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Of late a thought has been constantly with me that all the work is dependent on God's blessing. Often we are faithful, but despite our faithfulness there is no blessing and no fruit. Often we are diligent, but despite our diligence there is no blessing and no fruit. Often we exercise our faith; we truly believe God can do something. We also pray that He would work, but everything is in vain when God does not bless us. Sooner or later, we who serve God must be brought to the point of expecting God's blessing. Without God's blessing, our faithfulness, diligence, faith, and prayers will be to no avail. However, if we have God's blessing, there will be fruit even if we seem to be wrong or hopeless. Therefore, all problems are a matter of God's blessing.
I would like to bring out the matter of multiplying the five loaves (Mark 6:35-44; 8:1-9) with respect to God's blessing. It is not a matter of how many loaves we have in our hands, but whether or not God has blessed them. Even if we had more than five loaves, this would not be enough to feed four or five thousand people. Even if we had ten times or even one hundred times more, we still would not have enough to feed four or five thousand people. It is not a matter of how much we have. Sooner or later, we must be brought to the point of seeing that it is not a matter of what we can pull out of our storage shed, nor is it a matter of how great our gift is or how much power we have. The day must come in which we say to the Lord, "Everything depends on Your blessing." This is a basic matter. How much blessing has the Lord really given us? It does not really matter how many loaves there are. The Lord's blessing nourishes people and gives them life.
One matter is troubling my heart: Do we truly treasure God's blessing? This is a basic question concerning the work. Perhaps we do not even have five loaves today, but our need is greater than four thousand or five thousand people. I am afraid that we have less in our storehouse than the apostles, while our need is greater than the need at the time of the apostles. Our own store, source, power, labor, and faithfulness will be manifest that they are useless to us one day. Brothers, our future holds great disappointment for us because we will see that we can do nothing.
We must notice something in the Gospels. Why does the Lord do two miracles are almost the same in nature and in action? I am afraid it is because this lesson is not easy to learn. Why does He feed the five thousand and then feed the four thousand? Two miracles of almost identical nature are repeated twice in the Gospels. We must learn this lesson, but it is not easy. Many people still do not look to God's blessing, but instead look at the few loaves in their own hands! The loaves in our hands are so pitifully few, but we still base our plans on them. The more we plan in this way, however, the harder the work becomes. Sometimes it becomes impossible. I am somewhat comforted by the words spoken by a brother one hundred years ago. He said, "When the Lord wants to work a small miracle, He puts me in a difficult situation. When He wants to work a great miracle, He puts me in an impossible situation." Our situation is difficult, and it even seems impossible. Many times it is really hard, and we are like the little boy with just a few loaves. We can only hope for a miracle, and this miracle is the Lord Himself taking them up and blessing them.
Brothers and sisters, the miracles are produced by the Lord's blessing. His blessing changes and multiplies the loaves. The miracles are based on the Lord's blessing. When there is a miracle, five thousand or four thousand people are fed. Without a miracle, even two hundred or five hundred denarii worth of bread are not enough to satisfy that many people. The Lord was training the disciples, bringing them to the point of looking to Him for His blessing.
Many times we do not have the capacity to do something. The outward environment is difficult, even impossible. If our eyes are fixed on the circumstances, we will not have any way to deal with them. However, the Lord repeatedly brings us through. These times are the Lord's blessing. When we have blessing, everything goes well and nothing is difficult. Without the Lord's blessing, everything goes wrong and nothing is easy. The Lord wants to bring us to a point where His blessing takes the first place, a point where we have never been. When the Lord brings us to such a point, He will have a way to go on. If the Lord does not bring us to this point, we will have to say that even two hundred denarii worth of bread is not enough. Today the problem is that we cannot meet the need in ourselves. All of our money combined is not enough. All of us combined is insufficient, but the Lord has a way. In the Lord's work, the basic problem is the Lord's blessing; nothing else matters.
