Spring 1994

Attaining That Which is Best
Wade E Taylor

"Yes, I long to come to know Him; that is, the
power of His resurrection and so to share with
Him His sufferings as to be continuously
transformed by His death, in the hope of
attaining, in some measure, the resurrection
that lifts me out from among the dead.

It is not a fact that I have already secured
it or already reached perfection, but I am
pressing on to see if I can capture it, the
ideal for which I was captured by Christ Jesus.

Brothers, I do not think that I have captured
it yet, but here is my one aspiration, so
forgetting what is behind me and reaching out
for what is ahead of me,

I am pressing onward toward the goal, to win
the prize to which God through Jesus Christ
is calling us upward" Phil 3:10 14 Williams.

We must guard our spirit concerning things that can hinder the quality of our spiritual life.

When we neglect to greatly value and maintain His presence in our daily lives, we will lose our interest in personally knowing the Lord. Our understanding of spiritual principles will become clouded and deteriorate and we will be robbed of His best in our spiritual experience.

These hindrances and negative things, if not dealt with, will gradually eat away the progress we have made towards spirituality. As a result, any spiritual sensitivity that has developed within us will become dull and we will begin to feel that the Lord is far away and no longer interested in us.

If we are sincere in our desire for His best, all attachments that are not compatible with His will and purpose for us, or do not enhance His workings within us, must be brought to the cross and left there. Only then will we be established on a firm foundation and be able to cultivate a lasting, abiding friendship with the Lord.

As we continue in our times of communion with the Lord, our perception and understanding of spiritual things will increase. We will have a progressively increasing desire and capacity to respond to and value His abiding presence and workings within our lives.

Consider the working of the Lord within David's life, in preparing him to become King over Israel in Saul's stead. A short time after he had been anointed by Samuel to be King, David was brought into the palace to wait upon Saul. During this time, he often thought about the throne, and all that he would be able to accomplish when it was his.

Then Saul threw a javelin at David and ordered him killed. He fled into the wilderness with Saul's army close behind and hid in the back of a cave. In the darkness of this cave, all of his dreams and ideas concerning the throne lost their significance.

As these former things, which had meant much to him, began to die, David fully submitted his life to the Lord, and as never before began to look to the Lord Himself, apart from what the Lord could do for him. In the intense pressure of his present circumstance, and with a new vision and understanding of eternal values, David expressed his inner being to the Lord:

"One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will
I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of
the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the
beauty of the Lord and to enquire in His temple"
Psalm 27:4.

David had been reduced to "one desire." Now, the Lord was first in His life. The throne that came before him in the darkness of the cave was the eternal Throne of the King of kings. The throne of Israel no longer mattered.

David had been prepared by the Lord for the throne of Israel, while hiding in the back of a cave. Now, the Lord could trust him in places of pressure. He would not fail the Lord, as Saul had. Our "cave" will be quite different. It is important that we recognize the place of His dealings and rightly respond.

"My son, do not think lightly of the Lord's discipline,
and do not faint when He corrects you; For those
whom the Lord loves He disciplines: And He scourges
every son whom He accepts" Heb 12:5b 6 Weymouth.

We also are to cultivate this "single eye" towards the Lord in our spiritual life and walk, that we may be ready and available to the Lord for His purposes. We do not necessarily need to know what these purposes are in order to do this.

We are to put our faith in Him, knowing that He is concerned about us. The Lord has a before known plan and purpose for our lives. We are to recognize this, and then trust Him to bring it about.

"Except you be converted, and become as little

children, you shall not enter into the Kingdom
of Heaven" Matt 18:3.

As we acknowledge our insufficiency to Him, we recognize that we cannot fulfill His will for our lives with our own ability. Some of us may have a radiant personality and much ability, but others do not. In a sense, we are much better off if we do not, as it will be easier for us to lean upon the Lord.

Paul recognized the necessity of his dependence on the Lord. He said,

"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:
but this one thing I do, forgetting those things
which are behind and reaching forth unto those
things which are before" Phil 3:13.

He was able to focus his vision in the right place.

While Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus, Martha protested that she was not helping to prepare a meal for Jesus. Jesus said to Martha,

"You are anxious and worried about a multitude of
things; and yet only one thing is needful. Mary
has chosen the good portion and she shall not be
deprived of it" Luke 10:41 42 Weymouth.

We should focus our lives on the single fact that the Lord has something specific in mind for us. Just as Mary sat at His feet in anticipation, we are to wait upon Him for the outworking of the circumstances that will bring His purpose into operation within our life experience. "One thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen that good part."

We must forget the past, both our successes and our failures, and begin to reach forth unto Him. "Reaching forth" means that I am making an effort. I will wait upon the Lord in faith and in expectancy. I will make room for Him to bring into my life pattern that which He has for me, and then obediently cooperate with whatever He may do.

We can trust the Lord with our lives. Jesus prayed: "Our FATHER which art in heaven." We serve a Father who loves us, He truly is OUR Father. We can come to Him in trust and in expectancy.

"What man is there among you, who if his son shall
ask him for bread will offer him a stone? Or if
he shall ask him for a fish will offer him a snake?

If you then, imperfect as you are, know how to give
good gifts to your children, how much more will your
Father in heaven give good things to those who ask

him" Matt 7:9 11 Weymouth.

We should have a concept of our Heavenly Father as being one who will give good things to those who come to Him and ask. This relates to our practical daily lives, not just to our spiritual desires. "That I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended." We are to believe that the Lord has a special purpose for our lives, and then trust Him to bring it about.

"Hast thou not known? hath thou not heard, that
the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of
the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is
weary? there is no searching of his understanding"
Isa 40:28.

He does not weary. "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength" Isa 40:29. No matter how good my intentions may be today, in a short time, I will become tired, discouraged, and worn down. Then, I will begin to doubt everything that I believe and am enthusiastic about today.

But, the Word tells us that He giveth POWER to the faint, to them that have no might. In our discouragement and weakness, He increaseth strength. "Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall." This is where our problems begin. We get tired and weary, and say things that ought not to be said.

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew
their strength; they shall mount up with wings
as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary;
and they shall walk, and not faint" Isa 40:31.

We will get tired. We may even lose our vision and say, "I do not care." We need not settle for this and begin to feel sorry for ourselves. There is a provision and an answer, "But, you shall receive power ..." Acts 1:8.

As we wait upon the Lord, there will come a renewing and a strengthening of our vision and of our faith. Waiting on the Lord is as "the burning bush" which burned and was not consumed (Exodus 3:1 4). That which burns within us of the fire of God cannot be consumed out of our lives, but it must be fanned and nurtured in order to be sustained.

Our devotional life is not arbitrary, nor is it just something we should do. It is much more than this. It includes our fellowship and communion with the Lord, but also within it is the creation of renewed life, vision, and a spiritual strength that is birthed into all that He has for us.

"Not as though I had already attained, either
were already perfect: but I follow after, if

that I may apprehend that for which also I am
apprehended of Christ Jesus" Phil 3:12.

I cannot see what it is, but I believe it. I am determined to wait upon Him for its realization in my life experience.

Do not let the enemy rob you. Come to this singleness of vision.

"One thing have I desired of the Lord,
that will I seek after."

And then, begin to do it.