0515 隨機應變的習慣
…使你們知道他的恩召有何等指望。《以弗所書1:18》
記住你已經得救，以便於耶穌的生命可以在你的身上顯明出來（見哥林多後書 4:10）。把你全部的力量導向這個目標，以至於你能夠獲得你蒙揀選為作為神的孩子所提供的一切；無論可能出現的場合為何，每次你都要面對迎接。
你沒有做任何事情來獲得你的救贖，但你必須做一些事情來展示它。你必須「作成你得救的工夫」，那是神已經在你心裡做成的（腓立比書 2:12）。你的言語、你的思想和你的情感是否證明你正在「做出」呢？如果你還是同樣悲慘的、脾氣暴躁的人，一意孤行，那麼，說神拯救了你並使你成聖，那就是謊言。
神是最偉大的設計者，祂允許逆境進入你的生活，看你是否能正確地跨越它們——「我藉著你沖入敵軍，藉著我的神跳過牆垣。」（詩篇18:29）。神永遠不會保護你不受作為祂兒女的要求。彼得前書4:12說：「親愛的弟兄啊，有火的試驗臨到你們，不要以為奇怪，似乎是遭遇非常的事…」起來面對情況——按照試煉的要求去做。只要能給神機會在你身上彰顯耶穌的生命，無論有多痛苦都沒關係。
願神在我們身上不再找到怨言，而是屬靈的活力——準備好面對祂帶給我們的一切。生命唯一正確的目標就是彰顯神的兒子；當這種情況發生時，我們對神的所有強求都消失了。我們的主從來沒有向祂的父強制要求，我們也不能向神提出強制要求。我們在這裡是要順服祂的旨意，以便祂可以透過我們做祂想要的事。一旦我們認識到這一點，祂就會使我們成為擘開的餅和傾倒的酒去餵養和滋潤別人。
來自章伯斯的智慧
敬畏是一個人的心靈認識到神是誰以及祂為他個人所做的事情的狀態。我們的主強調孩子的態度；沒有什麼態度能像孩子那樣表達如此莊嚴的敬畏和親密。《不知往何處去》
0515 The Habit of Rising to the Occasion
…that you may know what is the hope of His calling… —Ephesians 1:18
Remember that you have been saved so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in your body (see 2 Corinthians 4:10). Direct the total energy of your powers so that you may achieve everything your election as a child of God provides; rise every time to whatever occasion may come your way.
You did not do anything to achieve your salvation, but you must do something to exhibit it. You must “work out your own salvation” which God has worked in you already (Philippians 2:12). Are your speech, your thinking, and your emotions evidence that you are working it “out”? If you are still the same miserable, grouchy person, set on having your own way, then it is a lie to say that God has saved and sanctified you.
God is the Master Designer, and He allows adversities into your life to see if you can jump over them properly— “By my God I can leap over a wall” (Psalm 18:29). God will never shield you from the requirements of being His son or daughter. First Peter 4:12 says, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you….” Rise to the occasion— do what the trial demands of you. It does not matter how much it hurts as long as it gives God the opportunity to manifest the life of Jesus in your body.
May God not find complaints in us anymore, but spiritual vitality— a readiness to face anything He brings our way. The only proper goal of life is that we manifest the Son of God; and when this occurs, all of our dictating of our demands to God disappears. Our Lord never dictated demands to His Father, and neither are we to make demands on God. We are here to submit to His will so that He may work through us what He wants. Once we realize this, He will make us broken bread and poured-out wine with which to feed and nourish others.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Awe is the condition of a man’s spirit realizing Who God is and what He has done for him personally. Our Lord emphasizes the attitude of a child; no attitude can express such solemn awe and familiarity as that of a child. Not Knowing Whither, 882 L