Brothers, if God brings us to the point of seeing that everything in God's work depends upon His blessing, it will bring about a basic change in our labor for God. We would not consider how many people, how much money, or how much bread we have. We would say we do not have enough, but the blessing is sufficient. The blessing meets the need that we cannot meet. Although we cannot measure up to the size of the need, the blessing is greater than our lack. When we see this, the work will have a basic change. In every matter we must look at the blessing more than we consider the situation. Methods, considerations, human wisdom, and clever words are all useless. In God's work we should believe in and expect His blessing. Many times we are careless and damage the work, but this is not a problem. If the Lord gives us a small blessing, we can get through any problem.
We truly hope that we would not make mistakes or speak and act loosely in the work. When we have the Lord's blessing, however, it seems that we cannot err even when we are wrong. Sometimes it seems that we have made a serious mistake, but with God's blessing the result is not really an error. I once said to Brother Witness that if we had the Lord's blessing, the things we did right would be right and the things we did wrong would be right as well. Nothing could damage the blessing.
The basic concern today is that we must learn to live in a way that does not hinder God's blessing. Some habits force God to withhold His blessing, and these must be eliminated. Some temperaments keep God from blessing, and these must be done away with. We must learn to believe in God's blessing, rely on it, and eliminate the barriers which prevent us from receiving it.
Let us take Sian as an example. When the brothers were divided into two parties, this definitely hindered God from blessing. If their problem had continued to exist, God's blessing would not have come in. In another example, there have been some difficulties in Szechuan recently. Therefore, we cannot expect Szechuan to have any special blessing. I merely mention these matters as examples.
We must see that the Lord withholds no good thing from us. If the work is not going well, if the brothers and sisters are in a poor condition, or if the number of saved ones is not increasing, we should not use the environment or certain people as an excuse. We cannot blame the brothers. I am afraid that the real reason lies with our harboring of some frustrations to the blessing. If the Lord can get through in us, the Lord's blessing will be greater than our capacity. Once God said to the Israelites, "Prove Me, if you will, by this,..whether I will open to you the windows of heaven and pour out blessing for you until there is no room for it" (Mal. 3:10). God is still saying this today. The normal life of a Christian is a life of blessing, and the normal work of a Christian is a work of blessing. If we do not receive blessing, we should say, "Lord, perhaps I am the problem."
With the passing years it becomes more and more evident that some brothers receive God's blessing while others do not. Of ourselves, we are not able to form any judgment about this matter, but over the years this fact has become so evident that we know beforehand that there will be fruit if one brother goes out but none if another brother goes out. We seemingly can forecast the result.
There are definite requirements for receiving the Lord's blessing. It does not come by accident or luck. God has His ways and works according to His principles. God likes certain conditions and does not like others. Esau was very good, but God did not like him. Jacob was not good, but God liked him. God has His own reasons. If a person does not receive God's blessing, there is a reason for it. If we do not receive God's blessing, we should not push the responsibility for it onto the situation or environment. There is always a reason for not being blessed. If we could be brought to the point in which we wholeheartedly hope for His blessing and wholeheartedly ask Him to show us the reason for not being blessed, God's work would have a great future. I really hope that we could live on the earth by expecting the Lord's blessing. Nothing is as important as God's blessing. The results of the work are in the blessing.
I am well aware that we all have our own particular weaknesses. God seems to overlook some of these, but He will not tolerate other ones. Where these exist His blessing cannot rest. It seems that God does not care about some weaknesses. It does not bother Him if you make these mistakes over and over again, but God cares about other weaknesses very much. Therefore, we must be very careful about the weaknesses which might cause us to lose God's blessing. We may be unable to eliminate all our weaknesses, but we must ask God to have mercy on us so that we would be those who are able to receive His blessing. We should say to the Lord, "This vessel is weak, but forbid that it should be too shallow or too small to contain Your blessing." Even though we are shallow and small, we are still able to contain His blessing. God's blessing and gifts are His work. Thus, we hope God would have mercy on us.
