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Bibel TV Hamburg, deception, discerning the spirits, exhortation, experience, Flesh vs. Spirit, healing, health, Jesus Christ, Malaika Orth, peace, prayer, rest, spiritual power, T.A. Sparks, true faith
A week ago I got inspired to write my latest blog post Worth the Fight… Extending Inner Quietness, as I had read the newsletter of a German Bible TV program. Although I stopped watching TV of any kind more than eight years ago, I still get this newsletter and I saw that there are some people whom God gives pretty good thoughts. 😉 I decided to translate for you what would speak to me and to compare it with that which T. Austin Sparks had written about the same issue. At first it might seem to be a contradiction what both authors had to say. But Lord willing, this inconsistency might be dissolved. Please, feel free to share your own thoughts and concerns in a response below. I always appreciate and welcome genuine comments and sharing! So, first see Malaika Orth’s description about her own experiences with seeking silence. Malaika Orth is an editor at Bibel TV in Hamburg/Germany.
Bibel TV Newsletter #31: Journey into Silence
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
(Psalm 46:10)
Dear reader,
You can hear the sound of a gong striking. Afterwards all is quiet.
The thirty-minute silent retreat begins, accompanied by chaotic sounds from all directions which drown out the silence – your own thoughts. Fiercely, they shoot at one another. ‘By all means, I still have to…’ ‘What will happen if…’ ‘And hopefully…’ ‘I wish I had…’ ‘What I am I doing here anyway?’
I am sitting here together with ten people in a circle of chairs. People of all ages, three nuns in between, Benedictine nuns.
As a guest to join them on a silent day, eight times 30 minutes of silence are awaiting me today. Somehow strange that you make a date with others to do nothing together…
Quiet time is precious. It is not always easy to find it since it means all other distractions must stay on the sidelines. It is about not being determined by your daily routine. Instead, we bring it all to a standstill. We endure to simply be. We listen to that which keep us busy in the depth of our being, hearkening what God wants to tell us,
“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)
Amazing, what has happened after one day sitting only. Many a person has been moved to tears for they feel they have been blessed by God. Another has dealt with questions of life. Several people got new peace in their thought life.
Whoever does not like sitting silently, but rather walks, for such a one going on a pilgrimage might be an alternative. The outer way walked becomes, speaking metaphorically, the inner way traveled here.
I dropped her last paragraph since there you could read the details of a program announcement (Aug 8) of an 800 km long pilgrimage (not hers) to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Now, please, compare what you just read with an excerpt from one of TAS articles about the dangers of getting spiritually passive.
“What is the basis of deception? It is just that! How do you get a counterfeit Holy Ghost operating? By reason of your psychical nature. You can become mediumistic in your very psychical nature and open all the avenues of your being to supernatural guidance and come under the power, the sway, dominion, of deceiving spirits operating in a multitude of ways. You can so suspend your soul and come into a state of utter passivity that you are open to everything to play upon you. You can have your quiet hour in your soul, which is the most perilous hour of your life. That happens by suspending all spiritual activity and becoming utterly passive and opening your psychical being – a dangerous thing.
“God never asks you to become spiritually passive. Waiting upon God is not being spiritually passive. God wants us active in spirit even when waiting on Him in silence. You see what I mean. It is the very nature of man, now adapted by the enemy to his government, that has made possible all this mighty system of counterfeit in its success. Now leaving a whole mass of evidence I come to the point.
“What did the Lord Jesus do in Calvary? He took that man to death and made room for a spiritual man; and in Christ Jesus we are no longer soulical men, we are spiritual. That is the whole argument of the first Corinthian letter. Now, says the Apostle, “the soulical man (he is the ‘natural’ man) receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them.” “The Spiritual judgeth all things.” In the new birth of a man his spirit is brought back from the realm of spiritual death and banishment from God, into new creation union with God, joined to the Lord one spirit, and the right organ of Divine government is re-established to bring man’s soul and his body under Divine control, and the Holy Spirit takes up residence within the born-anew spirit of a man to govern his desires, his thoughts, his reasonings, his decisions.
