Getting there in 2 parts

Part 1

"Come to Me . . . Matthew 11:28

Where sin and sorrow stops, and the song of the saint starts. Do I really want to get there? I can right now. The questions that truly matter in life are remarkably few, and they are all answered by these words— "Come to Me." Our Lord’s words are not, "Do this, or don’t do that," but— "Come to me." If I will simply come to Jesus, my real life will be brought into harmony with my real desires. I will actually cease from sin, and will find the song of the Lord beginning in my life.

Have you ever come to Jesus? Look at the stubbornness of your heart. You would rather do anything than this one simple childlike thing— "Come to Me." If you really want to experience ceasing from sin, you must come to Jesus.

Jesus Christ makes Himself the test to determine your genuineness. Look how He used the word come. At the most unexpected moments in your life there is this whisper of the Lord— "Come to Me," and you are immediately drawn to Him. Personal contact with Jesus changes everything. Be "foolish" enough to come and commit yourself to what He says. The attitude necessary for you to come to Him is one where your will has made the determination to let go of everything and deliberately commit it all to Him.

. . . and I will give you rest"— that is, "I will sustain you, causing you to stand firm." He is not saying, "I will put you to bed, hold your hand, and sing you to sleep." But, in essence, He is saying, "I will get you out of bed, out of your listlessness and exhaustion, and out of your condition of being half dead while you are still alive. I will penetrate you with the spirit of life, and you will be sustained by the perfection of vital activity." Yet we become so weak and pitiful and talk about "suffering" the will of the Lord! Where is the majestic vitality and the power of the Son of God in that?

My Utmost for His Highest
Oswald Chambers

Part 2

They said to Him, ’Rabbi . . . where are You staying?’ He said to them, ’Come and see’ —John 1:38-39

Where our self-interest sleeps and the real interest is awakened. "They . . . remained with Him that day . . . ." That is about all some of us ever do. We stay with Him a short time, only to wake up to our own realities of life. Our self-interest rises up and our abiding with Him is past. Yet there is no circumstance of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus.

"You are Simon . . . . You shall be called Cephas" ( John 1:42 ). God writes our new name only on those places in our lives where He has erased our pride, self-sufficiency, and self-interest. Some of us have our new name written only in certain spots, like spiritual measles. And in those areas of our lives we look all right. When we are in our best spiritual mood, you would think we were the highest quality saints. But don’t dare look at us when we are not in that mood. A true disciple is one who has his new name written all over him— self-interest, pride, and self-sufficiency have been completely erased.

Pride is the sin of making "self" our god. And some of us today do this, not like the Pharisee, but like the tax collector (see Luke 18:9-14 ). For you to say, "Oh, I’m no saint," is acceptable by human standards of pride, but it is unconscious blasphemy against God. You defy God to make you a saint, as if to say, "I am too weak and hopeless and outside the reach of the atonement by the Cross of Christ." Why aren’t you a saint? It is either that you do not want to be a saint, or that you do not believe that God can make you into one. You say it would be all right if God saved you and took you straight to heaven. That is exactly what He will do! And not only do we make our home with Him, but Jesus said of His Father and Himself, ". . . We will come to him and make Our home with him" ( John 14:23 ). Put no conditions on your life— let Jesus be everything to you, and He will take you home with Him not only for a day, but for eternity.

My Utmost for His Highest
Oswald Chambers

I read the statement about God "taking me out of bed, out of my listlessness, exhaustion, state of being half-dead while alive" and this is indeed what I need! The quoted phrases really do describe me and I desire to be lifted above this and to be pumped so full of energy and willingness to make a difference to the world I live in instead of clinging so selfishly to my luxurious life. How odd it should be that I can let laziness and other factors cause me to resist going to God despite how much of His love, grace, patience, goodness, power, healing (and the list just goes on and on) I have experienced in my lifetime (and I am not old)!

God has already promised to never leave me nor forsake me, to never shortchange me. Just by running a quick search in BibleGateway I found close to 15 passages where God encourages and reminds His people to be bold and courageous, to not fear or be discouraged for He is with us wherever we go, and to follow in His ways, that we may prosper and be a blessing to all around us. Need to just jump out of bed, renew my mind and strength in Him and go, go, go in the direction He has set out for me to attain the prize He has called me heavenward!