AFTER OBEDIENCE--What?

Yesterday morning, in the prayer room before Church services, one of the men shared this scripture with us :

"Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." Hebrews 10:35-36

Then this morning, during our prayer and Bible study, we read the following in My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers

"And straightway He constrained His disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side....." Mark 6:45-52

"We are apt to imagine that if Jesus Christ constrains us, and we obey Him, He will lead us to great success. We must never put our dreams of success as God's purpose for us; His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have an idea that God is leading us to a particular end, a desired goal; He is not. The question of getting to a particular end is a mere incident. What we call the process, God calls the end.

What is my dream of God's purpose? His purpose is that I depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay in the middle of the turmoil calm and unperplexed, that is the end of the purpose of God. God is not working towards a particular finish; His end is the process--that I see Him walking on the waves, no shore in sight, no success, no goal, just the absolute certainty that it is all right because I see Him walking on the sea. It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God.

God's training is for now, not presently. His purpose is for this minute, not for something in the future. We have nothing to do with the afterwards of obedience, we get wrong when we think of the afterwards. What men call training and preparation, God calls the end.

God's end is to enable me to see that He can walk on the chaos of my life just now. If we have a further end in view, we do not pay sufficient attention to the immediate present: if we realize that obedience is the end, then each moment as it comes is precious."

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I never cease to be amazed at how God puts just the right scripture and word before me when I need them. As Mickey & I walk out God's plans and purposes, with the heart issue, He has been so gracious to remind us, once again, to Keep our eyes fixed on HIM and let HIM work out His plans and purposes which He has known all along. To not "cast away our confidence" in the one who holds us in the palm of His hand.

If you do not know this wonderful Jesus as your PERSONAL Savior I beg of you to seek Him now. I cannot imagine living this life without HIM and He grows dearer with each passing day. I so want you to experience and know the joy He, and He alone, brings. I invite you to read my Personal Testimony on my side bar.