[…]
“We have perhaps thought of the Cross, death-union with the Lord Jesus, in the hard light of having to let go, having to give up and having to die; being crucified, and all the pain of it, but, beloved, it is to translate us out of the kingdom of darkness into that of the Son of His love; from the power of Satan, to deliver us from deception. Now unless our soul-life is met in the power of the Cross, and subjected to God, and we know what it is to live in and walk after the Spirit, we are exposed to deception. You will find where the counterfeit Holy Spirit works, there is a tremendous amount of soul excitability, soul emotion, lack of soul control and sometimes indecency; and yet supernatural things – yes, but that is not the Holy Spirit. There has been a reaching out of soul in an intensified quest for some kind of experience, a supernatural experience. That has opened the being to the other and you can get anything. You can get guidance, you can get miracles, anything along that line; but beware! The counterfeit, beloved, has its ground of success in the very nature of us, and nature must be broken.” (1)
Nature must be broken… That sounds hard to me, almost brutal if I may say so. In fact, I do know how difficult it is to say NO to this kind of deception TAS described. When you are sick and in pains for a very long time and you were not healed by God, how alluring then the temptation to get some instant healing in another (spiritual) way! That applies specifically to these cases when physicians could not really help you, either. Today it seems to me that all comes down to whether we have real faith in Jesus – or not.
“And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.” (Mt 9:20-22 ESV)
I do not know how the lives of those people who were sitting in a circle of chairs, trying to get closer to God, will go on. But I do know that Satan always tries to deceive us. None of us is excluded here. Even, the closer we get to God, the harder his attacks will be. And if we try to fight Satan with our own natural weapons of the soul (reason, logic, strong will, and emotions), he will stay the winner. A complete surrender to God is needed, something we won’t do unless we are completely at our wits’ end.
“Please note that the number of comments moderated on my blog(s) has decreased considerably because I do not approve of comments by people who work in the wrong spiritual realm. Also, replies that do not refer to the blog post itself or simply link to other blogs and websites where the Holy Spirit has been confused with any other spirit, won’t be moderated, either.”
(1) http://www.austin-sparks.net/english/books/002158.html
“In keeping with T. Austin-Sparks’ wishes that what was freely received should be freely given and not sold for profit, and that his messages be reproduced word for word, we ask if you choose to share these messages with others, to please respect his wishes and offer them freely – free of any changes, free of any charge (except necessary distribution costs) and with this statement included.”All images by Susanne Schuberth 2016 – 2017
Michael said:
Susanne, I would like to put the verse from Psalms they quoted in context…
“Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he has made in the earth. He makes wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and cuts the spear in two; he burns the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Ps 46:8-10, KJ2000)
Obviously He is not commanding passivity or blank minds or eastern meditation on our part! Our stillness is about focusing on His wonders and greatness and ability and willingness to manifest Himself for us. As I read this morning’s TAS devotional I prayed the following as I was inspired by what he shared.
“O the depth of the riches… how unsearchable… past finding out” (Rom. 11:33): “…in him dwelleth all the fulness… and in him ye are made full” (Col. 2:9-10).
Lord, it is clearly represented in the Word that You are the fullness of God for me! Here is a need, a spiritual need. In order that You should be glorified in me, I by faith take You to meet this need!”
Knowing HIM intimately is to know Christ as our fullness, not some unknown spirit roaming the ether-waves. HE is our ALL in all.
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
Yes, I read that quote in context before, too, Michael. Yet it seemed to me that these people met because they were seeking more of God. Although that might also open the door to deception if someone is seeking experiences more than God, I believe that God looks at our searching hearts. And He alone knows where we stand, either in the beginning of a spiritual journey or further on our path with Him. The longer we walked with Him, the more obedience and discernment He can expect from us, don’t you think?
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Michael said:
Well, I pray that they might find Him by meeting His Son in a personal way.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, this to be a testimony at the proper time.” (1Tim 2:3-6, KJ2000)
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
Amen, Michael! Very good contribution!! 🙂
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Michael said:
Susanne, what is the significance of the pictures that you chose for your article?
