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I enjoy reading from "Streams in the Desert" each day, I felt compelled to share today's devotion with you all. Be Blessed. "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18). "I kept for nearly a year the flask-shaped cocoon of an emperor moth. It is very peculiar in its construction. A narrow opening is left in the neck of the flask, through which the perfect insect forces its way, so that a forsaken cocoon is as entire as one still tenanted, no rupture of the interlacing fibers having taken place. The great disproportion between the means of egress and the size of the imprisoned insect makes one wonder how the exit is ever accomplished at all -- and it never is without great labor and difficulty. It is supposed that the pressure to which the moth's body is subjected in passing through such a narrow opening is a provision of nature for forcing the juices into the vessels of the wings, these being less developed at the period of emerging from the chrysalis than they are in other insects. I happened to witness the first efforts of my prisoned moth to escape from its long confinement. During a whole forenoon, from time to time, I watched it patiently striving and struggling to get out. It never seemed able to get beyond a certain point, and at last my patience was exhausted. Very probably the confining fibers were drier and less elastic than if the cocoon had been left all winter on its native heather, as nature meant it to be. At all events I thought I was wiser and more compassionate than its Maker, and I resolved to give it a helping hand. With the point of my scissors I snipped the confining threads to make the exit just a very little easier, and lo! immediately, and with perfect case, out crawled my moth dragging a huge swollen body and little shrivelled wings. In vain I watched to see that marvelous process of expansion in which these silently and swiftly develop before one's eyes; and as I traced the exquisite spots and markings of divers colors which were all there in miniature, I longed to see these assume their due proportions and the creature to appear in all its perfect beauty, as it is, in truth, one of the loveliest of its kind. But I looked in vain. My false tenderness had proved its ruin. It never was anything but a stunted abortion, crawling painfully through that brief life which it should have spent flying through the air on rainbow wings. I have thought of it often, often, when watching with pitiful eyes those who were struggling with sorrow, suffering, and distress; and I would fain cut short the discipline and give deliverance. Short-sighted man! How know I that one of these pangs or groans could be spared? The far-sighted, perfect love that seeks the perfection of its object does not weakly shrink from present, transient suffering. Our Father's love is too true to be weak. Because He loves His children, He chastises them that they may be partakers of His holiness. With this glorious end in view, He spares not for their crying. Made perfect through sufferings, as the Elder Brother was, the sons of God are trained up to obedience and brought to glory through much tribulation."

I found this poem in an old thrift store book entitled 212 Victory Poems. The name of the poem is "Will You Give it Up" ... I cannot give it up, The little world I know! The innocent delights of youth, The things I cherish so! 'Tis true, I love my Lord And want to do His will, And Oh, I may enjoy the world And be a Christian still! I love the hour of prayer, I love the hymns of praise, I love the blessed word that tells Of God's redeeming grace, But I am human still; And while I dwell on earth God surely will not grudge the hours I spend in harmless mirth. These things belong to youth, And are its natural right – My dress, my pastimes, and my friends, The merry and the bright. My Father's heart is kind; He will not count it ill That my small corner of the world Should please and hold me still! And yet-- "outside the camp", 'Twas there my Saviour died! It was the world that cast Him forth, And saw Him crucified. Can I take part with those Who nailed Him to the tree? And where His name is never praised Is there the place for me? Nay, world! I turn away, Though thou seem'st fair and good; That friendly outstretched hand of thine Is stained with Jesus' blood. If in thy least device I stoop to take a part, All unaware, thine influence steals God's presence from my heart. I miss my Saviour's smile Whene'er I walk thy ways; Thy laughter drowns the Spirit's voice And chokes the springs of praise. If e'er I turn aside To join thee for an hour, The face of Christ grows blurred and dim And prayer has lost its power! Farewell! Henceforth my place Is with the Lamb who died My Sovereign! While I have Thy love, What can I want beside? Thyself, dear Lord, art now My free and loving choice, In whom, though now I see Thee not, Believing, I rejoice! Shame on me that I sought Another joy than this, Or dreamt a heart at rest with Thee Could crave for earthly bliss! These vain and worthless things, I put them all aside; His goodness fills my longing soul, And I am satisfied. Lord Jesus! let me dwell "Outside the camp", with Thee. Since Thou art there, then there alone Is peace and home for me. Thy dear reproach to bear I'll count my highest gain, Till Thou return, my banished King, To take Thy power, and reign! --Margaret Mauro

We all have areas where we are in great need of the Lord of Breakthrough, but remember that before God broke through David's enemies, he returned to the stronghold and inquired of the Lord. "And David enquired of the Lord.....And David came to Baalperazim, and David smote them (the Philistines) there, and said, The Lord hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters." - 2 Samuel 5:19,20 RETURN TO THE STRONGHOLD Breakthrough is found in our private devotion and personal pursuit of God when no one is watching. If you are in need of breakthrough, make it a point to "return to the stronghold" and watch what the God of the Breakthrough does for you. When He breaks open, we break out. "The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of them." - Micah 2:13 "Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you" (Zechariah 9:12). Jesus modeled this profound truth in His own life. We see in Luke 4:14 that His time of fasting in the wilderness produced great power as well as preparing and positioning Him for His next stage of life and ministry. Great miracles along with public demonstrations of tremendous power and authority were often preceded by significant time spent hidden away with His Father in secret. When we purpose to live a life of sacrificial devotion to our Father in the secret place through contemplative prayer and fasting, we and the world we live in will become greater for it. This is one way that we can say "yes" to the ebbing pull of the Spirit in our daily life. "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in him." - Nahum 1:7 David found the God of the Breakthrough in the stronghold, not on the field of battle. He is our stronghold. It is in our returning to Him that He restores, breaks through, and gives back more than what we had lost and better than we had! A DOOR OF GREAT HOPE "So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water." - Exodus 15:22 For many of us, we have experienced a wilderness while fulfilling God's PURPOSE for our life. We feel lonely, barren, and unfruitful. We have been so dry and thirsty that we find ourselves crying out to God in desperation. Our life is in disorder, and at times we are confused and irritated. God has a purpose for our wilderness -- He does NOT plan for us to stay there! God brought the Israelites out of Egypt for the purpose of not only proving their hearts, but also to give them an opening to be delivered from old thinking. Many of us feel that we have been pulled into a place that at first we did not see as necessary in our apprehension of God's CALLING in our life. Truth be told, it is in this place that we are prepared to inherit and fully occupy the promises. For some of us, it may feel like a wilderness, but if we can embrace His pull we will begin to know and experience the Lord in a new way. It is in the "valley" of our troubles that He establishes a door of great hope (see Hosea 2:14-23). Properly recognizing and engaging in the wilderness experience is as vitally important to our divine DESTINY as when the "walls came down" for Israel. There we begin to see God and the treasures of His PURPOSE for our life in a way that we have never seen before. ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY