Scripture Reading: Heb. 4:12; Psa. 139:23-24; 119:130; Eph. 5:13; John 1:4; Gen. 32:30
In the course of their pursuit of the Lord, many Christians fall into the sickness of self-analysis. They want to know what God's will is and what God's will is not. They want to know what is spiritual and what is soulish. They want to know what is of God and what is of themselves. In the course of their analysis and to their vexation, they sometimes feel that something is of God and sometimes feel that it is of themselves. They analyze everything and try to determine whether they are acting by the power of God or by the power of their soul. As soon as they have a thought, they try to determine whether it is from God or from themselves. As a result they are often trapped by introspection.
Sometimes we feel that we are doing the right thing. But when a spiritual person says something to us, we suddenly realize that what we previously considered to be absolutely right is actually totally wrong. At that time we do not need to ask for any reason or conduct any more analysis; we spontaneously become clear about everything. This is God's light, and it comes when God's living word, like a two-edged sword, comes into us and divides our soul from our spirit. At this time we are very clear about what is of God and what is of ourselves. We know what is God's will and what is our will. There is a world of difference between God's light and man's analysis; they are two distinct things.
Once I did my best to do the right thing. I felt that I was quite holy and spiritual. Later, I had a talk with a sister who was very deep in the Lord. She only said a few words. But after we prayed, I realized that I was wrong. I felt that I was unclean and far from God's holiness. This was God's light, and it broke upon me. Man's own ideas and feelings are often deceptive, but God's light always unveils His view. The knowledge that one acquires through God's light is true self-knowledge.
God's word conveys God's will. When God's word comes to us, it comes as a two-edged sword. When His word shines on us, we see ourselves and fall down. I admit that I am a strong-willed person. I do not easily admit my faults even when others point them out to me. But once God's light comes, I see my faults. No human analysis and introspection can be compared to God's light. God's light reaches the soul and spirit, even the bone and marrow. His light can reveal the hidden things in man's heart. Although man's soul can understand the doctrines, these doctrines are of no profit without God's light. At least once in our lives, we must experience a fundamental opening of our eyes. We must encounter God's light in this way before we can go on in God's way. Both John and Paul fulfilled the ministries that God entrusted to them because they saw the light.
Some believers like to wait around for special experiences. They think that they will be a certain way after a certain date. But when that date comes, whatever they see may not be genuine revelation. Often this is man's self-analysis rather than God's light. Anyone who experiences God's revelation experiences God's work. If a man sees light, the light will bring him spontaneously into a certain kind of practice. Hence, in God's work we should not trust in human analysis; rather, we should look to His light. The works in James 2 refer to the help we render to other brothers and sisters; they do not refer to a Christian's conduct in himself. Therefore, they are altogether different from the work mentioned above.
How can we receive God's light? There is only one condition for us to receive the light — the presence of an opening. There is no other condition. This is the only condition — we have to be open within. Nothing can stop light. The only way that light can be shut out is for a man to shut himself up. This is the first thing that we have to guard against. If a man has a predisposition about a certain thing and assumes that he is right, he is a closed person and cannot expect to receive God's light. God's light will only come to those who are empty, that is, to those who are open from within. Psalm 139:23 says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart;/Try me, and know my anxious thoughts." This verse says that it is God who knows, not we who know. Man cannot know his own thoughts and heart through self-analysis. Our self-analysis will only lead to self-deception; it will not lead us to light. However, when God's light shines on us, our inner eyes will be opened, and there will be no need for us to ask anything, because God will have pointed out all the thoughts and the intents of our heart. God gives revelation to His believers through His light and leads them on in a living way. We must follow the psalmist to ask God to search our heart and to try our thoughts. When He speaks, we need to receive His speaking with a sincere and open heart.