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
Michael, I always try to emphasize what I write with the picture posted nearby. Sometimes I do it intentionally, sometimes I see later that God has had some thoughts in His mind I had not. Trying to explain everything that went through my mind while posting, would mean to write another article. 😉
The first pic should display a silent place – no human beings there. I often had short but sweet encounters with Daddy there; it is truly a silent place (no cars, no airplanes, and rarely people except on Sundays).
The clock that has a sort of ‘gong’ (bell) that strikes regularly refers to the meeting described in the newletter. As I had taken that pic, I was astonished to see the time there… 5 past 5, i.e., double grace. 🙂
The water running into the well reminded me of the pilgrim’s path to Santiago de Compostela (Spain) where you usually meet such water wells in little villages. Also, water running into a vessel means being filled with the Holy Spirit.
The pic with the wooden heron on this not that natural (rest of a) tree should illustrate what I emphasized there from TAS article: our old nature must be broken, a completely new thing has to be created by ‘someone’ who is ‘higher’ than we are.
And the last picture with this closed building represents my blog. The red window shutters should display that all spirits that are not from God will have to stay outside of this ‘building’ since the shutters are closed.
I hope my explanations were helpful for you, my brother.
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Michael said:
Excellent! Thank you for your wonderful explanation. I love your photography. I KNEW that there was much more there than meets the eye. Sorry that I was so spiritually dull to miss it. BTW, I did notice the 5:5 on the clock tower. 🙂 Grace times two. May His wonderful grace and truth be shed abroad in our hearts. ❤ ❤
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
Thanks a bunch for your encouraging words, dear Michael! 🙂 Amen to your prayer, my brother! ❤ ❤
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Ken Dawson said:
Well I tried to speak to you on my IPAD but it was acting up so now im on my lap top and I will try again–I tried that silent stuff a few times and have not had any results and yes Sparks is right about watching out for deception–It seems to be my experience that Dad deals with me on the spur of the moment when I am least expecting Him–Sparks had another post this past week that caught my attention—It is titled–Today if you Hear His Voice—According to Sparks its not that God might not be speaking to us but rather WILL we hear Him when he does and not harden our hearts but be willing to follow His guidance–Now thats where the rubber meets the road–my dear–have a blessed Sunday in Germany!
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
Ken, I read that other post from TAS you mentioned, too, and it was very good! It is so true that God does speak, even always, but I often tend to ignore His still small voice because it is soooooo subtle at times. Rather, I expect Him ‘to shout into my ears’ and give me the faith longed for in an instant. But from my own experiences I need to admit that the latter never happens. Just yesterday I read a confirmation about God’s subtle speaking from OC… wait… checking where it was….. I thought this devotional was pretty helpful, esp. the first, and perhaps the second paragraph as well.
“Do Not Quench the Spirit”
August 13, 2017
Do not quench the Spirit. —1 Thessalonians 5:19
The voice of the Spirit of God is as gentle as a summer breeze— so gentle that unless you are living in complete fellowship and oneness with God, you will never hear it. The sense of warning and restraint that the Spirit gives comes to us in the most amazingly gentle ways. And if you are not sensitive enough to detect His voice, you will quench it, and your spiritual life will be impaired. This sense of restraint will always come as a “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12), so faint that no one except a saint of God will notice it.
Beware if in sharing your personal testimony you continually have to look back, saying, “Once, a number of years ago, I was saved.” If you have put your “hand to the plow” and are walking in the light, there is no “looking back”— the past is instilled into the present wonder of fellowship and oneness with God (Luke 9:62 ; also see 1 John 1:6-7). If you get out of the light, you become a sentimental Christian, and live only on your memories, and your testimony will have a hard metallic ring to it. Beware of trying to cover up your present refusal to “walk in the light” by recalling your past experiences when you did “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7). When-ever the Spirit gives you that sense of restraint, call a halt and make things right, or else you will go on quenching and grieving Him without even knowing it.