Oh, that blessing might flow from us as it flowed from Abraham. I believe that there will soon be a great turn in the gospel work. May the Lord bless us and have mercy on us. May we regard blessing as if we were accustomed to receiving it constantly. We do not want to frustrate God from blessing us greatly. The salvation of one thousand people may hinder the salvation of tens of thousands. Perhaps the salvation of a few score people in one place is a hindrance to the salvation of several thousand others. Each time we receive one blessing, we should expect to receive a second blessing. We must continuously step into greater blessings from God. Each of our co-workers must look to God to do a work among us such as He has never done before. Immediately before us lies a work that is ten times greater, even one hundred times greater, than that which is behind us. Is it possible that the few people who have been saved and the meeting hall we have built have become the limits of our blessing? In the past the work constantly grew, but now we have tied it up. Our past blessings have become our present frustrations. This is very pitiful.
Each time we come before God, we must be like we were the first time we came out to work. Some have been working for twenty years, yet they seem like those who are new to the work. Some have been working for thirty years, but they seem like they are new in the work. We must set the things of the past aside. In difficult situations God will do more if our hopes, expectations, and hearts are large. We must never measure God by our capacity. A few loaves of bread can feed four or five thousand people. If the blessing is large, nothing can hinder it. If we who serve the Lord truly look for God's blessing when we gather together, the future results will be more than we can ask or think.
God's blessing is like a bird that will only fly from the outside into a room by itself. When it is at the window, we cannot call it to come in. If it comes in, however, it is very easy to chase away. God will bless what He wants to bless; we cannot force Him to do anything. Like the bird, it is difficult to lure in and easy to chase away. With just a little carelessness, we can chase the blessing away.
Over the past two or three years, I have observed our co-workers doing many things. One co-worker said something to another co-worker, and they had an argument. He was absolutely right in what he said and did, but in my heart, I wanted to say, "Brother, you are right, but should we behave according to right and wrong? Or should we behave according to what will bring in God's blessing?" We often may do something right, but what can we do if God does not bless us when we do things right? We should not ask whether our every action is right or wrong. Instead, we should ask whether we have God's blessing. We are not here to argue about right and wrong; we are here to ask God to bless us. Seeking God's blessing on our work will limit us much in our speaking and in our daily living. We may be right, but will God bless us? It is very easy for us to cut off our blessing. It is also very easy to cut off the blessing of others as well. Our standard is not right or wrong. We look for God's blessing. Both may be right, but can God bless such a work? Our lives must be governed by God's blessing.
In God's work He will not bless what is wrong, but He will not bless what is right either. When we stand together in one accord, the blessing comes. Therefore, I want us to know that it is a very serious matter when the brothers argue with each other. We may be absolutely right in the matter, but the blessing will stop! Brothers, let me solemnly warn about speaking loosely or thinking that it is good enough just to be right. May the Lord have mercy on us. The brothers have to be careful about speaking among themselves and criticizing one another. It does not matter if we are right. If we are right and God does not bless us, what is the use of being right? The work is not built upon our abilities, nor is it built upon our gifts, faithfulness, or labor. If we miss God's blessing, everything is finished.
What is blessing? Blessing is God working without any cause. Logically speaking, one penny should buy one penny's worth of goods. But sometimes, without spending a cent, God gives us ten thousand pennies' worth of goods. This means that what we have received is beyond reckoning. God's blessing is any work He performs without cause. This work surpasses what we should receive. Five loaves fed five thousand people, and there were still twelve full baskets left over! This is blessing. Some people should not get a certain kind of result. They should only have a little, but surprisingly they have much. Our entire work is built upon God's blessing. The blessing is the result of receiving what we do not deserve, that is, the result of receiving beyond what our gift warrants us to receive. The result that we get which is beyond what our strength earns is the blessing. Putting it more strongly, we do not deserve any results because of our weaknesses and failures, but astoundingly we obtain something, and what we obtain is the blessing. If we look for God's blessing, He will give us unexpected results. In our service do we hope for God to give us great results? Many brothers and sisters only look for results that can be expected from themselves alone. Blessing means that the result is not in proportion to the cause.
If we only look for results based on what we are, if we only look for a little fruit, and if we do not hope for great results, we run the risk of losing God's blessing. Since we only pay attention to the fact that we are laboring night and day, God cannot do anything beyond our expectation. We must put ourselves in a position in which God can bless us. We must say to the Lord, "Based on what we are, we should not obtain any results, but, Lord, for the sake of Your name, Your church, and Your way, we hope You will give something to us." Having faith in the work is believing and expecting God's blessing. In God's work, having faith means having the conviction that the result will not be in proportion to us. When we practice this, I believe God will bless our way. I hope that as the brothers discuss the matter of the migrations, the Lord's blessing will exceed our expectation.
