The Path to Freedom 629
The child of God must reclaim all footholds until he arrives at the
freedom he first enjoyed. He should know from where he has fallen
since it is to that place that he must be restored. He ought to
understand what was hitherto normal for him—how active his will
and how clear his mind were in the beginning—as well as what his
current condition is. By comparing these two states he will be able to
ascertain how far he has descended into passivity. Whatever his
normal state was, that must he now set before himself as the
minimum standard or goal of his ascent. He should not be satisfied
until his will is restored to its original state, that is, until it actively
controls every part of his being. He should never deem himself free
before his normalcy has once more been regained.
Hence the child of God needs to recover completely every
function of his being which has toppled from normalcy into
passivity—whether that function be to think, to recall, to imagine, to
discern right from wrong, to resolve, to choose, to refuse, to resist, to
love, or whatever. Everything over which he has relinquished control
must be restored to his personal sovereignty. He should exercise his
volition to oppose inertia as well as to make use of all these functions
of man. When he tumbled into passivity the evil spirits seized upon
his passive organs and used them instead of him. The attempt to
reclaim lost areas and regain personal use of his organs may be
exceedingly difficult for the believer. This is due to the facts that (a)
his own will is necessarily weak yet and hence powerless to direct
every portion of his being; and (b) the evil spirits contend against
him with their full strength. If for example he has been passive in the
matter of decision he will now cancel the ground given and forbid
the evil spirits to work any more. He is determined to decide for
himself without any of their interference. But he finds (a) that he
cannot decide and (b) that the evil spirits do not let him decide and
act. When the believer refuses them permission to control him, they
will not allow their captive to act without their permission.