Suppose God brings you to a crisis and you almost endure it, but not completely. He will engineer the crisis again, but this time some of the intensity will be lost. You will have less discernment and more humiliation at having disobeyed. If you continue to grieve His Spirit, there will come a time when that crisis cannot be repeated, because you have totally quenched Him. But if you will go on through the crisis, your life will become a hymn of praise to God. Never become attached to anything that continues to hurt God. For you to be free of it, God must be allowed to hurt whatever it may be.
https://utmost.org/do-not-quench-the-spirit/
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Kenneth Dawson said:
Well not only does he speak with a voice and yes it is hard to learn to listen for it but also as it says in the MESSAGE Bible in Galatians 3:11–12 The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him–So my understanding of that is to let God handle the situation no matter if He talks to me or not.
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
Amen. Well put, Ken! ⭐
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Michael said:
Susanne, what you shared from O.C. above was very good. Being careful to pray and seek God’s leading in every situation has been a long process for me. All too often I have not done this. For instance, I have had money in the bank and then found a “good deal” on something that I liked and just went ahead and purchased it without stopping to pray and wait for Him to answer. I have all too often relied on my human logic instead of the Logos of God.
For instance we bought ten acres of rural land for a good price two years ago and I had it in my mind to put a lot of hard work into it and make improvements that would make it more usable as a place to park our RV trailer in the summer as a “get away,” and make it more valuable and sellable in the future. Well, last fall when the physical work on it was very demanding my back gave out and that was that. “All STOP!” Sometimes God teaches us in very hard ways when a soft messenger like His gentle voice is ignored. I can see that in my case this was not far from the way that God blessing that self-willed Jacob by crippling him and making him weak from then on. I am comforted that God rebukes and chastens those whom He love and He scourges those who are His sons instead of letting us run freely and destroy ourselves and others with our self-wills.
“Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” (2Cor 12:10, KJ2000)
Thank you, dear sister. You are a blessing in my life.
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
You are very welcome, Michael. For me, you are a treasure from God! 💎
I pray that God might show you clearly (!) what to do with that property in the days ahead. 🙏🏕💨👣😇
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Michael said:
Oh, Susann. I can’t count the ways and times that He has spoken to me through you. Your loving kindness and insight has been truly a blessing from our Daddy in my life.
Thank you for your prayers over this matter and all the prayers you have offered up for me over the last few years. It has been a wonderful experience to know someone after the Spirit in this way. 🙏😇 ❤
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
God has spoken to me through you so often, too, Michael. You have been a big blessing in my life, my dear brother! I am glad to have come to know you spiritually! 🙏😇 ❤
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Judi Eddy said:
Dear Susanne
Upon reading this the following verses came to mind:
Colossians 2: 20-23 (AMPC)
“If then you have died with Christ to material ways of looking at things and have escaped from the world’s crude and elemental notions and teachings of externalism, why do you live as if you still belong to the world? [Why do you submit to rules and regulations?—such as]
Do not handle [this], Do not taste [that], Do not even touch [them],
Referring to things all of which perish with being used. To do this is to follow human precepts and doctrines.
Such [practices] have indeed the outward appearance [that popularly passes] for wisdom, in promoting self-imposed rigor of devotion and delight in self-humiliation and severity of discipline of the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh (the lower nature). [Instead, they do not honor God but serve only to indulge the flesh.]”
I actually used to spend time at a convent when I was first “saved” (in the 70’s). It was an Episcopal convent and I was still Roman Catholic at that time but was hungry for God! The nuns practiced daily silence at breakfast (and at other times) and I must say I ate my food warm since there was no conversation to keep me from eating right away lol.
I would comment that – in my personal experience – I did not find that the exercises in silence brought me closer to God,
Some of the saints like Madame Guyon practiced silence, I think, and other mystics (I think that is what they are called) in earlier times so there must be a place for it that DOES produce fruit.
To take time to remember the Lord often throughout the day and worship Him – even silently – I think is profitable in our crazy hurry hurry lives.
I would not have questioned the “spirit” of the practices I engaged in back then. I have learned that passivity in any exercise we use to “seek God” is very dangerous as TAS warns.
I recently left a “prophetic” church I was a member of for several years. When we had intercession we all sat in a circle and “waited” on God to give us something to say or pray. Then after a bit the Pastor would ask if anyone heard anything. We would just have some music playing while we “waited”. At the end we would seek a common theme and pray that as the “finale”.