At times it seems that God not only grants no blessing, but even deliberately withholds it. For God to withhold His blessing is more serious than for Him to not grant blessing. With our strength and gifts, we should have better results, but we do not obtain them. We labor through the night and should obtain certain results, but if God withholds His blessing, we will obtain less than we should. We labor for a long time but obtain no fruit. We are diligent, yet there are no results. This is what happens when God withholds His blessing.
I wonder if we feel the seriousness of this. We absolutely must not argue about the right way to do things. Being right is of no use. We must pay attention to whether or not God blesses us. Often we are very right, yet God does not bless us. It is right to fish all night, yet God does not bless us. We do not live on earth by doing what is right; we live to experience God's blessing. David and Abraham both made mistakes, Isaac was not very useful, and Jacob was crafty, but God blessed them all. It is not a matter of being right or wrong, but of being blessed by God. Perhaps we who are here today are much better than Jacob, but if God does not bless us, nothing will avail. We must be those who can be blessed by God. We can argue and be right, but it is useless if God does not bless us.
The entire future of the work depends on God's blessing, not on being right. If God blesses, then many sinners will be saved. If God blesses, we will be able to send people out to the remote regions. If there is no blessing, people will not get saved. If there is no blessing, workers will not be produced. If there is no blessing, no one will offer anything. If there is no blessing, no one will migrate. When the blessing is here, even things that seem wrong are right. When God blesses, we cannot go wrong even if we try. One time there was a meeting in which it seemed that we sang the wrong hymn, but we had a good result because we had God's blessing. Sometimes when we preach, it seems that we are speaking the wrong word to the wrong audience, but God still blesses some in the audience. When we speak again, we still may speak the wrong word, but God blesses another group of people. I am not saying that we can be loose intentionally. I am saying that we cannot go wrong when we have God's blessing. It seems that our mistakes should be a frustration, but He cannot be hindered. God said, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" (Rom. 9:13). God blesses whom He likes. This is a very serious matter. We should not think that the blessing is a small thing. The blessing is souls and consecrated people. Behind the word blessing perhaps there are fifty souls or one hundred consecrations. The words, attitudes, and opinions of certain people can stop the Lord's blessing. We must ask the Lord to prick us inwardly until we obtain His blessing. If we do not do this, our sin of losing the Lord's blessing will be greater than any other sin. The blessing could be hundreds or thousands of souls. We must look to God for the blessing and not let it escape. We must beg God to give us grace.
O brothers! We must learn to live in God's blessing. It is good to work and do things, but we must have our capacity increased. We must ask God to keep us in His blessing in our work and actions. If we do not resolve this problem, our work will be severely damaged. Brother Witness was in Shanghai in 1945. One day he said that the brothers' meeting experienced great blessing from God. I believe that Brother Witness has made some progress in this matter. We must come before God to see that we do not expect the results of our labor, but expect God's blessing. Sometimes there are some results from our work, but they are dry and poor. If we expect God's blessing, many things will happen that are beyond our expectation. If we wait upon God's blessing, things will happen beyond our capacity. We must continually look for miracles and unexpected occurrences in the work. We should not keep expecting that we will be able to bear any fruit. Our expectation of that small amount of fruit limits God. If we do not expect God's blessing, there is not much hope for our future. We will have financial difficulties, and it will be difficult for us to go on. Therefore, we should not look for results commensurate with our individual labor, but we should look for God's blessing. If we only look for commensurate results, I do not know how many years it will take for many people to believe in the Lord. We must always look for God to do things beyond our expectations. We must ask God to give us the vision to see the meaning of blessing.
Some are checking to see whether or not the young people are doing things right. Instead, we should be checking to see if a person is being blessed by God. If a person can be blessed by God, we do not know how much more fruit he will bear beyond just his gift and ability. If he does not have the blessing, his carefulness and labor will be in vain.
