"When
we forsake physical happiness and mundane pleasures we are apt to conclude that
the cross has finished its perfect work in us. We do not perceive that in God’s
work of annulling the old creation in us there remains a deeper cross awaiting
us. God wishes us to die to His joy and live to His will. Even if we feel
joyous because of God and His nearness (in contrast to being joyous because of
fleshly and earthly things), God’s aim nevertheless is not for us to enjoy His
joy but to obey His will. The cross must continue to operate till His will alone
is left. If we rejoice in the bliss God dispenses but renounce the suffering He
also dispenses, then we have yet to experience the deeper circumcision by the
cross."
"This
is a practical cross by which the Lord reveals to us whether we are living for
Him by faith or living for ourselves by feeling. Frequently have we heard
people say, 'I live for Christ.' What does this really convey? Many saints
assume that if they labor for the Lord or love the Lord they are living for
Christ. This is far from being exactly so. To live for the Lord means to live
for His will, for His interest, and for His kingdom. As such, there is nothing
for self--not the slightest provision for self-comfort, self-joy, or
self-glory. To follow the mind of God because of comfort or joy is strictly
forbidden. To recoil from, to cease or delay in, obedience because of feeling
depressed, vapid or despondent is positively impermissible. We ought to know
that physical suffering alone may not be regarded as enduring for the Lord, for
often our bodies will be bearing pain while our hearts are full of joy. If we
actually suffer for Him, then not only do our bodies suffer but our hearts feel
pained as well. Though there is not the least joyfulness, we yet press on. Let
us understand that to live for the Lord is to reserve nothing for self but to
deliver it willingly to death. He who is able to accept everything gladly from
the Lord—including darkness, dryness, flatness—and completely disregard self is
he who lives for Him."
"We
should inquire once again as to what the life of faith is. It is one lived by
believing God under any circumstance: 'If he slay me,' says Job, 'yet
would I trust in Him' (13.15 Darby). That is faith. Because I once believed,
loved and trusted God I shall believe, love and trust Him wherever He may put
me and however my heart and body may suffer. Nowadays the people of God expect
to feel peaceful even in the time of physical pain. Who is there who dares to
renounce this consolation of heart for the sake of believing God? Who is there
who can accept God’s will joyfully and continuously commit himself to Him even
though he feels that God hates him and desires to slay him? That is the highest
life. Of course God would never treat us like that. Nevertheless in the walk of
the most advanced Christians they seem to experience something of this apparent
desertion by God. Would we be able to remain unmoved in our faith in God if we
felt thus? Observe what John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress,
proclaimed when men sought to hang him: 'If God does not intervene I shall leap
into eternity with blind faith come heaven, come hell!' There was a hero of
faith! In the hour of despair can we too say, 'O God, though You desert me yet
will I believe You'? Emotion begins to doubt when it senses blackness, whereas
faith holds on to God even in the face of death.
"How
few have arrived at such a level! How our flesh resists such a walk with God
alone! The natural disinclination for cross-bearing has impeded many in their
spiritual progress. They tend to reserve a little pleasure for their own
enjoyment. To lose everything in the Lord, even self-pleasure, is too
thoroughgoing a death, too heavy a cross! They can be fully consecrated to the
Lord, they can be suffering untold pain for Him, they can even pay a price for
following the will of God, but they cannot forsake that obviously trifling
feeling of self-pleasure. Many cherish this momentary comfort; their spiritual
life rests on this tiny twinge of feeling. Were they to exercise the courage to
sacrifice themselves to God’s fiery furnace, showing no pity or love for self,
they would make great strides on their spiritual pathway. But too many of God’s
people remain subservient to their natural life, trusting what is seen and felt
for safety and security: they have neither the courage nor the faith to exploit
the unseen, the unfelt, the untrodden. They have already drawn a circle around
themselves; their joy or sorrow hinges upon a little gain here or a little loss
there; they accept nothing loftier. Thus are they circumscribed by their own
petty self.
"Were
the Christian to recognize that God wishes him to live by faith, he would not
murmur against God so frequently nor would he conceive these thoughts of
discontent. How swiftly would his natural life be cut away by the cross if he
could accept the God-given parched feeling and could esteem everything given
him by God as excellent. Were it not for his ignorance or unwillingness, such experiences
would deal with his soul life most practically, enabling him to live truly in
the spirit. How sad that many succeed at nothing greater in their lives than
the pursuit of a little feeling of joy. The faithful, however, are brought by
God into genuine spiritual life. How godly is their walk! When they examine
retrospectively what they have experienced they readily acknowledge that the
ordering of the Lord is perfect: for only because of those experiences did they
renounce their soul life. Today’s crying need is for believers to hand
themselves over completely to God and ignore their feeling.
"This
should not at all be misconstrued to signify, however, that henceforth we shall
become joyless persons. 'Joy in the Holy Spirit' is the greatest blessing in
the kingdom of God (Rom. 14.17). The fruit of the Holy Spirit, moreover, is joy
(Gal. 5.22). If this is so, then how can we reconcile this apparent
inconsistency? Simply come to see that though we do lose joy in our feeling,
nevertheless the joy we gain issues from a pure faith and cannot be destroyed.
Joy of this caliber runs far deeper than emotion. In becoming spiritual we
abandon the old desire for self-pleasure and hence additionally the former
search for bliss; but the peace and joy of the spirit which arises from faith
remains forever."
