I will accept God’s “de-nesting” of me without remonstrance. To be de-nested by God is a sign that He feels I am reaching a level of maturity. As a new Christian I am given personal, fatherly attention by God for my growth’s sake. A new convert receives the quickest, fullest answers to prayers of any Christian. Later on, God will seem to ignore my prayers. That is because He feels that now I am beyond the need for assurance; I can rely on His naked Word.
My first real shock as a Christian comes when I begin to feel the de-nesting process. I am like a child being weaned. God no longer seems close, familiar. The “joy of … salvation” (Psalm 51:12) dims and may return only periodically. Feeling must give way to faith; dependence to independence. God begins to put me in alien hands, even Satan’s (cf. Job 2:6). He calls in other teachers to perfect my growth. Even Jesus was not exempt. He was put “into the hands of men” (Matthew 17:22), not for His own sake, but for mine. His de-nesting began with the incarnation and ended with His burial. But the process for Him was nothing other than self-sacrificial. Mine is always educational.
The de-nesting process goes on throughout life. That is why I can never have absolute tranquillity here. The moment I learn my lesson in one pair of hands, God farms me out to another. The important thing is my growth; what I feel is unimportant. God looks for the image of Christ in me, not for my comfort. I may feel very upset, discomposed, fruitless, and aimless, and yet He rejoices because He finds Jesus in me. It is a mark of tremendous growth when I see God rejoicing and can rejoice with Him. It is positively thrilling to realize I can rejoice the heart of God.
“The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27).
Daily with the King 