Spiritual Confusion

[cmc]

Going Through Spiritual Confusion

"Jesus answered and said, 'You do not know what you ask' " (Matthew 20:22.)

There are times in your spiritual life when there is confusion, and the way out of it is not simply to say that you should not be confused. It is not a matter of right or wrong, but a matter of God taking you through a way that you temporarily do not understand. And it is only by going through the spiritual confusion that you will come to the understanding of what God wants for you.

The Shrouding of His Friendship ( see Luke 11:5-8.). Jesus gave the illustration here of a man who appears not to care for his friend. He was saying, in effect, that is how the heavenly Father will appear to you at times. You will think that He is an unkind Friend, but remember -- He is not. The time will come when everything will be explained. There seems to be a cloud on the friendship of the heart, and often even love itself has to wait in pain and tears for the blessing of fuller fellowship and oneness. When God appears to be completely shrouded, will you hang on with confidence in Him?

The Shadow on His Fatherhood ( see Luke 11:11-13 ). Jesus said that there are times when your Father will appear as if He were an unnatural father -- as if He were callous and indifferent -- but remember, He is not.
"Everyone who asks receives ...." ( Luke 11:10). If all you see is a shadow on the face of the Father right now, hang on to the fact that He will ultimately give you clear understanding and will fully justify Himself in everything that He as allowed into your life.

The Strangeness of His Faithfulness ( see Luke 18:1-8 ). "When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" ( Luke 18: 8 ). Will He find the kind of faith that counts on Him in spite of the confusion? Stand firm in faith, believing that what Jesus said is true, although in the meantime you do not understand what God is doing. He has bigger issues at stake than the particular things you are asking of HIm right now.

Oswald Chambers
My Utmost For His Highest

[cookconfay]

Thank you so much....I am soooo in the midst of confusion, exhaustion and at the end of my rope right now....

My 3 yr old, my xabf, my mom, on and on......
Last night at my single parenting class at church we were talking about God not giving us anything more than we can handle....sometimes that is a tough one to swallow.

[best]

Hope listed a verse in the bible verse thread...

I read this earlier and it gave me a feeling of acceptance of the things that happen around us...

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.Ephesians 2:10

The Lord is a lamp under my feet but I want to see a beacon that shines into the future at times. I do know that everything I have experienced in life, God can and will use to have me do what He has prepared in advance for me to do.
Trust and obey...one day at a time and the Lord will guide me to the place I need be at for His glory to shine.

[best]

Originally Posted by cookconfay

we were talking about God not giving us anything more than we can handle....sometimes that is a tough one to swallow.

Find yourself asking God.... um my name is Fay not Job. *LOL*

One thing about the community at SR, no matter how tough our life can get, we can always see examples of others who have been there and made it through to a place of rest from the storm of the moment. It isn't fun when in the storms of life but there is a comfort knowing we don't walk alone. Jesus is with us every step of the way.

[cmc]

These two parables told by Jesus punctuate the importance of faith plus the persistence of prayer. It's interesting to me that the Lord's Prayer is included in this chapter. Maybe some of my spiritual confusion is affected by my attitude to God and others.

Luke Chapter 11: 1-12 Jesus' Teaching on Prayer
1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."

2 He said to them, "When you pray, say: " 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.' "

5 Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.'

"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

11 "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Luke Chapter 18: 1-8 The Parable of the Persistent Widow
1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'

4 "For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' "

6 And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"