Others May, You Cannot
G.D. Watson (1845-1924)
If God has called you to be really like Jesus, He will draw you into a life of crucifixion
and humility, and put upon you such demands of obedience, that you will not be
able to measure yourself by other Christians; and in many ways He will seem to let
other good people do things which he will never let you do.
Other Christians and ministers, who seem very religious and useful, can push
themselves, pull wires and work schemes to carry out their Christian goals, but
these things you simply cannot do.
Others may boast of their work or their writings or their success, but the Holy
Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing, and if you ever try it, He will lead you
into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good
works.
Others may be allowed to succeed in making money, but most likely God will keep
you poor, because He wants you to have something far better than gold, namely,
a helpless dependence on Him and the joy of seeing Him supply your needs day by
day out of an unseen Treasury.
The Lord may let others be honored and keep you hidden and unappreciated
because He wants to produce some choice, fragrant fruit for his coming glory,
which can only produce in the shade. He may let others do a work for Him and get
the credit for it, but He will make you work on and on without knowing how much
you are doing; and then, to make your work still more precious, He may let others
get the credit for the work which you have done, and thus make your reward ten
times greater when Jesus comes.
The Holy Spirit will rebuke you for little words or deeds or even feelings, or for
wasting your time, which other Christians never seem to be concerned about, but
you must make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign and He has a right
to do whatever He pleases with His own. He may not explain to you a thousand
things whcih puzzle your reason in the way He deals with you, but if you will just
submit yourself to Him in all things, He will wrap you up in a jealous love and
bestow upon you many blessings which come only to those who are very near to
His heart.
Settle it, then, that He is to have the privilege of trying your tongue, or chaining
your hand, or closing your eyes, in ways that He does not seem to use with
others. Now, when you are so possessed with the living God that your secret
heart becomes pleased and delighted with this peculiar, personal, private, jealous
guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life, then you will have
entered the very vestibule of heaven itself.
NOTE:
A copy of this was pasted in the flyleaf of Henry Morris’ Bible, and often referred to.
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