Some people are blessed by God, and other people are not blessed by God. We may have a better temper and a larger gift than a certain brother, but he bears fruit in his work, while we cannot bear fruit in ours. We look down on many people because we are better, yet God blesses them. We cannot say that God is wrong. We must realize that before God, we are those whom He cannot bless.
We should not become angry or jealous about this matter. Instead, we should judge ourselves soberly. We have many excuses, and so do our brothers. We are right, and so are they. But what can we do if God does not bless? We are right, but we cannot win souls. They are right, but the church is not built up. We are right, but it is in vain. Therefore, we must eliminate all the things that stop and frustrate the blessing. From now on we should not be those who stubbornly argue over right and wrong; we must be those who receive great blessings from God.
Watchman NeeNovember 27, 1950
"For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of our affliction which befell us in Asia, that we were excessively burdened, beyond our power, so that we despaired even of living. Indeed we ourselves had the response of death in ourselves, that we should not base our confidence on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead" (2 Corinthians 1:8-9).
"This therefore intending, did I then use fickleness? Or the things which I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, so that with me there should be Yes, yes and No, no?" (v. 17).
"For if I cause you sorrow.." (2:2a).
"And I wrote this very thing to you" (v. 3a).
"For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you through many tears, not that you would be made sorrowful but that you would know the love which I have more abundantly toward you" (v. 4).
"Are we beginning again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some do, letters of commendation to you or from you?" (3:1).
"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God" (v. 5).
"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us. We are pressed on every side but not constricted; unable to find a way out but not utterly without a way out; persecuted but not abandoned; cast down but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body" (4:7-10).
"For also, we who are in this tabernacle groan, being burdened, in that we do not desire to be unclothed, but clothed upon, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life" (5:4).
"So then we, from now on, know no one according to the flesh" (v. 16a).
"Through glory and dishonor, through evil report and good report; as deceivers and yet true; as unknown and yet well known; as dying and yet behold we live; as being disciplined and yet not being put to death; as made sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor yet enriching many; as having nothing and yet possessing all things" (6:8-10).
"For even when we came into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted in everything; without were fightings, within were fears" (7:5).
"But I myself, Paul,..in person am base among you, but while absent am bold toward you" (10:1).
"For even if I should boast somewhat more abundantly concerning our authority, which the Lord has given for building you up and not for overthrowing you, I will not be put to shame" (v. 8).
"Because while his letters, someone says, are weighty and strong, his bodily presence is weak and his speech contemptible" (v. 10).
"But I count myself to be inferior to the super-apostles in nothing. But even if I am a layman in speech, yet I am not in knowledge; indeed in every way we have made this manifest in all things to you" (11:5-6).
"And because of the transcendence of the revelations, in order that I might not be exceedingly lifted up, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, that he might buffet me, in order that I might not be exceedingly lifted up. Concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He has said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will rather boast in my weaknesses that the power of Christ might tabernacle over me... For when I am weak, then I am powerful" (12:7-9, 10b).
"For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but powerful before God for the overthrowing of strongholds" (10:4).
As we read 2 Corinthians carefully before God, we seem to meet two persons — Paul in himself and Paul in Christ. Everything Paul speaks of, from chapter one to chapter thirteen, is all according to this principle. If we summarized Paul's message in this book, we could cover everything with his words in chapter four, "We have this treasure in earthen vessels." In chapter one we see this treasure being put into the earthen vessel. From 3:1 through the end of the book, we see the earthen vessel on the one hand and the treasure on the other hand. After reading these words before God, we spontaneously will see under His enlightenment that the earthen vessel does not hinder the treasure from shining. The earthen vessel does not bury the power of the treasure.
Here we see a person. We have mentioned before that 2 Corinthians is the most personal book in the New Testament. Many Epistles are filled with doctrine, truth, and revelation. Many Epistles move from God's point of view to our point of view. Second Corinthians, however, is the only book in the New Testament which shows us the very kind of person whom God used to pass on His revelation. If we did not have the book of 2 Corinthians, we would never know Paul himself. We would know what he accomplished, but we would never know this ministry. Second Corinthians shows us his ministry, and from his ministry, we meet the man. We see that he was an earthen vessel.
