Dependent On God’s Presence

July 20 Daily Devotional

Dependent On God’s Presence They that wait upon the Lord…shall walk, and not faint.  Isaiah 40:31 There is no thrill in walking; it is the test of all the stable qualities. To “walk and not faint” is the highest reach possible for strength. The word “walk” is used in the Bible to express the character — John, “looking upon Jesus as He walked, said, Behold the Lamb of God!” There is never any thing abstract in the Bible, it is always vivid and real. God does not say — “Be spiritual,” but — “Walk before Me.” When we are in an unhealthy state physically or emotionally, we always want thrills. In the physical domain this will lead to counterfeiting the Holy Ghost; in the emotional life it leads to inordinate affection and the destruction of morality; and in the spiritual domain if we insist on getting thrills, on mounting up with wings, it will end in the destruction of spirituality. The reality of God’s presence is not dependent on any place, but only dependent upon the determination to set the Lord always before us. Our problems come when we refuse to bank on the reality of His presence. The experience the Psalmist speaks of — “Therefore will we not fear, though.…” will be ours when once we are based on Reality; not the consciousness of God’s presence but the reality of it — “Why, He has been here all the time.” At critical moments it is necessary to ask guidance, but it ought to be unnecessary to be saying always — “O Lord, direct me here, and there.” Of course He will! If our commonsense decisions are not His order, He will press through them and check; then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His presence. From My Utmost for His Highest Classic Edition Bible in One Year: Psalms 26-28; Acts 22

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS It is an easy thing to argue from precedent because it makes everything simple, but it is a risky thing to do. Give God “elbow room”; let Him come into His universe as He pleases. If we confine God in His working to religious people or to certain ways, we place ourselves on an equality with God. from Baffled to Fight Better, 51 L

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My Utmost for His Highest © 1992 by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. Original edition © 1935 by Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc. Copyright renewed 1963 by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. All rights reserved. United States publication rights are held by Discovery House, which is affiliated with Our Daily Bread Ministries. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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