Rusyinni's Library

Seeking the Face of God

Copyright 1994, Gary L. Thomas

Published by harvest House Publishers

It took me some time to tune in to the frequency of this book, especially after a long time being fed with the ‘rubbish’ of the world (youtubes, facebook, etc.) Hence, it’s not until the 3^rd or 4^th chapter that I began to glean the insights of the book. It’s always amazing how God is speaking to me prior to the book, and somehow He will place a book in my hands that touched on the same topics as those He has been speaking in the season. Sharing some ‘gems’ as I discovered them here. So much soul searching, so much truth...

CHAPTER 4: HOLINESS OF THE HEART

Avoiding Sin & Temptation

Pg. 74, Consistent Climbing

One of the dangers of talking about holiness  is that some of the more zealous among us will overdo it… Fenelon gave a warning worth heeding:

Most people, when they wish to be converted or reformed, expect to fill their lives with especially difficult and unusual acts, far more than to purify their intentions, and to mortify their natural inclinations in the most usual acts of their condition. In this they often badly deceive themselves. It would be much more valuable for them to change their actions less, and to change more rather than the disposition which makes them act. When one is already leading an honest and regulated life, it is far more important, in order to become a trust Christian, to change the within rather than the without.

We are far better off keeping a constant and steady vigilance in the small things, rather than trying to prove heroic in the big things. Holiness is not something obtained between Tuesday and Wednesday, but rather the fruit of a life lived consistently and thoughtfully over the course of years and decades. “A continual and moderate sobriety is preferable to violent abstinences, practiced occasionally, and mingled with great relaxation. A moderate use of discipline awakens the appetite of devotion, “ Francis de Sales wrote.

CHAPTER 6: CULTIVATING THE QUIET

Simplicity

Pg. 105 Our Game of Hide-and-Seek

The sin many of us fall into is not that we shake our fists at God and defy Him to His face; that is the sin of unbelievers. Our sin is that we passively rebel against God, filling our lives with so much noise and busyness that God's voice cannot, or will not penetrate.

Cultivating the quiet is a painful experience when we are addicted to noise, excitement and occupation. Opening the door to spiritual quiet can also open the door to spiritual fear and loneliness. It takes a great amount of courage to face God.

According to Pascal, we’re often afraid that if we start to slow down, the truth of our deeply felt misery will assail us … so we force ourselves to live at breackneck speed with maximum noise so we will be too numb or too busy to notice the pain.

Pg. 108, The Reasons We Hide from God

When we get too close to God, the supernatural agitation in our hearts reminds us that we are dealing with Aslan, the fierce and regal lion who, as Lucy found out in C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, is anything but a tamed lion. We cannot control God; and what we can’t control, we often fear and therefore avoid.

We are spiritually fearful people, and alone before God, we stand naked and vulnerable. We won’t be able to pretend anymore; before God, we will have the choice to obey or to disobey, but pretending will no longer be an option.

Others of us may hide because we fear the test of faith. We suspect that when we get down on our knees, instead of being met by an overwhelming sense of God’s presence we’ll face a seemingly eternal void, a loud nothingness that chills our faith and tempts us to doubt. We don’t want our faith to be proven false, so we never prove it at all.

Pg. 111, A Bridled Tongue

One of the most practical ways to enter into the quiet is to be quiet. A wagging tongue is proof on an overly busy mind. Ignatius wrote, “Idle words are not to be spoken, by which I mean whatever does not profit me or anyone else, or whatever is not ordained to the end.”

 

CHAPTER 7: THE HIGH AND THE LOW

A Double Sided Humility

Pg .126 – Spiritual Cosmetology

When we marshal our energy to protect our glittering image and false piety, we rob resources that could be used to address the parts of our lives about which we are ashamed. When we are ashamed about where we are spiritually, we have 2 choices: we can create a false front and a glittering image (the spiritual-cosmetology approach) or we can be honest before God, ourselves, and others about our weakness and allow transformation to occur. We will not have the energy or resources to do both; we must choose one or the other.

Galatians 1:10 says that if our motivation is the approval of others, we cannot at the same time be growing in Christ and dedicated to His service. William Law added, “He that acts upon the desire of praise and applause must part with every other principle; he must say black is white, put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter, and do the meanest, basest things in order to be applauded.”

