Selfishness denotes an excessive or exclusive concern with oneself, and as such it exceeds mere self interest or self concern. Insofar as a decision maker may knowingly burden or harm others for his own personal gain, the decision is selfish.
to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.
This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.(1 John 5:4)
It is easy to love Him when the blue is in the sky,
When the summer winds are blowing, and we smell
the roses nigh;
There is little effort needed to obey His precious will
When it leads through flower-decked valley, or over
sun-kissed hill.
It is when the rain is falling, or the mist hangs in the air,
When the road is dark and rugged, and the wind no longer fair,
When the rosy dawn has settled in a shadowland of gray,
That we find it hard to trust Him, and are slower to obey.
It is easy to trust Him when the singing birds have come,
And their songs of praise are echoed in our heart and
in our home;
But it’s when we miss the music, and the days are dull and drear,
That we need a faith triumphant over every doubt and fear.
And our blessed Lord will give it; what we lack He will supply;
Let us ask in faith believing—on His promises rely;
He will ever be our Leader, whether smooth or rough the way,
And will prove Himself sufficient for the needs of every day.
Trusting even when it appears you have been forsaken; praying when it seems your words are simply entering a vast expanse where no one hears and no voice answers; believing that God’s love is complete and that He is aware of your circumstances, even when your world seems to grind on as if setting its own direction and not caring for life or moving one inch in response to your petitions; desiring only what God’s hands have planned for you; waiting patiently while seemingly starving to death, with your only fear being that your faith might fail—”this is the victory that has overcome the world”; this is genuine faith indeed. George MacDonald
Sent from the Streams in the Desert Devotional, by L. B. Cowman. For devotionals like this one for your iPhone, visit us at 43rdElement.com
Dear friend,
I cannot thank God enough for the way he has begun to deliver you from your trial. God knows very well what we need and all that He does is for our good. If we knew how much He loves us, we would always be ready to face life - both its pleasures and its troubles.
The difficulties of life do not have to be unbearable. It is the way we look at them - through faith or unbelief - that makes them seem so. We must be convinced that our Father is full of love for us, and that He only permits trials to come our way for our own good.
Let us occupy ourselves entirely in knowing God. The more we know Him, the more we will desire to know Him. As love increases with knowledge, the more we know God, the more we will truly love Him. We will learn to love Him equally in times of distress or in times of great joy.
Although we seek and love God because of the blessings He has given us or for those He may give us in the future, lets not stop there. These blessings, as great as they are, will never carry us as near to Him as a simple act of faith does in a time of need or trouble.
Let us look to God with these eyes of faith. He is within us; we don’t need to seek Him elsewhere. **We have only ourselves to blame if we turn from God, occupying ourselves instead with the trifles of life. In His patience, the Lord endures our weaknesses. Even so, just think of the price we pay by being separated from His presence!**
Once and for all, let us begin to be His entirely. May we banish from our hearts and souls all that does not reflect Jesus. Let’s ask Him for the grace to do this, so that He alone might rule in our hearts.
I must confide in you, my dear friend, that I hope, in His grace, that I will see Him in a few days.
Let’s pray to Him for one another.
brother lawrence; the Practice of the presence of God.
The last letter he wrote before he passed away.
(via a-little-bit-of-sunshine)The secret of knowing God’s complete sufficiency is in coming to the end of everything in ourselves and our circumstances. Once we reach this point, we will stop seeking sympathy for our difficult situation or ill treatment, because we will recognize these things as the necessary conditions for blessings. We will then turn from our circumstances to God, realizing they are the evidence of Him working in our lives. A. B. Simpson
