Take Heed by Watchman Nee & Herbert L. Fader & Stephen Kaung

Author:Watchman Nee & Herbert L. Fader & Stephen Kaung
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Religion, Christian Life, General
ISBN: 9780935008746
Publisher: CLC Publications
Published: 1991-07-14T22:00:00+00:00

10

0 Walk in the Will of God∗

The reason why so many believers make

no progress in their spiritual life is either

because they do not walk in God’s will or

because they do not know how to walk in

God’s will. They have in their mind so

many thoughts—each seeming to be God’s will—that they cannot

discern what is the right walk. Due to their not walking according to the will of God, their spiritual lives remain stagnant. To those who do not at all seek after God’s will, I would beg them to do so. They must not be independent and follow after their own will, for God is our Redeemer who has the right to have us obey His will. Indeed,

this is quite proper, whether the matter be viewed from the

perspective of rights or from that of love. His great love has so

constrained us that we cannot help but seek to do His will.

For those who do not know how to walk in God’s will, I would

ask you to pay attention to the following considerations.

(1) We must walk in the direct will of God and not in His

permissive will. The direct will of God is that original mind in the heart of God which He commands us (or guides us) to follow. The

permissive will of God, on the other hand, is that which He permits us to do after our (offtimes persistent) entreaties. Let us take the following as an example: The parents see the need one day of an

outing for their children. So they take them out for a day. Days later, their children wish to take another trip because they love the

∗This message was first delivered in Chinese by the author at a Friends Revival Meeting presumably sometime in 1924, was later revised by him at Nanking on 4 November 1924

in preparation for publication as an article, and subsequently published in Chinese in Spiritual Light magazine—a Christian periodical which was then appearing in China. It is here translated and published in English for the first time.— Translator 96 Take

Heed

beautiful scenery they witnessed the first time. The parents, however, do not see such a need. Yet due to their children’s persistent request and their failure to persuade the children otherwise, the parents

finally permit them to go out a second time. Here we see that the first outing is the direct will of parents whereas the second outing is their permissive will. Many believers come to God asking—and even

insistently so—for permission to do a certain thing, instead of

coming to God inquiring if the thing in question is according to His will. This is truly lamentable!

A review of an incident recorded in the Old Testament will help

us understand this matter better. In Numbers 22 we learn that the Moabite king, Balak, had sent emissaries to the prophet Balaam

inviting him to come and curse the children of Israel. He promised to give the prophet great rewards, which moved the latter’s heart (see

Jude 11, 2 Peter 2.15). Balaam indeed wanted to go, but having the fear of God in him, he felt he must ask Jehovah first before any

decision was made.

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