IT IS EXPEDIENT THAT I GO AWAY

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.” – John 16:7

For this phrase “expedient for you,” one translation gives, “it is profitable and advantageous for you…” Beyond the essential working that He, must go away, so that He could send the Holy Spirit to dwell in men, we find again a personal in-working application from this verse, as He would lead us through the transition from the outward consciousness into the inner knowing.

But Lord, we need You so desperately! We desire to walk and talk with You, and feel your very presence continually. Still He answers back, “It is better for you that I go away.” How can this be?

It is in the silences, in the times of aloneness, in the arena of nothingness, that the secrets of men’s hearts are made manifest, and we begin to know ourselves for what we really are. He puts our faith to a test in a manner that would not be tested when we were daily conscious of His overshadowing. Easy to believe on Him when we daily see miracles performed, and hear the gracious words which come from His lips; the dead are raised, the lame walk, the blind see, the poor have the gospel preached unto them. Lord, this is wonderful, just stay right here with us and continue to minister to our needs. “But it is profitable and advantageous for you that I go away.”

The Word is alive as we read it day by day, the prophecies are uplifting, the revelations keep coming; what life there is in this walk with our Lord! Then, not said with words, but wrought in our experience, the stream trickles into dryness, feelings go barren, and prayers are empty… Is this GOOD for us? Yes, for we learn to “REST IN FAITH,” knowing that He remains in control and in due time, from deep within there arises the assurance and inner confidence that HE IS THERE, thus, learning to live from the well within.

From Daily Overcoming

The vine clings to the oak during the fiercest of storms. Although the violence of nature may uproot the oak, twining tendrils still cling to it. If the vine is on the side of the tree opposite the wind, the great oak is its protection; if it is on the exposed side, the tempest only presses it closer to the trunk. In some of the storms of life, God intervenes and shelters us, while in others He allows us to be exposed, so that we will be pressed more closely to Him. B. Launderville