From “Come Away My Beloved”, by Frances J. Roberts
The Secret of Silence
(Praise and Reproof)
Behold, you are fair, my love!
Behold, you are fair!
Song of Solomon 1:15
My child, do not let the words of others influence you unduly – neither their praise nor their criticism. Weigh each for its proper value, and come back to me again. Only in communion with Me can you be sure of the truth. If I correct you, you know it is for your betterment. If I encourage you with a word of praise, it is because I know you need it; so rejoice in it and accept it as wholeheartedly as you accept My rebukes.
You know My rebukes are for your benefit. Can you not believe that My words of commendation are for the same purpose? Some of your faults and weaknesses can best be helped and corrected by praise rather than by reproof. When you turn a deaf ear in an effort to be humble, you are not helping. You cannot be truly humble until you have a deep sense of being loved.
Knowing and truly feeling that such great love is not merited in the face of your many imperfections will generate more honest humility than a thousand rebukes for obvious failures. You are condemned already by your own heart. There is a subtle pride that seeks to hide these glaring imperfections in the effort to hold some vestige of self-esteem and invoke the respect of others. This is a craftiness of the enemy.
If you will accept My love and My approval, you will be given courage to face your sins and faults so you can deal with them more decisively. The more you find of the truth about your own self, the more you will be set free… free from improper evaluations of your worth, free from false pride that seeks to cover recognized flaws.
I want your life, character, and personality to be as beautiful and lovely as I visualized you to be when I created you. Much has not developed perfectly. Some early beauty has been marred. Live close to Me, and let Me remold and re-create until I see in you the image of all i want you to be.
I love you, My child – my very dear and special child. Through your childhood years I walked very close to you, and in your childlike way you were very conscious of My presence and reality. You have made an arduous journey. You have climbed many mountains that you could easily have walked around. You have not chosen the pleasant path nor sought joys though they were readily accessible.
You have often misconstrued My will and felt that only in sacrifice an suffering could you please Me, while much of the time I have longed to deliver you out of the very pains you inflicted upon yourself. You meant to please Me, but in truth you were only marring your own beauty which is precious to Me.
I cannot rejoice in a blighted rose. You have gone far enough in this way. I offer you My path now, if you are strong enough to accept it. Life, liberty, love, and joy. Health and peace- simplicity and rest. It has been there for you all along. You can have it even now if you will.
I do not want you to work for Me under pressure and tension like a machine- striving to produce, produce. I only want you to live with Me as a person. I have waited for you to wear yourself out. I knew you would find it eventually – the secret of silence and rest, of solitude and song.
I will rebuild your strength – not so you will work again in foolish frenzy, but just for the sake of making you strong and well. To Me this is an end in itself. Make it your aim and join with Me wholeheartedly in the project. Many joys are waiting yet.
