[MissBrattified]

"You would have me tell you what are the best means to be used by a young person, to prevent the world, with all its opening and insnaring scenes, from drawing the heart aside from God. It is an important question; but I apprehend your own heart will tell you, that you are already possessed of all the information concerning it which you can well expect from me. I could only attempt to answer it from the Bible, which lies open to you likewise. If your heart is like mine, it must confess, that when it turns aside from God it is seldom through ignorance of the proper means or motives which should have kept us near him, but rather from an evil principle within, which prevails against our better judgment, and renders us unfaithful to light already received."

I like this section, because JN reminds Miss F of her own access to God and His Word. He is willing to advise her, but is kind of calling her bluff on the idea that she doesn't know what to do....

Our Pastor tells folks that many times they wouldn't need to come to him for counselling if they would seek God first.

What I garnered from this was: Perhaps when we say we don't know what to do, it is that "evil principle" within that blinds us to what we already know, or what we don't want to see or face. Sometimes we don't want to see the answers because we don't like them, and we go around getting second and third opinions to see if we can find someone who will agree with our carnal side, so then we can have some sort of justification to continue as we are.

"The Lord permits us to feel our weakness, that we may be sensible of it; for though we are ready in words to confess that we are weak, we do not so properly know it, till that secret, though unallowed, dependence we have upon some strength in ourselves is brought to the trial, and fails us. To be humble, and, like a little child, afraid of taking a step alone, and so conscious of snares and dangers around us, as to cry to him continually to hold us up that we may be safe, is the sure, the infallible, the only secret of walking closely with him."

Pastor T talked about this last week...how that in order to be humble, we have to remember our weaknesses, and forgetting our weakness is the first step in the direction of pride. When we believe we are strong, we are actually weak, because we have become prideful in our "righteousness"...when you think you are righteous...you are not...because thinking highly of oneself is, in and of itself, wrong. We should instead think highly of God.

Charles Spurgeon said, "Humility is to make a right estimate of one's self." If we use the knowledge from God's Word, then the only right estimate we can ever make of ourselves is the naked truth of our imperfection. The usefulness of recognizing our weakness is found when we counter it by acknowledging God's strength, and allowing Him to work in our lives.