Life of Brother Lawrence, Part 7

My last blog I left off talking about how Brother Lawrence was overwhelmed by God's blessings. Brother Lawrence was so humbled by these gifts from God, that he would pray: "It is too much, O Lord! It is too much for me. Give, if it please Thee, these kinds of favors and consolations to sinners and to the people who do not know Thee, in order to attract them to Thy service..." This is a wonderful prayer, in that Brother Lawrence believes that by experiencing the favor of God in their lives, sinners will come to want to know Jesus. It is like what the apostle John said in John 20:30-31, "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." John wanted the people to know about Jesus' miracles, but many people have experienced His miracles and then believed.
Brother Lawrence took the 2 great commands of Jesus seriously: love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Because of this, Brother Lawrence regarded those around him with the same affection he felt for the Lord. He believed it also exemplified what Jesus said, that what we do to the least of the brethren, we do to Him. So this led him to be determined to serve others. "He assisted the poor in their needs, as much as was in his power." With this in mind, we should be challenged to find ways to serve others (especially the poor and the outcast).
"Death did not frighten Brother Lawrence at all. On his deathbed, he displayed marks of a stability, a resignation, and a joy that were quite extraordinary...If he had loved God deeply during his life, he did not love Him any less at death." How about you? Do you fear death? Do you know that You will be with God in heaven when You die? You can be as assured as Brother Lawrence was. We are told in 1 John 5:12, "Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life."
On February 12th, 1691, Brother Lawrence died at 80 years of age. At the end of the book it says (p. 94), "It is easy to conclude that his death was precious in the sight of the Lord, that it was very quickly followed by his reward, that he is now enjoying glory; and that his faith has been rewarded by clear vision, his hopes by possession, and his budding charity by a consummate love." I hope that I live my life to even half the degree of service Brother Lawrence did, and look forward to my time to be with God. I challenge you to do the same, so that you might enjoy a fulfilled life like Brother Lawrence!

Life of Brother Lawrence, Part 6

When you hear the word "fearlessness," what do you think of? I think of being able to overcome our fears. For example, I have a fear of heights, and so when I am able to do something that involves heights, I am being fearless.
But fearlessness has to do with how we live our every day lives as well. Many people called Brother Lawrence "fearless," because he was able to elevate himself above all that was not God. "He coveted nothing; nothing astonished him; he feared nothing. This stability of his soul came from the same source as all his other virtues. He had an exalted concept of God which made him think of Him as sovereign Justice and infinite Goodness. He was confident that God would not deceive him and that He would do him only good..."
Now this is a challenge for us, because we get so locked into this world, that we get caught up in the petty concerns and worries of life. We have difficulty raising ourselves above this notion that we don't have to covet or own anything to be happy. Our happiness can rest in God alone; the God who provides for us all that we need. We don't seek God and love God because of the benefits that He gives to us. We seek God and love God because God is our creator, and the One in whom we find our being and purpose.
Another aspect of Brother Lawrence's life that challenges us is the fact that he sought to act without any self-interest. This is a great challenge, because we have difficulty living our lives without being selfish. We are given this challenge by the apostle Paul in Philippians 2:3-4, "³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Can we live our lives without seeking a reward? Can we be fearless by living our lives differently than those who don't know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord?

Life of Brother Lawrence, Part 5

In his life, Brother Lawrence was one who sought God's perspective on all subjects. This led him to understand that "he was a citizen of
heaven, not concerned with things on earth. His views were not limited by time, because he contemplated nothing but the Eternal One and had become eternal like Him." Like Brother Lawrence, it is important for us to have this same understanding of our citizenship. If we think we are really citizens of this world, then we will be tied to this world in unhealthy ways. As Jesus told us in John 15:19- "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world..."
I have seen so many people get discouraged and depressed by their life. Often times it is because they don't have the right perspective. They believe that what the world offers to them is what is most important; is what living is about. But the truth doesn't rest in the things of this world. As Brother Lawrence says: "Faith makes me regard God as sovereign truth; hope makes me think of Him as complete happiness; and love causes me to conceive Him as the most perfect of all beings, as perfection itself."
With the right perspective, we don't have to seek after success. With the right perspective, we understand that it isn't about success, but about doing something meaningful and purposeful with our lives. Brother Lawrence was able to understand this because "everything was the same to him--every place, every job. The good brother found God everywhere..." And Brother Lawrence didn't have to seek God out. His only means of going to God was "to do everything for the love of Him."

