Desire 453
Christian must commit his precipitate emotions to death. Each time
emotion demands hurry we should tell ourselves: “Emotion is now
urging towards hastiness; oh Lord, may Thy cross operate here.” He
who walks by the spirit must not be hasty.
God takes no pleasure in what we ourselves do, but He is
delighted with our waiting on Him, waiting for His orders. Our
actions must be ordered by God. Only what is commissioned in the
spirit is His undertaking. How impossible this is for the Christian
who follows his own inclination. Even when he wants to do God’s
will he is extremely impatient. He does not comprehend that God has
not only a will but also a time. Frequently He reveals His mind but
bids us linger for His time to come. The flesh cannot tolerate such
waiting. As God’s child advances spiritually he shall discover that
the Lord’s time is as important as the Lord’s will. Do not rashly
beget an Ishmael lest he become the greatest enemy to Isaac. Those
who cannot submit themselves to God’s time are unable to obey
God’s will.
Due to his self-desiring, an emotional believer cannot wait on
God. Whatever he undertakes he does in himself, for he cannot trust
God nor allow God to work for him. He does not know how to
commit a matter completely into God’s hand and refrain from
employing his own strength. Trust is beyond him because this
requires self-denial. Until his desire is restrained, his self will be very
active. How he is eager to help God! For God seems to work too
slowly, so help Him along he must! Such is the operation of the soul,
motivated by natural desire. Often God renders the believer’s work
ineffectual and thereby seeks to induce him to deny himself.
Self-justification is a common symptom among emotional
Christians. The Lord’s people often encounter misunderstandings.
Sometimes He enjoins them to explain their situations; but unless
one is so instructed by the Lord, his explanations are but the
agitations of his soul life. More often than not the Lord wishes His