On The Eagle's Wings

Learning how to fly!

2005/9/7

What to do with "self".

@ 02:34 PM (50 months, 21 days ago)
I have been reading a great book called "God of all Comfort" by Hannah Whitall Smith and have enjoyed Chapter 10 called "Self Examination" immensely so I thought I would link to it here.  I found myself amening everything she was saying! "Enough already!!" to the "dying to self" propaganda that enslaves people even more.

Comment(s) »

  1. Hannah says: The safest and shortest course is to renounce, forget, and abandon self, and, through faithfulness to God, to think no more of it. This is the whole of religion - to get out of self and self-love in order to get into God."


    This is pretty radical. I'm not sure I agree with this. I agree that we should not punish ourselves or try to fix ourselves. But God gave us pleasures to experience on earth and is it really selfish to go after those things? What does forgetting self look like? Say I want a new shirt. Should I not go out and buy a shirt because that would be thinking about myself? What if I am hungry, and I to not pay attention to my body's needs?

    I think this teaching could be easily misconstrued to say we should not seek to fulfill our needs for companionship, conversation, physical needs. Yes we should always look to God and seek Him and look to him. Maybe she is saying as you look to God he will lead you to companionship, conversation and physcial needs?

    Help me with this.

    Comment by Helen— 2005/09/11 @ 07:53 AM — (Reply)

  2. Guess you have to read the whole book...jk..although it is very good. I think what she is getting at is that focus on self means the focus is off the Lord. We need to come to a place of realizing that all our needs are met in Him...kinda like those sandals that showed up on my doorstep the day I needed them. I could have stressed and shopped etc. trying to get my need met but the Lord met that legit. need for me as I trusted Him with a wonderful pair that I love. We definitely have significant needs that need to be met and the Lord knows them all and is more than willing to meet them all. Like any good parent He loves to bless His children!!! There was a chapter in another book she wrote that really made me realize that because of my past I had it in my head that obedience meant sacrifice and not getting what I want...lol...silly me...the chapter is called the Joy of Obedience and made me realize that joyfully doing what the Lord is calling me too is the best, safest, and most blessed place to be. I think I have sometimes believed that complete surrender will mean that I will have to do without or endure hardship...just old junk in me because my head knows better but my wounded heart still needs healing. Maybe I am just rambling but I sense you may have similar trust issues. I will post the chapter called Joy of Obedience for you on the blog.

    Ok hugs and kisses!

    Comment by wings— 2005/09/11 @ 08:15 AM — (Reply)

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