Life of Brother Lawrence, Part 4

Faith, for many is difficult, because they can't see where they are going. We want to be in control, and faith causes us to have to trust. And yet, for Brother Lawrence, he saw "faith" as his greatest instructor. "It was faith that gave him an unspeakably high esteem for Jesus Christ, the Son of God Who resides as King....This same faith gave him a profound respect and love for the Word of God."
Faith is what leads us into the unknown world of God, and yet this same faith is the only way that we can know the mysteries of God (see Colossians 1:25-26). As Brother Lawrence just said, faith gives us high esteem for Jesus, because in Jesus we see both who God is and who God wants us to become.
"Faith gave Brother Lawrence a firm hope in God's goodness, confidence in His providence, and the ability to completely abandon himself into God's hands." I read these words, and I think that these can be scary words. The thought of abandoning ourselves to anyone can cause us concern. And yet, if anyone can be trusted with our lives, it is our creator. If we can indeed abandon ourselves, then we can be more like what Brother Lawrence says: "He never worried about what would become of him; rather, he threw himself into the arms of infinite mercy...This is why he said that the greatest glory one can give to God is to entirely mistrust one's own strength, relying completely on God's protection."
How often do we mistrust our own strength, only to find out we aren't able to make it on our own? It is interesting to see how we think we can be stronger and more capable than God, the creator and redeemer of our soul. We think we can come up with our own plan. But how can we plan for that which we do not know? "Brother Lawrence saw nothing but the plan of God in everything that happened to him." To be this way brings great freedom!
There is no peace found in the world apart from God. But with God, there can be great peace. Brother Lawrence lived this truth. "Even when told of some great evil in the world, He would simply raise his heart to God, trusting that He would work it to the good of the general order."
The challenge for us then become be able to let God work out the good for our lives. Tell me what you think. (pastorchrislogan@yahoo.com)

Life of Brother Lawrence, Part 3

In life, we love rewards. In fact, most everything we do is because we believe we will receive some kind of reward for it. It could be the reward of money, or prestige, or acceptance. But we need to learn how to live our lives without this kind of thinking. Our motivation should be to serve God and seek to please God.
In part 3 of the life of Brother Lawrence, we see that as he was able to "practice the presence" of God in his life, it caused him to have a "gentle disposition, complete honesty, and the most charitable heart in the world...it won him the esteem and the good will of everyone who saw him." (p. 84) How interesting to see that a man that didn't seek the esteem of others, got it because of his humility and charity.
This attitude also led Brother Lawrence to do things in private, not wanting to draw attention to himself. He was motivated to live and work not for worldly reward, but simply for the reward of knowing he was doing what God expected him to do. This is a great example and challenge to us, to learn how to first know what God expects of us, and then do it without fanfare or payment.
Through this process of being aware of God's presence, Brother Lawrence became one who people loved to listen to. "The sweetness that accompanied his words so inspired those who listened that they came away penetrated with the love of God, burning with the desire to put the great truths he had just taught them into practice" (p. 85).
Even though he was reluctant to speak, there were times when he was asked to share his thoughts. Through this, he impressed many. "An illustrious bishop of France, who had had several interviews with him, said that God spoke directly to Brother Lawrence, revealing His divine mysteries to him because of the greatness and the purity of his love for Him" (p. 86).
But this kind of knowledge and understanding of God's mysteries are available to us all. As Brother Lawrence, himself said: "God alone is capable of making Himself known as He really is; we search in reasoning and in the sciences, as in a poor copy, for what we neglect to see in an excellent original. God Himself paints Himself in the depths of our soul" (p. 87).
Let us take the time, starting today, to seek God out, and let God share His mysteries and revelation with us. Tell me what you think (pastorchrislogan@yahoo.com)

