take You for granted, lovingly walking in Your ways, Your light and Your will. I want to walk in white, in Your grace and in Your completeness. I love you, Jesus!
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