When we live a lie we eventually lose touch with reality, and our own words condemn us. Our lives become a sideshow and we fail to become whole and integrated people. Spiritual cosmetology is a circus act, an act that has no place in the Christian life.

Pg. 133

In the same way, it’s easy for a man or woman to be proud of their own holiness or character until they catch a glimpse of God’s holiness. Once we see what could be, humility is as natural a reaction as is squinting our eyes to block out the glare of the sun. The light is so brilliant we can’t take it at full force.

Fenelon said we can use any human measurement we want to reveal our humble state, but such reasoning “only skims the heart. It does not sink in”. Only a direct encounter with God shakes the depths of our being. “if the ray of the divine light shines within, he sees the abyss of nothingness and evil with is the corrupted reature.”

This work of humility needs to be an ongoing reality in our lives.

John Owen’s second step in the stages of moral decline and decay is losing reverence for God. I need to be in awe of God today. If I ever become too familiar wit God, if I ever lose that profound reverence that leaves me standing silent in fascination and wonder, pride and sin will be waiting to claim my soul.

CHAPTER 10: SPIRITUAL GLUTTONY

Spiritual Feelings

Pg. 186

Another danger of ongoing spiritual euphoria is that we become spiritually proud. John of the Cross warned that a “certain kind of pride is generated in us when the feelings remain intense. We “develop a desire somewhat vain – at times very vain – to speak of spiritual things in others’ presence, and sometimes even to instruct rather than be instructed.” Some of us can become so “evil-minded” that we do not want anyone except ourselves to appear holy, so by both word and deed we “condemn and detract others whenever the occasion arrives”.

Pg. 195 Sensual Christians

… the rising and falling of spiritual feelings can also be related to our spiritual temperaments. Some of us are primarily motivated by intellectualism, others by activism, and still others by sensual stimulation.

We are most vulnerable to whatever feeds us, and some of us, by temperament, are fed more by sensual feelings than others. We can even become addicted to the feelings ,and thus think we need them. When they are withdrawn, we immediately lapse into sin.

Pg. 196 A new depth

Once we’ve passed through the purgation (and this is often a cyclical process), we experience a new depth in which we live by faith, not feeling.

When we live by faith and not by feelings, when we persevere no matter how dry we feel, Teresa of Avila said, we show we are mong those souls who “would want the Lord to see that the do not serve Him for pay”. That is, we want the Lord to see that we will serve Him regardless of whether it gives us pleasure or pain. We will serve Him because He is God and Lord and because He has captured our hearts and our wills.”

Having passed through the desert, we are not so easily shaken. Strong feelings no longer moves us. We may still enjoy them, but they do not overwhelm us, they do not direct us. We have learned to submit our will to God, to be moved by truth and His Spirit.

CHAPTER 11: SEASONS OF THE SOUL

Pg. 212

Francis de Sales was a master spiritual director, so people often confided in him. One woman, Madame Brulart, desperately sought after the “Christian perfection” being talked about in her day, but Francis gently reminded her that perfections “vary according to the diversity of vocations”. Francis further warned Madame Brulart not to alienate her husband or her family due to excessive devotions. “Not only should you be devout yourself and love piety, “ he wrote, “but you should make it lovable to others.”

Another woman, Jeanne Chantal, longed to become a nun so she could devote herself entirely to her faith. Francis was gentle but firm with her, finally saying, “Nothing so impedes our progress in perfection as to be sighing after another way of life.”

The heart in tune with the Spirit of God will always find room to seek and know God. Our station in life should not become an excuse to ignore God, but a reality we must live with as we relate to God. We ignore it at our peril.

THE TEMPTATION OF THE TEACHER

The temptation to teach others when we are on spiritual “high” is great – but dangerous. We often have an idealized view when we feel so well, and we run the danger of disillusioning other Christians by speaking as if we floated on this earth rather than walked. On the other hand, if we are facing particularly difficult struggles, we may mistakenly assume that every Christian struggles in this way and we may be tempted to speak only of the difficulty of the Christian life.

The wise teacher will remember that his or her experience is one story among millions; let’s not force every other Christian in our own custom-made box.