Not long ago I began to question some of what was being said and done by who I thought was the Holy Spirit in these meetings – what Spirit was giving us the visions and words?? You know it was scary since I did not want to offend the HOLY Spirit but I just became more and more unsure of WHO was guiding the prayers. etc. and so stopped going…
How easy to fall into divination! I believe now that the method used was like a seance and so we had potentially opened ourselves up to deception. Reading the first part of TAS teaching on the psychical nature masquerading as the Spirit seems to back that up.
I wonder if God’s idea of silence before Him might be quite different than has been practiced in many Christian circles?? It seems that the enemy is taking full advantage of people’s desires for the super-natural to manifest and setting us up big time!
“dimple” posted a comment on Michael’s blog under “Life’s Clouds” and in part said “I have prayed for some time that God would show me the lies I have believed.” and then Michael in part replied, ” He (God) spends more time unlearning us than He does teaching us doctrines”.
I say a hearty AMEN to that! and may we also come to our “wit’s end” sooner rather than later!
Another thought provoking post, Susanne, and thank you for it 🙂 XO
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
You are welcome as to the thought-provoking post, dear Judi! 🙂
Your sharing of Colossians 2 has been a very appropriate contribution. That fits! ⭐
I think we are all different by nature. For some people it is easier to sit silently because they do not want to say that much anyway. I believe that God meets us where we are right now; He has no problems with revealing Himself to someone who is sitting there silently, maybe, even waiting for anything but God. BUT God can do as He wishes! 🙂
I often wondered about these convents also. There you might find very friendly nuns or monks…. that made me wonder….. whether they truly knew the same Lord I did? Today I would say, could be, though VERY rarely since God is like the wind regarding His leading. These people with their rules and rituals are quite predictable in their doing and speaking. Furthermore, often times people have a kind personality by nature which can easily be confused with the work of the Holy Spirit. And being silent often times does not mean you have to do with a real saint. Even Buddhist monks are able to do so and they are usually not born again.
What you shared about this ‘prophetic’ meeting reminded me strongly of the cult I once was in. It seems to me that they put God in a box and give Him a time where He ‘is allowed’ to act. If He does not show up, which is usually the case when these meetings take place on a regular man-made basis, the old nature pops up and wants to prove God’s doing through a particular person. Pride comes up, too, and Satan can use our natural imagination in order to play tricks on us. I recall that a lot of mental damage was caused back then in our cult. Words are very powerful, esp. when someone claims to have spoken for God. In such cases the effect on the one who believes the words is much deeper. Words bring either death when coming from a false spirit, or they bestow the Life of God on the one who is listening.
May God free us from all lies believed. AMEN to Louise’s (Dimple’s) post on AWV!
PS
Judi, I just checked my older articles and found where I described my own experiences with the wrong spirits in the RCC and the cult. If you have time and are interested, here is the link.
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Judi Eddy said:
Thank you so much Susanne!
Yes Yes and YES! I am wonderfully enriched by the post you shared with me: “SpottIng Sectarian Spirits”. WOW!
The comments were incredible too.
I have commented here on some of what I read there hopeful that it does not conflict but compliments this current post.
I am still learning to seek confirmations to avoid deception on top of deception! I question what I might see or hear in my quiet times now.
In the comments on “Spotting Sectarian Spirits”, Fred had asked you what was meant by ‘godly suspicion’ and I think that answer should be fast forwarded here:
(quote:)”Good question, Fred. I mean suspicion that does not come from the flesh and from the bad experiences we have had, but springs from divine intervention, that is, when we perceive a more or less subtle internal warning (heart and belly region) about a dangerous spirit approaching us through another person.
Oh boy, I hope my “definition” was not too complicated! 😉”(end quote)
(IMOI think that could also relate to any ‘spiritual exercises’ we are involved in)
Regarding the RCC I do believe that any truth I gleaned out of the mix was due to the Spirit’s work of separation.