Life of Brother Lawrence, Part 2

In my last blog I began a series on the life of Brother Lawrence, a man who "struggled with the corruption of the world and man's instability and infidelity, who because of this decided to make a firm resolution to walk in the path of Jesus Christ." At one point, he decided to get away to seek God, and so he retired to the desert. But he determined that such a solitary life was not good, especially for a young Christian like himself, and so he joined a Christian brotherhood, where he became a lay brother of the Carmelite Order and took on the name Brother Lawrence.
From the earliest time as a part of this Order, Brother Lawrence held prayer in particular importance. No matter how much work he had to do, he never cut his prayer time short. Even when he was assigned the humblest of duties, he never complained. This helped him to understand the importance of serving God in whatever he was called to do.
But like you and me, Brother Lawrence was not without struggle. As Brother Lawrence attempted to move into a more spiritual life, memories of the sins of his past life engulfed him, and he began to judge himself and doubt his salvation. During this dark and bitter time, Brother Lawrence did not even find comfort in his times of prayer; but he prayed nevertheless. His desire was still to please God. There came a time when suddenly God opened his eyes, and he received divine revelation from God about God's majesty. This revelation and experiencing of God's majesty took away his fears, and ended his inner struggles and pain. From that time on he was able to "practice the presence of God" and stay in continuous discussion with God. He says that it has to be maintained by the heart and by love rather than by understanding and speech.
Through all of this, Brother Lawrence was able to understand that you don't have to do great things in life to be satisfied. He says, "I turn my little omelette in the pan for the love of God; when it is finished, if I have nothing to do, I prostrate myself on the ground and adore my God, who gave me the grace to make it, after which I arise, more content than a king."
Brother Lawrence shares this as the answer to how to practice the presence of God: "When I first entered the monastery, I looked upon God as the beginning and the end of all my thoughts and all the feelings of my soul. During the hours designated for prayer, I meditated on the truth and character of God....Completely immersed in my understanding of God's majesty...I devote myself to prayer in all the time...During my work, I would always continue to speak to the Lord as though He were right with me, offering Him my services and thanking Him for His assistance...Thus in continuing in this practice of conversing with God throughout each day...His presence has become easy and natural to me now as it once was difficult to attain."
In thinking about what Brother Lawrence says (and did) ,I realize how important prayer should be in our lives as well. We should vow to not cut our prayer times short. I have to admit that even as a pastor, I don't always give an adequate amount of time to prayer. Although, having grown in my ability to "practice the presence of God," I do seek to be in somewhat constant communication with Him. The challenge is to pray even though we don't see or feel the benefits, and to serve God and receive God's blessing and majesty in our lives even when we do what seems to be insignificant! Tell me what you think.

The Life of Brother Lawrence- Part 1

Life is always a challenge. In fact, if we go into it thinking it will be easy, we will get overwhelmed. And yet, in the midst of this challenge, God walks with us, sometimes even carrying us. I have been blogging over these past several weeks on the book "The Practice of the Presence of God," by Brother Lawrence. As we come to the end of the book, there is a section on the life of Brother Lawrence. Over my next couple of blogs, I would like to highlight some aspects of Brother Lawrence's life that might help us in our own lives.
Joseph de Beaufort, a dear friend of Brother Lawrence, is the one who wrote and published this section of the book. de Beaufort talks about how God has in the past, and still does in the present, raise up those who are saints of the faith. These saints are the ones who guard up the Spirit in themselves, and seek to make them live in others.
Brother Lawrence was such a saint. Brother Lawrence revered God, and sought to be an example of how to faithfully practice the virtues of the faith. Brother Lawrence was taught to love the Lord by his parents at an early age. His parents also made sure that his education was consistent with the Gospel. Throughout his life, Brother Lawrence saw the goodness and mercy of God. Even when he was taken as a prisoner of the German troops (while He was in the armed service), and treated as a spy, and threatened to be hanged, he told them that he could not be a spy since he would never do anything that would "give him a bad conscience," and that death didn't frighten him.
After being injured, he was forced to retire and return home. He then resolved to "give himself wholly to God and to repair his past conduct...through sentiments of true devotion." He believed that God helped him to not perceive the pleasures of the world, but rather to be in love with heavenly things. He struggled with the corruption of the world and man's instability and infidelity. He decided to make a firm resolution to walk in the path of Jesus Christ.
By making this resolution, he was freed from the difficulties that the devil and the world would normally put in the path of those who wished to give their lives to the Lord. He had a strong determination to follow God, which helped to wash away the difficulties of life, as if by a miracle. It was by his meditating on the promises of the Lord that helped him to be a changed man, and give him the humility he desired to glory in the cross of Christ, and not the world.

