Have You Ever Been Alone with God? (1)

When they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples —Mark 4:34

Our Solitude with Him. Jesus doesn’t take us aside and explain things to us all the time; He explains things to us as we are able to understand them. The lives of others are examples for us, but God requires us to examine our own souls. It is slow work— so slow that it takes God all of time and eternity to make a man or woman conform to His purpose. We can only be used by God after we allow Him to show us the deep, hidden areas of our own character. It is astounding how ignorant we are about ourselves! We don’t even recognize the envy, laziness, or pride within us when we see it. But Jesus will reveal to us everything we have held within ourselves before His grace began to work. How many of us have learned to look inwardly with courage?

We have to get rid of the idea that we understand ourselves. That is always the last bit of pride to go. The only One who understands us is God. The greatest curse in our spiritual life is pride. If we have ever had a glimpse of what we are like in the sight of God, we will never say, “Oh, I’m so unworthy.” We will understand that this goes without saying. But as long as there is any doubt that we are unworthy, God will continue to close us in until He gets us alone. Whenever there is any element of pride or conceit remaining, Jesus can’t teach us anything. He will allow us to experience heartbreak or the disappointment we feel when our intellectual pride is wounded. He will reveal numerous misplaced affections or desires— things over which we never thought He would have to get us alone. Many things are shown to us, often without effect. But when God gets us alone over them, they will be clear.

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你曾獨自與神同在麼？

沒有人的時候，就把一切的道講給門徒聽。 （可四34） 

我們與神獨處。耶穌不會時常把我們拉在一旁，獨自把事情向我們講解；他乃按著我們所能了解的，講給我們聽。別人的生命都不過是比喻，神所要的乃是我們對自己的反省。這是一項緩慢的工作，神要用無盡的時間才把一個人塑造成合他心意的。我們若要被神使用，就要讓他帶我們認識自己的不足與醜陋。我們對自己認識之少，簡直令人驚奇。嫉妒、怠惰、驕傲，我們早已視若無睹。耶穌就是要把我們未蒙他恩典改造之前，所有蘊藏在肉體裡的東西顯明出來。有多少人肯鼓起勇氣往內裡一看？ 

要除掉自以為認識自己的驕傲，這是最難的。唯一明白我們的只有神。在屬靈生命中，最大的咒詛就是自負。我們若有機會瞥見自己在神的眼中本來面目，就永不會說：[啊，我是多麼不配。 ]因為我們實實在在不配，所以用不著說出來。一日我們還未完全認識自己真的不配，神就會追著我們，直至與我們碰頭。因為只要有一些自負或驕傲存在，耶穌就無法向我們解明真理。他要領我們經過理智驕傲的創痛，或心靈的沮喪；他會披露不合宜的感情——這些東西是我們從未想過神要用來對付我們的。在教室裡，我們聽了許多話，但未明白。惟有當神單獨與我們相處，我們才真正明白。 

祈禱◆噢，主啊，[群眾]在今天將會來而又去。幫助我像我的主，留守在孤寂的地方祈禱。