Abandonment & Revelation - Chapter 8

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"Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon

Let us continue viewing this matter of abandonment.

Some have asked the question, “If I utterly abandon myself to the Lord, will that mean I will have no new revelation of Jesus Christ?”

Does abandonment end revelation?

No, it does not. Quite the contrary, abandonment is the means that the Lord will use to give you revelation. The revelation you receive will come to you as reality rather than knowledge. This is made possible only by abandonment. You must remember to whom it is you are abandoning yourself.

It is to the Lord Jesus that you abandon yourself. It is also the Lord whom you will follow as the Way; it is this Lord that you will hear as the Truth, and it is from this Lord that you will receive Life. (john 14:6) If you follow Him as the Way, you will hear Him as the Truth, and He will bring Life to you as the Life.

As revelation comes to you, something happens; Jesus Christ actually makes an imprint of Himself upon your soul. Each time He comes to you, He leaves a new and different impression of His nature upon you.

Soon there are many different expressions of His nature impressed into your being.

Perhaps you have heard that you should think on the different experiences of Jesus Christ. But it is far better for you to bear, to carry, these experiences of Jesus Christ within yourself.

This is the way it was in the life of Paul. He did not ponder the sufferings of Christ; he did not consider the marks of suffering of on the Lord’s body. Instead, Paul bore in his own body the experiences of his Lord. He even said, “I bear in my body the marks of Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 6:17) Did he do so by considering such marks? No. Jesus Christ had personally imprinted Himself upon Paul.

When the Lord finds a believer who is completely abandoned to Him in all things without and in all things within, He will often choose to give that person special revelations of His nature. If such should be your experience, accept these revelations with a thankful heart.

Always receive everything from Him with a thankful heart, no matter what it is He chooses to bestow.

Let us say that the Lord gives you special revelation. What should be your attitude? You must receive the revelation as you would receive all other things from Him.

There are Christians to whom God has given some revelation of Himself, and that revelation has brought enjoyment to them for years. In other words, sometimes the Lord will give you such a powerful revelation of Himself that the experience of that one truth will be your strength for years. During that time you are drawn more and more inwardly to God. This is wonderful. You should be faithful to that revelation just as long as it lasts.

But what happens when that revelation begins to fade away; what do you do when it no longer bring the enjoyment it once did? When this happens, it simply means that God has decided it best to put an end to that experience. What must be your attitude? You must freely lay yield to having it taken away from you. Lay it aside. The Lord wishes to move on to a deeper and more central understanding of Himself. Receive all things equally. Abandon yourself even in matters of revelation. Always be ready to give yourself to whatever seems to be His will. Have no desire in your life except the desire to reach passionately after Him and to always dwell with Him. Learn what it means to continually sink into nothingness before your Lord.

Learn, having done this, to accept equally all His gifts, whether they are light or darkness. Treat fruitfulness and barrenness the same way.

Whether it be weakness or strength, sweetness or bitterness, temptation, distraction, pain, weariness, uncertainty or blessing, all should be received as equal from the Lord’s hand. None of these should delay your course even for a moment.

One last word on revelation.

The Lord gives you some revelation that you are unable to understand. Do not be distressed; you have no reason to be concerned. Simply Love the Lord. This love includes within itself every kind of devotion for Him. If you are one who is given up to God and God alone, then you will have no trouble seeing Jesus Christ revealed to you in all the fullness of His nature. Some part of the revelation of Himself may be very clear; some other part of that revelation may be not so clear.

Accept them both the same. Anyone who loves God loves everything that pertains to Him. You joy in the revelation of Him that you do not understand just as you do in the revelation of Him that you do understand.

If you love Him, you love everything about Him.


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Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madame Jeanne Guyon
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.