Have You Ever Been Alone with God?

Jan 12, 2021 at 6:07 AM

He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything. (Mark 4:34, NIV)

Even though I’m practically in seclusion now, there’s still a lot of people and things constantly influencing my mood and state of life. But, as Oswald Chambers said this morning, “Others’ lives are just parables; God wants us to reflect on our own.” My life can only be renewed and changed by coming alone before God.

When I’m “alone,” those moments with myself are perhaps the most honest. Yet, I might still be arrogant, thinking I know myself well. But this “self-awareness” is just seeing myself through my own lens, thinking I’m “okay.”

But if I genuinely spend time alone with Jesus, I’ll see myself through His eyes and say, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

Lord, help me to be willing and able to be alone with Jesus.

Oswald Chambers said, “The renewal of a person’s life to align with God’s will is a slow work.” I’m a living example of this. Thank God for His love and patience. Realizing my own slowness helps me to understand others’ slowness more.

Thanksgivings:

1. Thank God for the conversation with Sister Z. Their family is a great example of a Christian family.
2. Thank God for an issue we’re still discussing and seeking about, but it has significant meaning: Yanbing and I are learning more about this direction, and our daughter can experience and understand the limits and true state of human heart and interest balancing.
3. Thank God for our daughter’s school. In recent discussions with her, I’m a bit surprised by her thinking and expression abilities (maybe we haven’t had a chance for such in-depth conversation before). Her way of strategizing makes me feel like I’ve entered retirement early.