Alone

There are childhood experiences that [even in failing memories] stay with us.  For me, it is perhaps those times when Dad took me aside and “explained” some things to me.  Maybe it came about because of disobedience or misbehavior, but the “explanation” was clear … and memorable.

 

God knows all about hard-headed people.  Today, the word used is “strong-willed” … hard-headed nonetheless.  God said to Moses about the Hebrews, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.” (Exodus 32:9).  Some children learn by watching their parents discipline siblings, but others have to learn the hard way, experiencing discipline first-hand.  Oswald Chambers writes, “We can only be used by God after we allow Him to show us the deep, hidden areas of our own character.”  The critical eye we have toward others is often quite simply a mirror of something God wants to refine in us.  Getting alone with God is where He begins to explain things.  When Dad came into my room and shut the door, it was chilling!  Well, it can be chilling indeed when God must use hurt and pain to drawn us aside.  The [recommended] alternative is solitude with God; it  is sweet and revealing, and always in life’s best interest.  “He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.” (Daniel 2:22).   Clarity of purpose and purity of heart come only from time alone with The Father.  Those divine moments are more than memorable; they refresh, sustain, and enable us to be one with Him.  I challenge you to put away selfish pride and get alone with God.  He truly longs to be alone with you!