When I first became a Christian, I had my own concept of the ideal Christian, and I tried my utmost to be that kind of Christian. I thought that if only I could attain to the ideal I had conceived, then I would attain perfection. I wanted to be perfect, but I had my own ideal and standard for being a perfect Christian. I thought that if I could reach this standard, I would be perfect. I thought a perfect Christian should smile from morning to night. If he shed tears, I thought he was not victorious, but a failure. I would even say he was wrong. I thought a perfect Christian should be bold, unafraid, and courageous in every situation. If he was fearful in anything, I would say he did not have faith. I would say he was not perfect because he did not trust in the Lord. I also thought the perfect Christian was never sad. If a person was sad, I doubted that he was perfect. I could mention many other criteria, but I do not need to mention too many of these concepts to you. I believe that many of the younger brothers and sisters have ideals of what a Christian is. I am not criticizing because I used to think the same way myself.
One day I read the passage in 2 Corinthians where Paul was sorrowful. I asked, "Was Paul sorrowful?" I read that he shed many tears. I asked, "Did Paul cry?" I read that Paul suffered and was sad. I asked, "Did Paul suffer, and was he sad?" I read that he was burdened and despaired even of his life. I asked, "Did Paul despair?" As I continued reading, I saw that there were many things of which I had never thought. I had never considered that a person like Paul would have these problems. I began to realize that Christians are not another type of angel. God has not put a race of angels on the earth and said, "These are Christians." I also began to see that Paul was very close to us; he was not so far off. Paul was someone I know; he was not a stranger. I know him because I saw that he was a man.
Many people have a concept of an ideal Christian. Please remember that this ideal was created by us, not by God. That kind of ideal Christian does not exist, nor does God want us to be such. Here we meet an earthen vessel, but the special characteristic of this earthen vessel is that a treasure has been put into it. The treasure transcends and overshadows the earthen vessel and manifests itself from within the vessel. This is the meaning of Christianity and of being a Christian. In Paul, we see a man who was afraid yet strong. He was troubled in his heart yet had hope. He was surrounded by enemies yet was not captured. Although he met with persecution, he did not feel rejected or cast aside. He seemingly was knocked down, but he did not die (2 Cor. 4:7-9). We see his weaknesses, but when he was weak, he was powerful (12:10b). We see him bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus, but the life of Jesus was manifested in his body (4:10). We see him being slandered, but he had a good name. He seemingly led others astray, but he was honest. He seemingly was not famous, but everyone knew him. He seemingly was about to die, but he lived. He seemingly was punished, but not unto death. He seemingly was sad, but he always rejoiced. He seemingly was poor, but he made many rich. He seemingly had nothing, but he had everything (6:8-10). This is a real Christian. This is true Christianity.
A Christian is a person in whom there is a basic, but harmonious, paradox. Christianity means having a life in which there is an incomprehensible, spiritual paradox. God gives us this paradox. Some people think there is only a treasure but not an earthen vessel. Others think that the earthen vessel prevents them from going on. Human thought is always so extreme. We think it would be ideal just having the treasure. We think that the earthen vessel prevents us from going on. Before God, however, we see a treasure placed in earthen vessels. The earthen vessel is not destroyed, and it does not frustrate anything. The treasure is in the earthen vessel.
The apostle said that he had a thorn in his flesh (2 Cor. 12:7). I do not know what this thorn was, but I know this thorn made Paul weak. He prayed to the Lord about the matter three times, hoping the Lord would remove the thorn. However, the Lord said to him, "My grace is sufficient for you" (vv. 8-9). The Lord said even though the thorn in his flesh made Paul weak, His power was perfected in this weakness. How is the Lord's power perfected in human weakness? He said, "My power will tabernacle over your weakness," which means "My power will overshadow or cover your weakness." This is Christianity. Christianity does not eliminate weaknesses, nor does it only look to the Lord's power. Christianity means that the Lord's power is manifested in man's weakness. Christianity does not mean that a new race of strange angels is created on the earth. Christianity means that man's weaknesses can manifest God's power.