The Blessings of the Presence of God

Psalm 147:8 reminds us, "He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills." God is a God who provides His creation with blessings! Brother Lawrence highlights 4 of God's blessings in his book "The Practice of the Presence of God," p. 71-72.
"The first blessing that the soul receives from the practice of the presence of God is that its faith is livelier and more active everywhere in our lives. This is particularly true in difficult times...The soul--accustomed by this exercise to the practice of faith--can actually see and feel God by simply entering His presence..." It is difficult for us to be active in our faith if we are not regularly seeking God. And in those times where trials enter our lives, the tendency is to panic. But when we can enter into God's presence, we will be able to allow the power of God to surround us and guide us. But even more, there is a profound sense of God's presence.
Second, "the practice of the presence of God strengthens us in hope. Our hope increases as our faith penetrates God's secrets through practice of our holy exercise." God has chosen to reveal the secret of His mysteries to those who seek Him. As we gain understanding of the mysteries of God, we have great hope, because we can have a sense of what God is doing and will do.
Third, "this practice (of seeking God's presence) causes the will to rejoice at being set apart from the world, setting it aglow with the fire of holy love. This is because the soul is always with God..." How wonderful it is to know the love of God. But if we are living in the ways of the world and the thinking of the world, then we will not experience God's love, because we will be confused by the love of the world. God's love is unconditional; the world's love is conditional. They cannot exist side by side. We must choose which we will live in.
Fourth, "by practicing God's presence and continuously looking at Him, the soul familiarizes itself with Him to the extent that it passes almost its whole life in continual acts of love, praise, confidence, thanksgiving, offering, petition...." To familiarize ourselves with something means that we know it well. If we know God's presence well, we will easily be led to love like God, be confident in God, give praise and thanksgiving to go, and seek God for guidance and direction.
Let me know what you think; pastorchrislogan@yahoo.com

Acquiring God's Presence

We read on the picture to the right, these words: “To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe.” [Marilyn vos Savant] In many ways, we might think that acquiring God's presence is the same as acquiring knowledge or wisdom. Brother Lawrence, on pages 69 & 70 of his book "The Practice of the Presence of God," leads us into a better understanding of how we can acquire God's presence in our lives.
1. The first means is a new life, received by salvation through the blood of Christ. Brother Lawrence starts in the obvious place, that we can attain nothing from God apart from the blood of Christ. First and foremost we must have faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. It all starts here!
2. The second is faithfully practicing God's presence. This must always be done ... without giving way to anxiety or problems. Jesus Himself was clear to us that the worries of this world can keep us from God's presence. Jesus says this in His description of the seeds that fell on the thorns in the "Parable of the Sower." In Matthew 13:22, Jesus says: "As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world ... choke the word, and it yields nothing." To let ourselves be influenced by God's presence, we can't allow ourselves to get caught up in our worries. We must let God's presence envelop us in a way that keeps the worries out!
3. The souls eyes must be kept on God, particularly when something is being done in the outside world. Since much time and effort are needed to perfect this practice, one should not be discouraged by failure. Romans 12:2 tells us "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Because we have the Holy Spirit within us, we can know the mind of God. And when we know the mind of God, we can rest in the knowledge that we are in God's will. That is what the practice of the presence of God does for us, it keeps us in God's will. So when we are "in" the world, we don't have to act like the world. God's presence will keep guiding our way.

