The Scripture says, "Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is." Eph. 5: 17. In the verses preceding this one we are told to walk circumspectly and to redeem the time. We need to know God's will that we may use every opportunity to the greatest advantage. To pass along day after day without a definite knowledge of being in the will of God or without taking much thought about it or earnestly seeking to know it, is living on entirely too low a spiritual plane. God wants you to come up higher—high enough and close enough to know his will. Has not God purchased you? You are his servant, his bondslave. You are to do everything you do for him. He who has men in his employ expects them to do his will. They do not go out a single day ignorant of his will. They do not always wait to be told what to do, but they make inquiry. With many there may not be enough earnest seeking after God to know his will.
In order to know God's will there must be a perfect consecration to God. The soul must lay down her own will and present herself before God as much as to say, "I give up my way and will forever to be thine and thine alone; to love thee and serve thee; to do thy whole will now and forever." There must be humility before God; a deep inner consciousness of your nothingness and your inability to accomplish anything in life of yourself. "The meek he will guide in judgment." We must be meek and humble before the Lord and confess that we are dependent on him and that life will be an utter failure unless he wills and guides and plans and works in us and with us and for us.
There must be great love to God and an earnest desire to know his will. Without strong desire to know God's will you can never learn it. It is those who desire that obtain answers to their prayers; and that desire must be really great. You must seek to know. Where there is great desire, there will be earnest seeking; but there will not be earnest seeking without the fervent desire. The desire must be so intense that you feel as if you must know. You must feel that you can not get along in life without knowing God's will. You can not be of any service to him without having knowledge of his will. You must also have faith. When you ask God to teach you his will, you must believe he will do it, and he will do it. When he begins to unfold his will, you must move in his order without doubting or questioning. He will guide you and direct your every step, and you can know that you are doing the very thing God wants you to do. Bless his name! Such a life is heaven here.
A VIEW OF JESUS.
Let us take a look at Jesus. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit may unveil him and present him to us clearly. Now we see him. We see him as our all and as in all. Can you see him thus? Is he everything to you? and is he in everything that comes to you?
Let us take a view of Jesus through two texts of Scripture. First, "And hath put all things under his feet." Eph. 1:22. We see him as our protector. Christ has conquered all, and God has put all things under his Son's feet. In all the world there is no evil thing that can harm the child of God. Jesus cares for his children. How safe we feel! He is our refuge, our strong tower, our buckler, and our shield. Discouragements, doubts, fears, disease, Satan, and all that would antagonize us are under his feet and so can never do us harm.
Second, "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." Every good thing is in the hand of Jesus. He stands ready to give them to his children. There is not a need you can ever have but Jesus has in his hand something with which to supply that need. His loving hand is extended to you. It contains something that will meet all your needs in life. Praise the Lord!
Nothing can harm us, for every harmful and harming thing is beneath the feet of our Lord. So we need not fear. We can never fail to have all our needs supplied, for Jesus stands with outstretched hand to give just what we need just when we need it. Do you see Jesus as such? Open your eyes wide, look and live, and be happy and free.
DEVOTION TO GOD.
Devotion to God implies ardent affection for him—a yielding of the heart to him with reverence, faith, and piety in every act, particularly in prayer and meditation. We catch a glimpse of the true meaning of devotion from what is said of the centurion of the Italian band. He was termed a devout man because he feared God, gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always (see Acts 10:2). This is the essence of true devotion. He loved God, without which there can be no devotion. The more we love an object, the more devoted to it we are. Devotion is therefore love manifested. At the feet of Jesus stood a woman weeping and washing his feet with her tears and wiping them with the hairs of her head and kissing them. Is not this a picture of devotion? It is love and devotion expressed in action. Jesus said, "She loved much." The secret of devotion is loving <i>much</i>.