November 1: Ye Are Not Your Own

Oh, dear children of my heart, this is a really tough lesson, isn't it? Did you feel your hackles rise when you read "why shouldn't we go through heartbreaks?" Are you even close to the point where you can honestly pray, "If through a broken heart God can bring His purposes to pass in the world, then I thank You, God, for breaking my heart."

Dear Jesus, I know how long it took me to really grasp the reality of these abrasive words of Oswald Chambers. This is certainly not the message of most Christians today! But, Lord, I have found these words to be more true than I can ever express to anyone else!!! Please jar the hearts of my loved ones so that they can feel the certainty of these truths. Then, Lord, please give them the courage to begin to release their hurts, their fears, and the things they hold most dear into Your hands, even when to do so will bring certain heartbreak. Most of all, let them keep their eyes on You through their pain, resisting the urge to turn away from You, so that they can reap the benefits of such surrender!!!

No human can pen words that capture the state of peace that comes to one who fully trusts in You, especially in their pain. Only You can teach them how to not fight that pain, but to ride it like a raft on white water. And only a person who has gone through that experience can ever understand how embarking on that river becomes a Great Adventure. Those who trust You and truly know You become a separate people, yes, even a 'peculiar' people, as the scripture describes it. But we enjoy this life more than anyone else, by far!! Jesus, please give the children of my heart a deep hunger to follow You in this adventure!!