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‘Alas,’ said Aslan, shaking his head, ‘Things always work
according to their nature. She has won her heart’s desire;
she has unwearying strength and endless days . . . But
length of days with an evil heart is only length of misery
and already she begins to know it. All get what they want;
they do not always like it.’
[4]
Stillness and silence are so conducive to receiving
the Lord’s insights that it should come as no
surprise to find that the devil objects to them –
big time! They also require great firmness as well
as sensitivity, to cut short unprofitable monologues
in our head.
Beware fantasies that project us centre-stage – they
nurture insatiable longings, and reveal our hidden
idolatries in ways that no day-to-day ‘reality’ can
ever hope to match.
Sooner or later, these hidden imbalances risk
escaping beyond the confines of our subconscious,
and defining the day-to-day make up our
character.[5]
Amongst the greater danger associated with silence,
the devil, who is both crafty and religious, uses
extreme isolation as a breeding ground for unchecked
delusions. Beware any vision that overfeeds the ego,
or that will not allow anyone to question its
validity!
Beware what you set your heart on, too, “for it will
be yours”, as the saintly Amy Carmichael warned.
Once people become caught up in unhealthy fixations,
they end up attempting to justify the unjustifiable
– and resorting to that most effective
conversation-stopping excuse: ‘The Lord told me to
do it!’ All the more reason to take another of Amy’s
prayers to heart: ‘Holy Spirit, think through me
till Your ideas are my ideas.’
For Reflection and Prayer
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Lord Jesus,
when too many tensions come our way,
teach us when to turn from too much looking at them,
and to rest in You.
Corral wayward thoughts and wild emotions.
Restore our hearts to silence, and expand our hearts
to love!
Keep us close to where Your touch draws near,
and to those whom we can help,
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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