A repost of an older post, with a few edits and additions 
Bless you as you read.
The process of regeneration and sanctification is an ongoing process in our lives, by God. It is often one that causes us much agony as we learn to let go of ourselves and our lives bit by bit, with the help of His Holy Spirit and of course, yet again, His grace.
If we are to get to know God more and more, and also benefit the Body of Christ in any small way, these things have to take place.
There is no short-cut way to reach it. Not one.
It has to be His way or no way.
Do we allow God to bring this about in our lives, or are we like the marble that escapes, mentioned below by Oswald Chambers? If we are like the marble, all we do is prolong both the agony and the blessing that is sure to come afterwards.
Why not just throw all caution to the wind and throw ourselves on Him and let Him handle the rest? What is it that makes us hold on so hard to ourselves and our lives, when in the eternal view of things, they and we are both but a vapour and dust?
I can only speak from my own life and see clearly that the reason I fail to do this at times is because I mistakenly think I am protecting myself. How absurd can one get? How revolting? Here I am, thinking I know better than the One who spoke the very universe into existence. In the book of Job and chapter 38, God clearly lays out His Omnipotence to Job. (if you have not read it or not read it for awhile, go an take a look – it is wonderful)
When I first read it, I sat back in my chair in both wonder and repentance. David saying to the Lord, ‘What is man that you are mindful of him?” came to mind. God is Sovereign. Period. God may do with us as He pleases – even to the point of what Job says below.
Job 13:15 Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him
Could any of us say this? Oh that I might be able to if called to! You see we all have pride, and it is that which has to go and God surely knows best which way it has to go in each of us. We are all different, yet we all have a common thread of pride which still resists God at times. God knows exactly what to do with us or to allow in our lives to get rid of that pride – that need to say “I can do it or I will do it my way, regardless of what You or anyone else says.”
God really knows what He is doing with each one His children, no matter what we see, feel or experience.Trust Him regardless of the circumstances and watch as He grows you in faith and hope and love.
Praise and thank God that He is so long-suffering, and patient with us. I would have been utterly lost and on my way to hell, if He was not.
Let us not hold onto ourselves or ‘protect’ ourselves from the Lord or anything that He deems necessary, to take us the the place where we truly can say and not with our mouths only, but with our every breath,
“All to Thee my blessed Saviour, I surrender all…”
Here Oswald Chambers makes it very clear why this squeezing and breaking of us, by God is so necessary in our process of dying to self thereby living freely in Christ.
THE COMMISSION OF THE CALL
“Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which
is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body’s sake.” Colossians 1:24
We make calls out of our own spiritual consecration, but when we get right with God He brushes all these aside, and rivets us with a pain that is terrific to one thing we never dreamed of, and for one radiant flashing moment we see what He is after, and we say – “Here am I, send me.” This call has nothing to do with personal sanctification, but with being made broken bread and poured-out wine.
God can never make us wine if we object to the fingers He uses to crush us with. If God would only use His own fingers, and make me broken bread and poured-out wine in a special way! But when He uses someone whom we dislike, or some set of circumstances to which we said we would never submit, and makes those the crushers, we object. We must never choose the scene of our own martyrdom.
If ever we are going to be made into wine, we will have to be crushed; you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed. I wonder what kind of finger and thumb God has been using to squeeze you, and you have been like a marble and escaped? You are not ripe yet, and if God had squeezed you, the wine would have been remarkably bitter. To be a sacramental personality means that the elements of the natural life are presenced by God as they are broken providentially in His service.
We have to be adjusted into God before we can be broken bread in His hands. Keep right with God and let Him do what He likes, and you will find that He is producing the kind of bread and wine that will benefit His other children.
[...] from: Surrender All No related posts. October 15th, 2009 | Category: Blogged|Author: [...]
How timely this is for me. Three weeks ago today, the Lord took my husband home. I have been functioning in a numbish state, doing those things that must be done. The reality of his being gone is settling in now, and the pain is indescribable. He was the help-mate meant for me, and our nearly 15 years together were the best of my life. Now I must face the future without him, and it seems almost more than I can bear. How I wish that I could see him now… joy unspeakable in God’s presence, but know that I must wait my turn. His race was finished, mine is not quite yet. When we are squeezed, we must decide how will we react? Will we resist or will we submit? Father never takes something away without giving us something infinitely better to take its place. For me at this time, He is giving me Himself, what more could I ask? I can only pray – ‘have thine own way Lord in the hearts, minds and lives of all that you have chosen.’ Amen & Amen
My dear sister Cathy. Thank you for visiting and sharing your heart and life here with me on this wee space that the Lord has given to me, to share and encourage others.
I cannot begin to imagine how sore your heart must be going through this. It is something I guess we will all have to face one way or another, and although it is always going to be in His perfect timing, the real-life pain is there as we go through these things with Him. It is when the normalcy of living ordinary days comes back after the funeral and people may begin to ‘forget’ about you as they get on with their own lives, that the reality of the missing beloved and a sense of aloneness becomes so apparent.
I am so delighted for you that the Lord is giving Himself to you right now as better than this you cannot ask for or wish for. He will lift your head when you feel you cannot, He will help you move your one foot in front of the other when you don’t know where to move it. Leap off the cliff with Him and know that this time is a time of growing and that He will catch you as you leap in faith.
Bless you dear sister and thank you for your visit and blessing here,
Steph
Sister Jess, This edifying post brought to mind Job’s response when he lost it all, ‘Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.’I am simply amazed with this passage.
Self denial is not something we can whip up; the process is painful at times. BUT, the end result outweighs the pain. Thank you for these words of encouragement! May the Lord continue to bless you!
Dearest Lyn
– lovely too! The Lord moves us around easily as He sees fit when we are willing to be squeezed and used.. Bless you too.
So good to hear from you again. Thank you for your comment and I can add an hearty AMEN! to what you have shared from Job. I see you are part of the ministry on another group blog
Hi Steph,
A particularly apt scripture in relation to being squeezed by God for His glory:-
2 Cor 4:7-15
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you.
13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.
God bless,
Andy
Dear Bro!
Thanks for the scriptures which are amongst my favourites and so perfect for this article. Wonderful comforting, encouraging words!
Bless you too