Giving Attention To God

One of the aspects of practicing the presence of God is learning how to give our attention to God. It is easy in this world to get distracted. There are so many choices of things to do; so many ways to be busy. In his book the "Practice of the Presence of God" (p. 67), Brother Lawrence talks about how giving our attention to God helps to bring confidence in our lives.
A friend of Brother Lawrence's said it this way: "By dwelling in the presence of God he has established such a sweet communion with the Lord that his spirit abides, without much effort, in the restful peace of God." How wonderful it would be to have a "restful peace" in our lives. This was a struggle even for the disciples. Remember how they were in the boat, in a storm, and were fearful, so much so that they had to wake Jesus up. Jesus questioned them: "Where is your faith?" It should have been in the presence of God; as should ours!
On top of this, when we give our attention to God, we are able to rejoice in the blessings of life. God is blessing us in so many ways we aren't aware of, usually because our attention is somewhere else. In the difficulty of life, it is important to note that God is at work. But even more, God is helping us to overcome all the difficulties we face. As the apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8:37, "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."
And then Brother Lawrence concludes this writing with these words: "The presence of God is, then, the life and nourishment of the soul, which can be acquired with the grace of God." Just as the body needs food for nourishment, so does our soul. As the Bible is like the meal we need to eat, so experiencing God's presence is like the dessert; the extra special nourishment that blesses us beyond measure!

Union With God

Brother Lawrence reminds us in his book on page 65 that the only way that we can have "union with God is through salvation." We must be saved, through Jesus Christ, to be in a relationship with God, because without the cleansing we receive from Christ, our sin keeps us from truly knowing God and experiencing God.
Brother Lawrence goes on to say: "a saved soul comes to know God through a series of experiences, some of which bring it into closer union with Him and some take it further away. The soul learns which activities bring God's presence nearer." This is very true. There are experiences in our lives that cause us to be separated from God. We walk down a path God would not have us walk on, and we feel far from God; we wonder where God has gone. But then there are those experiences when we feel God's presence in a profound way.
This is what the "Practice of the Presence of God" is all about; being in the most perfect union with God in which we can be. "The most perfect union with God," Brother Lawrence says, "is the actual presence of God. Although this relationship with God is totally spiritual, it is quite dynamic..." Dynamic. Powerful. Life-changing. To get to that place where we experience God in our spirit (on a spiritual level) cannot be taught, but only experienced! It is the most profound of experiences.
Brother Lawrence also says that this perfect union with God "is an inexpressible state of the soul--gentle, peaceful, respectful, humble, loving, and very simple..." To be in the inexpressible state only comes from disengaging ourselves from the things of the world (material desire, love of money, selfish actions, etc...) and walking in the beauty of the design of God (loving one another, forgiving others, showing grace and mercy, and on and on). As we seek to follow the example set for us by Christ, we will then experience the connection with God that finds its way into our soul!

Adoring God

One of the aspects we should have toward God is how to adore God "in Spirit and in truth." When Jesus was talking to the Woman at the Well, He challenged her in this way, by saying in John 4:23-24,
"²³Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