Let me give an example. Once I had a very serious illness. I was x-rayed three times in two months, and each time the report was very grave. I prayed, I believed, and I hoped that God would cure my illness. At times my strength was greater than normal. Before God, I confessed that I had been empowered, but I was angry because I did not know the reason God was treating me this way. At certain times I would be well and full of strength, but I would relapse without warning. What was the use of God giving me this temporary strength? I was very sick at heart. One day as I was reading the Bible, I came across 2 Corinthians 12. Paul prayed to God three times about that thorn, but the Lord was not willing to do anything. Instead, He said, "My grace is sufficient for you." The Lord increased His grace because of the thorn. The Lord increased his power because of the weakness. I saw what Christianity was. As I lay in bed, I asked the Lord to show me more clearly what this was all about. Inwardly, I had the impression of a boat in a river. The boat required ten feet of water for navigation. In the river, however, a submerged rock rose five feet from the bottom of the river. If the Lord so desired, He could remove the boulder to let the boat pass, but within there was a question: "Would it be better for Me to remove the rock or to increase the water level by five feet?" God asked me if it would be better to remove the boulder or to increase the water level by five feet. I told the Lord that it would be better to increase the water level by five feet.
From that day onward many of my difficulties were gone. I dare not say that I was never tempted again, but praise God, from that matter I discovered God has other ways to meet our needs. This is Christianity. I repeat, Christianity does not remove the boulder; it increases the water level by five feet. This is Christianity. Are there difficulties? Yes, we all have difficulties. Are there trials? Yes, we all are tried. Are there weaknesses? Yes, we all have weaknesses. Please remember one thing, however, that the Lord does not eliminate our weaknesses on the negative side nor give us unwarranted power on the positive side. God's power is manifested in weakness, just as our treasure is in earthen vessels.
Today I would like to say that no Christian has an earthen vessel that is earthy enough to prohibit the Lord's treasure from being manifested. No matter how weak we are, remember that the Lord's treasure is manifested in it. Therefore, we see a spiritual paradox in Paul and in us. Do we know what people said about Paul? They said that his speech was contemptible (10:10b), that he took them by guile (12:16), and that he was fickle and said "Yes, yes" and "No, no" (1:17). They said his letters were weighty and strong enough to terrify people (10:9-10). But paradoxically, God's treasure looks very good in such an earthen vessel. God's treasure would not look so nice without the earthen vessel. I am saying that Paul was a genuine man. Thank God that the Lord shined out, or broke out, from within him. He was not a man without feelings. But in his sorrow, he said, "I always rejoice." He was not rejoicing constantly or in sorrow constantly; rather, he constantly rejoiced in his sorrow.
Let me tell you that this is the special characteristic of Christianity. There is a smile while tears are flowing. Many Christians act better than Paul, but they do not live like a Christian. They only can praise the Lord; they are not like a Christian. Many Christians think they can attain a state of never being sorrowful or troubled. There are others who are continually sorrowful and troubled. This means that the treasure has not been expressed in them. But here we have a man through whom the Lord Jesus could pass. I have seen some of the Lord's most outstanding children. When I saw them, I immediately knew who they were and what kind of persons they were. But at the same time I knew what kind of persons they were before the Lord. Today we do not want to see any trace of the earthen vessel when we look at people. Sometimes, however, our eyes only see the earthen vessel. Those who know God, however, are able to see the treasure in earthen vessels when they look at God's children.
Once I met a sister in the Lord. As soon as I met her, I knew that she had a quick disposition. She acted and spoke quickly; she was quick to rebuke others and quick to write letters. Thank the Lord, however, that there were probably one hundred letters in her wastepaper basket which had never been mailed. Because of the earthen vessel, she would write the letters, but the letters in the wastepaper basket proved that she also had the treasure. The treasure was in the earthen vessel. When one saw her, he knew her. She was this kind of person by nature, but one could also see the Lord in her. Sometimes we see a person suffering under trials. But we also see the riches he possesses. This is the treasure in the earthen vessel.
I hope we would see something before the Lord. Today God is not requiring or expecting abstract things. Some brothers ask me why they are so weak. I say that weakness does not matter at all; they will become strong. One brother asked me what he should do after having done a terrible job. I told him that it was not a problem because the important thing is that God puts this treasure into us. We do not need to pretend, by fixing up the earthen vessel. We do not need to cultivate a certain tone or style. Everything comes from God. The treasure can be expressed from within us, the earthen vessels.
