The Life of Faith 483
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 foresake 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.