Brother Lawrence helps to instruct us in this with three points:
1. "First, to adore God in Spirit and in truth means to adore Him as we should. Because God is a Spirit, He must be adored in Spirit. That is to say, we must worship Him with a humble, sincere love that comes from the depth and center of our soul...we must repeat it until it becomes part of our nature..." The truth is, in any aspect of life, to be good at something we must repeat it regularly. This is true of the way we love God as well. As sinful people, we love conditionally. To learn how to love God from the depths of our being will take work and practice.
2. "Secondly, to adore God in truth is to recognize Him for what He is, and ourselves for what we are. Adoring God in truth means that our heart actually sees God as infinitely perfect and worthy of our praise...." Until we see God as greater than we are, we will not feel the need to worship God. We might appreciate God at times, but it will not be adoration; it will not be devotion. If you stop and think, you will see that God has been there many times to help you, guide you, protect you. If you talk to other Christians, you will find this out all the more. If you seek to know God, you will discover that God is greater than you are, and worthy of your love, praise and devotion.
3. "Thirdly, to adore God in truth is to admit that our nature is just the opposite of His. Yet, He is willing to make us like Him..." How wonderful this is to know, that God desires to help us be more like Him. Through Jesus Christ, God can impart to us His unconditional love, His power, and His wisdom. God helps us to overcome our sinful nature, and allows us to make a difference with our lives. God is able to take the difficulties we face, and bring fruit out of them.
FOR THIS AND MORE WE SHOULD ADORE GOD WITH ALL THAT WE HAVE AND ALL THAT WE ARE! Amen.

Practice Makes Perfect

Brother Lawrence tells us, "The most holy and necessary practice in our spiritual life is the presence of God. That means finding constant pleasure in His divine company..." (p. 59) To achieve anything good in life, we must practice. Even the most talented of people have to practice to become better. If we want to be the best we were created to be, we must practice. But the trick is that it is not practicing the behavior of being perfect, but practicing the behavior of being in the presence of God. As we are in God's presence, He will lead us to become more perfect in our being.
So how do we practice to become perfect? As Brother Lawrence says, "We must try to converse with God in little ways while we do our work...purely and simply reveal our hearts.." We can be in the same room with someone, and not converse with them. We must make the effort to be in a conversation. It is the same with God. Since God is always present with us, we need to make the effort to converse with God. And the conversation doesn't need to be deep and earth shattering. Just simple thoughts. And it doesn't have to be in a quiet sanctuary. It can happen while you are doing your work, driving your car, or walking down the street!
What will help us in this process, is as Brother Lawrence says (p. 61) "...believing that He really lives in our hearts..." When we believe this, it becomes real to us and we can know. Even more, we experience God's presence the more we live our this belief. In our coming to God in this way, we allow God to have "His good pleasure to do with each of us whatever He chooses.." This is when the joy of life really comes upon us.

Spiritual Maxims

As we get to page 57 in Brother Lawrence's book "The Practice of the Presence of God," we get to some "Spiritual Maxims" from Brother Lawrence. He talks about how when we believe, hope, and love, then "all things will be possible to us in God." He talks about how these maxims can help lead us toward perfection.
Maxim 1: "We should be considerate of God in everything we do and say....We must make a firm resolution to overcome, with God's grace, all the difficulties encountered in a spiritual life."
The spiritual life is wrought with many challenges. Just living day to day for many people is a challenge. As Garfield says: "'Good morning' is a contradiction in terms." But God can give us the power, by His grace (meaning that we don't deserve the presence of God's power). to be able to live a spiritual life. The more we seek to do and say as God would have us do and say, the more able we will be to live the spiritual life.
Maxim 2: "From the very beginning of our Christian walk, we should remember who we are and that we are unworthy of the name of Christian, except what Christ has done for us..."
This is a good reminder of what the apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" We are really nothing without Jesus Christ, because we stumble over our sin so regularly. But in Christ, we can really become something!
Maxim 3: "We must believe with certainty that it is both pleasing to God and good for us to sacrifice ourselves to Him. Without this complete submission of our hearts and minds to His will He cannot work in us to make us perfect."
It is true that in life we will make sacrifices for those things that are most important to us. I will make great sacrifices to be available to coach my son's baseball team because I know it is important to him that I do this, and it is a great bonding time for us. If we do not believe that sacrificing our time to God is valuable, and if we do not believe that living for Christ is important, then we can never hope to do this in our lives.
Maxim 4: "The more we aspire to be perfect, the more dependent we are on the grace of God....The world, the flesh, and the devil wage a fierce and continuous war on our souls...Although this total dependence may sometimes go against our human nature, God takes great pleasure in it..."
We cannot even hope to be perfect without Christ, because it is Christ who makes God's power available to us. And in Christ, we have righteousness imparted to us. We have to will ourselves to become dependent on Christ, so that we can live the way God created us to live. God is pleased in this, because when we humble ourselves, God can work in and through us.