Heb 4:12
” For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the [a]breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.” (AMPC)
Another quote by you that spoke to me and confirms what I went through to get free of this last group I was in:
(quote)”However, after all, I still needed two years of working through Scripture and praying to God until I was able to quit the sect. Those evil spirits are actually far more powerful than I would have ever thought. They can bind us to themselves with invisible chains we cannot get rid of on our own; only Jesus can set us free (Jn 8:32-36), …”(end quote)
Wow – Once I made up my mind to leave I was attacked furiously – not by flesh and blood so much but in my thoughts, dreams, and even health. I wondered if I had erred in leaving but on the other side of a few months of the attacks I am breathing a big sigh of relief! Your post, and Michael’s comments, confirm I heard the Spirit correctly to get out…
And finally (if there is ever a “finally” commenting lol) – to tie these comments together to the current theme:
From TAS article in “Seeking Silence” “Now unless our soul-life is met in the power of the Cross, and subjected to God, and we know what it is to live in and walk after the Spirit, we are exposed to deception”
This does not leave any room for compromise does it?
Heb 12:29 “for our God is a consuming fire”
May the Lord bless all who are seeking Him for Who He is and as He is…no matter what the cost 🙂 and in unlearning what we learned in our various traditions…
XOXO in Christ
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
You are very welcome, Judi. I was happy to read that what Michael and I had shared was helpful for you, even served as a confirmation that your decision to leave this group had truly been Spirit-led. 🙂
What you described about being attacked after finally leaving goes perfectly together with my own experiences: Bad health mentally and physically for years! Whenever I allowed an evil spirit later to comment on here on my blog(s), I got attacked extremely. Not only during the day, but esp. in the nights (nightmares, anxieties, panic attacks etc.) Actually, I had to unlearn to be always nice toward everyone. And it was anything but fun to turn from the ‘nice girl’ into an obedient follower of Christ who is hated at times. Not easy for the flesh! But His peace as a reward has been the best confirmation for me. Without obedience I become immediately restless. From hence, I know…
Amen to your prayer, Judi!
Love,
Susanne XOXO
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
You are very welcome, dear Anna. Indeed, meditation is not for everyone, I know.
I am so sorry to hear that your helth collapsed! 😦 Yet it seems it might have been part of God’s plan to draw you closer to Himself… But who knows His real thoughts…
What I really loved was THIS. You wrote,
“We think we have to go in search of God. But He is there all the time. We may not hear Him audibly. But He can use almost anything to communicate with us. I often see His hand in nature.”
Wow!! This is so true! He can use almost everything to communicate with us! And there is no need to see beautiful scenery or to go for a sightseeing tour elsewhere, God is truly everywhere. Very well said, Anna! ⭐ 🙂
With love,
Susanne ❤ ❤ ❤
PS
I just followed the link you posted. It is interesting that there are different kinds of silence, even negative ones, not only in the Bible!
In fact, God does not need to hear our voice screaming out loud since God is Spirit, not flesh with its five senses only. That makes me think of deaf and dumb people. How could God ever hear their prayers if He needed their voice to speak to Him? That has always been my argument when I heard people quote this verse:
“For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Rom 10:10 ESV)
Maybe, God refers to our spiritual ‘mouth’ that speaks silently with Him in our mind. 😉
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Anna Waldherr said:
I can always count on learning something from you, Susanne! ❤
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
The same applies to me, dear Anna. ❤ I also had to correct two typos of mine. Above it should have read meditation, not mediation, which would not make much sense here. 🙂
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Michael said:
Susanne and Anna, thanks for this thread. As I read this blog and all the comments, I can see that in my own case I have been much like Jacob who always had a scheme or a plan on how to get what he wanted, his birthright, his flocks, his wives, etc. That all came to a grinding halt when he had to face his brother Esau and his small army of men who came out to meet Jacob upon his return. He knew he was “dead meat.” He finally turned to God and how did God prepare him for this crisis? He blessed him by crippling him. Up until that fateful night he was even trying to appease Esau by buying him off. That was the end of scheming Jacob and the beginning of weak Jacob who had to rely on God from then on.
“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather boast in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2Cor 12:9, KJ2000)
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
You are welcome as to our thread, Michael.
May God bless you and bestow His grace on you richly! 💫😇💫
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Michael said:
Thank you, Susanne. And may He watch over you and your family in the days ahead and inspire you with the guidance and words of His Spirit.
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Susanne Schuberth (Germany) said:
Same for you, my dear brother! ❤
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