418 The Spiritual Man
In other words, if the spirit of a Christian is in a state of rapture he
will be more heavenly and will not think his way to heaven must
necessarily traverse the valley of death.
How frequently God’s child, when engaged in spiritual labor,
entertains many expectations and plans. He is full of the Holy Spirit,
wisdom and power; he believes God will greatly use him; and he
looks forward with anticipation that before long his labor shall
produce much fruit. However, in the very midst of prosperity the
hand of the Lord suddenly sweeps down upon him, suggesting to him
that he must conclude all his undertaking and be ready to take
another course. This comes as a genuine surprise to man. He
naturally asks why it must be so. Is not my power for working? Is not
the profound knowledge I have for helping people? Need everything
be closed in and cold? Nonetheless, under guidance of this kind the
believer learns that the purpose of God for him is an alteration in his
course. Previously everything was going forward; henceforth it is to
ascend. It does not signify there is no more work; what it does mean
is that that work can be concluded at any time.
God continually has employed such circumstances as persecution,
opposition, plunder, etc., to cause saints to comprehend that He
wishes them to have the spirit of rapture rather than to make progress
in the work on earth. The Lord desires to change the course of His
children, many of whom do not realize there is this far better spirit of
rapture.
This spirit has its definite effect on life. Before one secures. it his
experience is bound to be changing constantly; after he receives the
witness and assurance of rapture in his spirit, however, his life and
labor will be sustained on a level worthy of this kind of spirit, thus
preparing him for the Lord’s return. Such preparation includes more
than outward correction: it is making the spirit, the soul, and the
body of the believer wholly ready to meet the Lord.