God's Presence 17: Deliverance

One of the desires we have when we are under attack or in a trial is to be delivered from this trial. Most of us want to be delivered "now." But God has His own timing for our own good. As Brother Lawrence reminds us in his book, p. 53: "I cannot thank God enough for the way He has begun to deliver you from your trial. God knows very well what we need and that all He does is for our good. If we knew how much He loves us, we would always be ready to face life--both its pleasures and its troubles."
Peter challenges us in this thinking as well, as we read in the Bible from 1 Peter 1:6-8, "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy." While God will deliver us from our trials and burdens, God will often let trials come into our lives for a purpose. Brother Lawrence says it like this: "You know, the difficulties of life do not have to be unbearable. It is the way that we look at them--through faith or unbelief. We must be convinced that our Father is full of love for us and that He only permits trials to come our way for our own good."
The only way that we can become convinced of this, is to follow God and know God more and more. The longer we know God, and the better we know God, the more history we will have to experience God's power, love, and faithfulness in our lives.
As you go through the trials of life, trust in God, and God will deliver you in due time!

God's Presence 16: Courage

Life can be difficult; life can be challenging; life can be a struggle. With this in mind, we hear these words from Brother Lawrence: "Take courage! God often allows us to go through difficulties to purify our souls and to teach us to rely on Him more. As we are told in 1 Peter 1:6-7, 'In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.' So offer God your problems unceasingly, and ask Him for strength to overcome them. Talk to Him often; forget Him as seldom as possible." (p. 51)
In other words, when we seek God and remember God, then we will tend to give God our problems more, and worry less. We usually worry because we are concerned about how things will come out; we are afraid they will come out badly. But to worry means that we don't understand who God is, and what God wants to do in our lives. To worry means that we are taking our eyes off of God, and focusing on ourselves.
So Brother Lawrence encourages us with these words: "Remember that God never leaves us unless we go away first. We should be careful never to separate ourselves from His presence." Now it is very possible that we separate ourselves from God unwillingly. Maybe we get busy and our mind gets distracted. Or maybe we get caught up in something that seems like it will fulfill us, but in the end it doesn't.
Continue to practice being aware of God's presence, and by doing this, it will give you greater courage and assurance of God's love and power and authority in your life.

Rest

In Genesis, chapter 1, we are told about how God created the world and all the things in it. Then in Genesis 2:2-3 we are told: ^"2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. ³ And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." From the beginning of time God has ordained a time of rest.
As I get ready to take my vacation this week, I am thankful for this time of rest. We are told that each day we should try to get some rest, but it can be a challenge. So because we struggle to find times of rest, it is good to have an extended period of rest where we vacation. So these next three weeks I will be taking a rest from my blog as well.
In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus says: ²⁸"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." In times away from work, it is easier to give my mind, body, and soul to the Lord, and let Him give me rest. I am thankful for how this time away refreshes my mind and spirit, and energizes me so that I can again be ready to serve Him.
I will miss not blogging on "The Practice of the Presence of God," but hopefully I will be practicing this all the more. On top of this, I will be having some wonderful time with my wife and two kids. I am looking forward to having this special time away with them as we travel to God's beautiful country of Monterey and Yosemite. I pray that I will let the beauty of nature fill me with the reminder of how God creates beauty, and that I will let this beauty come alive inside of me. Blessings to all who read this, and let God give you His rest each time you go to Him.

