The Cushion of the Sea

I read the following on a friend's blog.....What a wonderful analogy!

There is a part of the sea knows as "the cushion of the sea." It lies beneath the surface that is agitated by storms and churned by the wind. It is so deep that it is a part of the sea that is never stirred. When the ocean floor in these deep places is dredged of the remains of plant or animal life, it reveals evidence of having remained completely undisturbed for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

The peace of God is an eternal calm like the cushion of the sea. It lies so deeply within the human heart that no external difficulty or disturbance can reach it. And anyone who enters the presence of God becomes a partaker of that undisturbed and undisturbable calm. 

~ Arthur Tappan Pierson

Not a Bit of It!

"How are we going to get the life that has no lust, no self-interest, no sensitiveness to pokes, the love that is not provoked, that thinketh no evil, that is always kind? The only way is by allowing not a bit of the old life to be left; but only simple perfect trust in God, such trust that we no longer want God's blessings, but only want Himself. Have we come to the place where God can withdraw His blessings and it does not affect our trust in Him? When once we see God at work, we will never bother our heads about things that happen, because we are actually trusting in our Father in Heaven Whom the world cannot see." ~ Oswald Chambers

In my time this morning, I was captured by the above section of My Utmost for His Highest, especially the bolded part.  Have I come to a point where my trust in Christ is such that it is not contingent on my circumstances?  Do I believe that He is good, even when my circumstances may seem otherwise?  When I'm overwhelmed with all that is not good in my life or others' lives, do I still trust?  Is my desire to know Him so strong that I no longer want what He gives me, I merely want Him?  These thoughts and questions ran through my mind this morning and have yet to leave me 2 hours later.  My heart's cry is that I could say yes to each of these questions.  Yes Lord, you are enough for me.  Yes Lord, my only desire is You, do in my life what you please.  But I'm afraid that the fleshly part of me that Chambers refers to when he says, "Not a bit of it!" still wreaks havic on my soul.  Oh Lord that I would be able to set aside this part of me.  Draw my heart to You until not a bit of it remains in me!

The Rush of 1911?

Today I was reading my daily dose of My Utmost for His Highest. God has taught me so much through the life of Oswald Chambers and even though I've read this book through several times, I see new truths each time. Today I was reading The Unheeded Secret. In it he says the following:
"We have to get rid of the plauge of the spirit of the religious age in which we live. In Our Lord's life there was none of the press and rush of tremendous activity that we regard so highly, and the disciple is to be as His Master."
I'd never thought before about when this was actually written. I've read this and agreed with it for today's day and age, but I've recently read a biography of Chambers. He lived from 1874 to 1917. And due to a reference he makes further along in this entry to the Bible Training College, we can know that he wrote this between 1911 and 1915 (he founded and taught at this school before it was closed down due to WW1). This made me take a second look at the above quote. He references the "press and rush of tremendous activity" and yet that was in 1915! My Pappa was born in 1915. I, as well as most people I'm sure, would safely say that the "rush of tremendous activity" of 1915 doesn't hold a candle to what we have today! If Chambers was making a point then, how much more necessary is his point in our day and age?

I'm reminded of our Lord taking time out to pray. He went to the top of a mountain and spent extended time with His Father. If Christ needed that, how much more do we!?! In the past couple of years, God has layed the topic of prayer very firmly on my heart. I'm reminded of that again. I've always wanted to go on a 48-hour silent prayer retreat. Maybe THAT'S the treat I should give myself for my 30th birthday. There's no better way to celebrate than with my Father.