Growth

"The growth of all living green things wonderfully represents the process of receiving and relinquishing, gaining and losing, living and dying. The seed falls into the ground, dies as the new shoot springs up. There must be a splitting and a breaking in order for a bud to form. The bud "lets go" when the flower forms. The calyx lets go of the flower. The petals must curl up and die in order for the fruit to form. The fruit falls, splits, relinquishes the seed. The seed falls into the ground....

There is no ongoing spiritual life without this process of letting go. At the precise point where we refuse, growth stops. If we hold tightly to anything given to us, unwilling to let it go when the time comes to let it go or unwilling to allow it to be used as the Giver means it to be used, we stunt the growth of the soul.

It is easy to make a mistake here. "If God gave it to me," we say, "it's mine. I can do what I want with it. No. The truth is that it is ours to thank Him for and ours to offer back to Him, ours to relinquish, ours to lose, ours to let go of--if we want to find our true selves, if we want real Life, if our hearts are set on glory.

Think of the self that God has given as an acorn. It is a marvelous little thing, a perfect shape, perfectly designed for its purpose, perfectly functional. Think of the grand glory of an oak tree. God's intention when He made the acorn was the oak tree. His intention for us is "...the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Many deaths must go into reaching that measure, many letting-goes. When you look at the oak tree, you don't feel that the "loss" of the acorn is a very great loss. The more you perceive God's purpose in your life, the less terrible will the losses seem....

We are given the chance to trust Him when He says to us, "...If any man will let himself be lost for my sake, he will find his true self."

When will we find it? we ask. The answer is, Trust Me.

How will we find it? The answer again is, Trust Me.

Why must I let myself be lost? we persist. The answer is, Look at the acorn and trust Me."

- Elisabeth Elliot, Passion and Purity

Security

"The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
You hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the LORD always before me;
because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let Your holy one see corruption.
You make known to me the path of life;
in Your presence there is fullness of joy;
at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

- Psalm 16:5-11

It is a secure to know that God holds my lot. Life is not a pair of dice tossed on the table, six being Option A, and two being Option C. God planed the future.

It is secure to know that God gives counsel. To worry that I will deceive myself and miss God's will is foolish, because God's counsel is not hidden.

It is secure to know that God is at my right hand. It is impossible to miss the path when the Guide stands beside me. He loves me too much to allow the yielded heart to accidentally wander away. My job is to remain yielded (surprisingly difficult:), not to worry about the path.

It is secure to know that God will not abandon me. In a college student's life, very little is stable. Home changes every six months. People run into your life and they run out. Classes come and go. The stable core is very small. But God does not change with the semesters. He will never leave, and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

It is secure to know that God shows the path of life. Not only is there security right now, the there is security in the future. The next phrase speaks of God's presence. God's path of life leads to the security of His presence.

It is secure to know that God gives fullness of joy. Happy times with God now are a taste of the fullness of joy in His presence later. Imagine! The best devotional times in the morning are a small appetizer for the fullness of joy in His presence