This is something I read online a while back and had copied into the notes section on my phone...

"The calling to ministry has become an idol..It has become our goal. But the Lord is extremely merciful to judge our idols and remove everything that hinders love. Ministry can never compare to the beauty of the Lord in the secret place. Nothing compares to Him.

The pride of life has found its way in to the church. We want to make a name for ourselves. Be somebody. Be known. Be recognized. We take pride in who we know, where we have been to ministry school, who we are connected to, who knows us, who sees us, and how accepted we are by leaders or other leadership. We want the praise of men more than the praise of God. We would rather spend time with a "big name" leader than with the Lord. This is a great deception.

We must all understand that being before the Lord in His presence, is greater than being before any other man. There actually is no comparison. Yet we seem to value the recognition of man more than the recognition of the Lord. Shouldn't only the Lord seeing us in the secret place be enough? Why do we need man to see us? Our hearts need to be purified and the pride of life needs to be removed. This can only happen in the secret place of His presence. Generally it will take years.

Being before the Lord is greater than being before any president, actor, or church leader. I saw this so clearly once when I was deep in His presence. I cannot effectively put the experience into words but I will try. I was in the Spirit, lost in the Lord's manifest presence. One with Him. I understood His greatness. The majesty of the great King. I saw how no one compared to Him. I was shown how people on the earth knowing me was complete rubbish compared to Him knowing me.

Then I understood with clarity that He knew me, because I had been coming before Him on a continual basis. He saw me. And when He saw me, it was all that mattered. For the great King to know me and see me. To have access to the God of everything. Nothing compares. No one compares. Multitudes of people certainly don't. I saw so clearly that the greatest thing that anyone could ever accomplish in this life, was to be before the great King. To know Him and be known by Him. This is total fulfillment.

In this life so many people are striving to be somebody. Striving to accomplish something and be a success. Striving for significance. Even in the church, believers are striving for ministry. Striving for leadership or to be accepted in the church. But all of this leads to more emptiness. The secret place, being alone with Christ, is the fulfillment of every need and desire.

...I am nothing special and the Lord is no respecter of persons. The condition to walking in the manifest presence of God is spending time with Him.

To him who has time (with the Lord), more will be given. To him who does not have time (with the Lord), even what he does have will be taken from him. Spend the time that you do have meditating on the scriptures and waiting on God, and He will give you more. There is no formula for entering into the presence of the Lord in the secret place. It's based on relationship and your pursuit of Him.

There are some Christians who might say, "It's not about feeling. It'sabout faith, and it is enough to know that He is always with you." This statement and statements similar to it, are formed out of ignorance. If people only knew the level of intimacy that comes with feeling the presence of the Lord, they would never say such things."

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SI Moderator - Brandy Gordon