Entering the Holy of Holies -- Part 4

"Entering the "Holy of Holies" - the "Most Holy Place"' - Part 4 I believe that this lesson is crucial for us to move ahead in our "Pursuit of God".
Perhaps you are thinking, 'Why would God want us to experience the pain of the cross and death to self?' Why did He allow the pain of the cross and the death of His Son? Both have the same answer - to provide for our intimate relationship with Himself.
What is there about "death" that is concerning for us? The unknown, the uncertainty of what the experience will be like? When we know Christ we can believe that the experience of death will bring a different and much better life, whether it be the "death" to self or physical death. God is trustworthy - His promises are sure, true, and faithful. He has our best interest in His plans for us and only allows what will best produce the result He desires for each of us -- to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus. (Romans 8: 28, 29) Now we come to what I've called "Our Part".
Our part is to yield and trust God and insist that the work be done. We must confess and forsake the self-life and reckon it crucified, not just accept the doctrine of self-crucifixion. The cross is rough and deadly, but it is effective.
Do we have the courage to let go of those hidden "self-hyphenated" sins? And be truly freed from the inner struggles and battles in our daily lives? Jean Nicholas Grou writes, "When in His mercy God leads a soul in the higher paths of sanctification, He begins by stripping it of all self-confidence, and to this end He allows our own schemes to fail, our judgment to mislead us. We grope and totter and make countless mistakes until we learn to mistrust ourselves and to put all our confidence in Him."(The Pursuit of God, Tozer/Draper, 1995,p. 60)

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