God's Presence 15: Humility

One of the powerful aspects of the book "The Practice of the Presence of God" is how Brother Lawrence is such a humble and sincere man. In his eleventh letter he writes: "Since you are seriously interested in knowing how I attained the ability God granted me to dwell in His presence, I will try to explain it. But I must ask you not to show my letter to anyone. If I thought you were going to let someone else read it, I would not discuss the matter..." (p. 49) First of all he attests to the fact that the only reason he has the ability to be aware of God's presence is because God gave him that ability. In a society where it is always about "me" this is quite refreshing. But he also has a tremendously humble attitude. It reminds me of what Peter said: 1 Peter 5:6- "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time."
The key to being in the presence of God, Brother Lawrence says, is "I wanted to simply belong totally to God." The truth is, as long as we are caught up in our own selfishness and sinfulness, as long as we are more concerned about what the world has for us, we will not be able to practice being aware of God's presence in our lives. So, we have to make the decision about whom we will follow.
But Brother Lawrence continues: "I began to live as if there were no one but God and myself in the world." I remember how when I first met my wife Tami (of course she wasn't my wife then), all I could think about was being with her and talking to her. Most people have this experience in some way when they start to date someone special. This is how it needs to be with us and God if we are going to allow ourselves to experience God's presence; we must humble ourselves and only think about God.
Brother Lawrence has some good closing thoughts to this letter (p. 50): "But when we faithfully keep ourselves in His holy presence and always remember that He is before us, we avoid offending Him (at least voluntarily). Then, we may take the holy liberty of asking Him for the grace we need." Wouldn't it be nice to have this kind of closeness with God? It can be done. Let us humble ourselves before God this day. Tell me what you think.

God's Presence 14: Trusting

Brother Lawrence reminds us in the Tenth Letter: "(if he) puts all his confidence in GOD, He will soon give him another friend, more powerful and more inclined to serve him." God has placed many people around us to help us in our lives. Sometimes these people are in our lives for a long time, other times just for a short time. But if we trust in God, God will provide us with the people we need in our lives to help us to not only do what we are created to do, but challenge us to be in a wonderful, trusting relationship with God.
He goes on to say: "Pray remember what I have recommended to you, which is, to think often on GOD, by day, by night, in your business, and even in your diversions. He is always near you and with you; leave Him not alone." Trusting has to do with not only knowing that God is near, but regularly practicing allowing God to be active in your life. Because God is near, we need to practice letting God lead us and guide us. This doesn't come to us naturally, we have to learn how to let God gain control and lead us. When we can let God be always near, then we will all the better for it.
He then asks a challenging question: "why then must GOD be neglected?" And we might wonder, how do I neglect God? But the truth is, because we think we should control our lives without God, and only let God in sometimes, we truly are neglecting God. God wants to (and should be) the Lord of our lives, and we should be regularly thinking about God, and lifting up our questions and concerns to God, and allowing God to speak to us through our thoughts, and the the Bible, and the events around us.
Where do you need to trust God more? How can you neglect God less, and think about God more?

God's Presence 13: Spiritually Mature

As we get older we are expected to act more mature. This is true of our spiritual life as well. We have been talking about how to practice experiencing God's presence in our lives. As the theory goes, the longer we practice this, the more mature we should be in regards to this practice. But Brother Lawrence reminds us: "It is not possible to become spiritually mature all at once. I recommend that you work with her, because we should help each other with our advice and, even more, with our good example." (page 45)
This is important to remember, that our spiritual maturity shouldn't be up to just us, but we should work together to help each other grow in our faith. As we share our struggles with each other, then we can help challenge each other to persevere in our journey. As the Bible says: "As iron sharpens iron, so one man helps another."
But maturity in our faith also has to do with our focus. Again, Brother Lawrence says: "Let us often remember...our sole occupation in life is to please God. What meaning can anything else have?" How much easier it is to grow mature in our faith when we are focused on just pleasing God. When we can remove the distractions in life, we can concentrate better on seeking how to please God with the way we live. Even more, when our focus is more on God, we can know God more deeply, and seek God more readily.
But the encouraging news is that God gives us more time. Each day is another opportunity for us to seek God, and know God, and let God's presence be expressed in and through us. Maturity in Christ is always about being serious. But it is about knowing of God's presence, and letting God's presence be there for you in the good times and the bad.