Nissy K. Shajan

There are times when you cannot understand why you cannot do what you want to do. When God brings the blank space, see that you do not fill it in, but wait. The blank space may come in order to teach you what sanctification means, or it may come after sanctification to teach you what service means. Never run before God’s guidance. If there is the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt, don’t.

In the beginning you may see clearly what God’s will is- the severance of a friendship, the breaking off of a business relationship, something you feel distinctly before God is His will for you to do, never do it on the impulse of that feeling. If you do, you will end in making difficulties that will take years of time to put right. Wait for God’s time to bring it round and He will do it without any heartbreak or disappointment. When it is a question of the providential will of God, wait for God to move.

Peter did not wait on God; he forecast in his mind where the test would come, and the rest came where he did not expect it. “I will lay down my life for your sake.” Peter’s declaration was honest “Jesus answered him…the cock will not crow till thou hast denied me thrice.” This was said with a deeper knowledge of Peter than Peter had of himself. He could not follow Jesus because he did not know himself, of what he was capable. Natural devotion may be all very well to attract us to Jesus, to make us feel his fascination, but it will never make us disciples. Natural devotion will always deny Jesus someway or another.

God never speaks to us in startling ways, but in ways that are easy to misunderstand, and we say. “I wonder if that is God’s voice.” Isaiah said that the Lord spake to him “with a strong hand,: that is, by the pressure of circumstances. Nothing touches our lives but it is God himself speaking. Do we discern His hand or only mere occurrence?

Get into the habit of saying, “Speak Lord,” and life will become a romance. Every time circumstances press, say, “Speak Lord.” Make time to listen. Chastening is more than a means of discipline, it is meant to get me to the place of saying “Speak Lord.” Recall the time when God did speak to you. Have you forgotten what He said? Was it Luke 11:13, or was it 1 Thessalonians 5:23? As we listen, our ear gets acute, and like Jesus, we shall hear God all the time.
Many people today seem to live in frustration, anxiety, fear and disappointment. This is when we need to discover the joy of praying to God, Thy will be done.” These words crossed Jesus’ lips often. He said, “For I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me.” And remember how, on that night in Gethsemane, He uttered those words over and over, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”

We must believe that God is good and that He has great plans for our lives. We can place ourselves in Christ’s hands, remembering that those hands have been pierced for us. Cast yourself in God’s hands today. Say to the Lord, “Thy will be done,” laying before Him all that stands in your way of following and trusting Him wholeheartedly. And when He tells you where to go and what to do, obediently follow, and watch what God can do in and through your life.