My Utmost for His Highest - April 4th - Those Borders of Distrust

Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. - John 16:32

     Jesus is not rebuking the disciples, their faith was real, but it was disturbed; it was not at work in actual things. The disciples were scattered to their own interests, alive to interests that never were in Jesus Christ. After we have been perfectly related to God in sanctification, our faith has to be worked out in actualities. We shall be scattered, not into work, but into inner desolations and made to know what internal death to God's blessings means. Are we prepared for this? It is not that we choose it, but that God engineers our circumstances so that we are brought there. Until we have been through that experience, our faith is bolstered up by feelings and by blessings. When once we get there, no matter where God places us or what the inner desolations are, we can praise God that all is well. That is faith being worked out in actualities.

 
     "...and shall leave Me alone." Have we left Jesus alone by the scattering of His providence? Because we do not see God in our circumstances? Darkness comes by the sovereignty of God. Are we prepared to let God do as He likes with us--prepared to be separated from conscious blessings? Until Jesus Christ is Lord, we all have ends of our own to serve; our faith is real, but is not permanent yet. God is never in a hurry; if we wait, we shall see that God is pointing out that we have not been interested in Himself but only in His blessings. The sense of God's blessing is elemental.

 
     "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)" Spiritual gift is what we need.

Oswald Chambers - From My Utmost for His Highest Classic Edition

- Underlines and highlights are courtesy of Mom from her Print Edition

My thoughts

- "inner desolations" - a lonely condition or place

- "internal death to God's blessings" - am I with Christ because of His blessings? Jesus was scattered to his own, to be alone, and yet what mattered was the Father in Him. Am I content with being in Christ or am I too focused on His providence?