Q:? What is the difference b/t "interfering in other people's lives" and being the hand and feet of Christ? After reading the following devo. from Oswald Chambers, i would love to hear your comments on the balance you find b/t interfering and serving others.
"Lord, what shall this man do? . . What is that to thee(you)? Follow thou Me." John 21:21,2
One of our severest lessons comes from the stubborn refusal to see that we must not interfere in other people's lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God's order for others.
You see a certain person suffering, and you say - He shall not suffer, and I will see that he does not. You put your hand straight in front of God's permissive will to prevent it, and God says - "What is that to thee(you)?" If there is stagnation(for you) spiritually, never allow it to go on, but get into God's presence and find out the reason for it. Possibly you will find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another; proposing things you had no right to propose; advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit; your part is to be so rightly related to God that His discernment comes through you all the time for the blessing of another soul.
Most of us live on the borders of consciousness - consciously serving, consciously devoted to God. All this is immature, it is not the real life yet. The mature stage is the life of a child which is never conscious; we become so abandoned to God that the consciousness of being used never enters in. When we are consciously being used as broken bread and poured-out wine, there is another stage to be reached, where all consciousness of ourselves and of what God is doing through us is eliminated. A saint is never consciously a saint; a saint is consciously dependent on God.
What are your thoughts?
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2 comments:
I have a friend who has been struggling in her marriage. Instead of giving her advice I told her I would pray for her and ask God to show Himself to her because I didn't want to tell her something out of God's will for her life. And that is what I continue to do and check to see how God has blessed her so the He may get all the glory!
This is good food for thought and a matter for prayer!
Mike and I have had a couple of families lately with whom we have been counseling and it's difficult sometimes to draw boundaries between helping (serving) and when to know not to try to "fix" people or situations and allow God to do His work through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
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