There is no gift that, after having been of help, will not become a snare and a hindrance to the soul that rests in it. And so God often takes away what He has given.
Gideon made the gold into an ephod which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family (Judges 8:27).
They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them (Psalm 106:36).
Materialism drives away contentment. Our pain and losses are always a test of how much we treasure the all-wise, all-governing God in comparison to what we have lost.
For You, O Lord have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living (Psalm 116:8-9).
My soul finds rest in God alone (Psalm 62:1).
God always has the unification of the soul in view. He asks for a soul pliant in His hands, which neither desires anything nor refuses anything. His ways are not our ways. He seldom moves in a straight line from A to B. The way up is almost always down.
God’s hand deals as gently with us as is possible.
Lord, I do not know what I ought to ask of You. You alone know what I need. You love me better than I know how to love myself. O God, Father, give to Your child that for which my soul does not know what to ask. I dare not ask either for crosses nor consolations. I simply present myself before You. I open my heart to You. Behold my needs that I do not know; see and do according to Your tender mercy. Smite or heal. Depress or raise up. I adore all Your purposes without knowing them; because I know You are a God of goodwill. I am silent; I offer myself in sacrifice. I yield myself to You. I would have no other desire than to accomplish Your will. Please teach me to trust always in You alone. Teach me. [Andrew Murray]
