Some More Helpful Principles

... continuing from last post with some more juicy principles...


The next principle is...

"A straight line is not God's way."

     This section of the book, on not being discouraged when we fall, was the most encouraging and helpful section to me. It discusses the common experience of really loving the Lord and pursuing Him during a period of time, then inexplicably and involuntarily falling. But then being revived and pursing the Lord again and so on and so on. Though we may prefer a continuous and smooth pursuit of the Lord our entire life, God's thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways (Isa. 55:8-9). It is through these experiences of failures and falls that we discover and realize that we are not dependable or consistent. And it is through these difficult situations, though they may be contrary to our preference, that God is able to work Himself into us. Though this path may seem uncertain or shaky, we need to remember that we are in the Lord's hand. So regardless to how much our situation or experience of the Lord changes, the intention behind His hand never changes! God's hand upon us has a consistent purpose from beginning to end! This was such a revelation to me! It really shows me that my thoughts and preferences are not a match to God's ways and thoughts! But  we can ask the Lord to open our eyes to know His ways so that our thoughts may be adjusted!

Though we may want a straight path, this is not God's way.

Another principle is...

"God's riches can be experienced only by those who have been defeated."

     When I read this, all I could say was wow! This point is mentioned in relation to David's great sin and failure. Through his failure, David's spirit and heart were broken. (Psa. 51:16-17). Similarly, when we fail, we become broken. However, in God's eyes, this is truly precious. God's desire is that we experience Him and enjoy Him. But if we were to be whole, with no "hole" or entrance for God, how would He enter into us? God can only accomplish His goal through our experiences of repeated failures. But of course, this doesn't mean that we purposely fail just to say that we are helping God's goal. As mentioned in the last principle, we are in God's hand and He will allow us to fall according to His ways. So there is no need to seek out failure. However, what I really enjoyed from this point is that when we do encounter failures and falls, we can realize that this is another opportunity to really gain the Lord and to allow Him to gain more ground in our being. The more we follow the Lord, and experience Him in this way, the more we will known the sweetness and preciousness of our failures and see them as God sees them.

Only through failures can we be broken so that God has a way to enter into our being.

The last principle is...

"God's unique goal for His chosen ones is to enter into them and to mingle Himself with them."

     Finally we come to God's goal. This point is so awesome! This section mentions that man's usefulness and function in relation to God are connected to his capacity to be mingled with God! So what does it mean to be mingled with God? In Genesis 1:26 we see that man was created in God's image and according to His likeness. This gives man the capacity to be mingled with God. This mingling is of two natures, human and divine. This is likened to sugar and water. A dry cube of sugar wouldn't be the most desirous form to eat sugar in, but when mixed with water, it's flavor is released. Man's human nature is like the dry sugar cube and God's divine nature is like the water. When God is put into man, the full flavor of God is manifested! But this mingling is also two-sided. God became a man, lived on the earth, died on the cross, resurrected and ascended to become the life-giving Spirit so that God could enter man. God is in every believer who has received God's salvation, however, every believer is not also in God. The proper living of God in man and man in God expresses the mingling of the two natures. When such a living is seen by man, there is a sense of both human flavor and divine flavor. This is how man can bear the flavor and scent of God and Christ! (2 Cor. 2:15)

God in man and man in God is like the mingling of sugar in water.