I had a conversation with the deacons this last Lord's Day. Many of them said that they were praying for a certain family member, a certain sickness, or a certain matter. I asked them how it was going. They each told me that they believed God would heal their illnesses or save their sons and spouses. They were all very confident, so confident that they did not have the slightest doubt. But we should wait and see. The sick ones are still ill, the sons and spouses are still unrepentant, and the difficult matters still remain. Their kind of faith belongs to the angels, not to earthen vessels. Their faith is too abstract; it is too good. No one in the world has such great faith.
One brother came to tell me that he was learning to believe in God. He dared not say what the outcome would be. Perhaps it would turn out all right, but even if it did not, he would still believe. He prayed to God the day before, and God gave him His promise. He knew that God had answered his prayer, but for some reason he began to doubt when he got up that morning. He prayed again, but he did not know what to do. As he was walking on the road, he began to doubt again, but he did not know what to do. I told him that his doubts were unimportant. True faith cannot be killed by doubts. In fact, real faith looks better when it is surrounded by doubt. I know what I am saying. I hope you will not misunderstand me; I do not want you to go out and doubt. The main point is that our human, earthen vessel is joined to God's treasure. There is not just the latter.
I like reading about the prayer of the early church for Peter to be freed from the hands of evil men. God heard their prayer. When Peter returned to the house and knocked on the door, they said that it must be his angel (Acts 12:12-15). Do we see that this is faith, real faith? God heard the prayers, but human weakness was in it. We do not see them doing anything to hide their weaknesses. Some people today have greater faith than those in the house of Mary and Mark. They are so certain that God will send an angel and break the lock on the prison doors. Perhaps they are like those in the examples we gave on the Lord's Day. If the wind blows, they say it is Peter knocking. If the rain strikes the house, they say Peter is knocking. These people have such great faith, but what they believe does not happen. Let me say frankly: This kind of Christian can only do things by himself and cheat a group of gullible people. Those who know God will say that there is an earthen vessel in Christianity. In Christianity the treasure is in earthen vessels. Human doubt is really an abomination, and it is sin. Nothing that comes from the earthen vessel alone can be accepted. The crucial matter is not the earthen vessel, but the fact that a treasure has been placed in it. We do not need to improve or fix the earthen vessel. The treasure has been placed into the vessel.
Many times we have the assurance that God has heard our prayer. During the moments when we feel that our faith is strongest, we may also sense the presence of doubts. When we hear God's voice most clearly, we will also hear the devil's voice. In this kind of situation, I thank and praise God for the faith He has given us. This faith cannot change; it is still present. Before God we can see that the treasure is all the time expressed through the earthen vessel. God's glory is manifested through the earthen vessel.
Many Christians have a life and walk that are all too artificial; they do not express the treasure. These ones only have human endeavor, performance, and outward behavior. A normal Christian life, however, is one in which one may doubt even in the moments of his greatest assurance. It is one in which one finds himself inwardly weak even in the moments of his greatest strength, inwardly fearful in the midst of real courage before God, and inwardly doubting in the moments of exhilarating joy. This kind of paradox proves that the treasure is in the earthen vessel.
Finally, I would like to say that I especially thank God because no human weakness can limit God's power. What do we think in our hearts? We tend to think that if there is sorrow, there should not be joy; if there are tears, there should not be praise; if there is weakness, there should not be power; if there is pressing on every side, there should be constriction; if there is casting down, there should be destruction; and if there are doubts, we should be unable to believe. But tonight I would like to loudly declare that this is not true. God wants us to arrive at the point where we see that everything human is just an earthen vessel to contain God's treasure. Everything human is an earthen vessel for God's treasure. Nothing human is able to bury God's treasure. We do not need to be disappointed when we meet with disappointment. Although we cannot make it, we should allow something positive to come in, and when it does, it shines better, more brightly, and more gloriously. Many times we have doubts after praying, and we think that everything is finished. When faith comes, however, it magnifies the treasure despite the lingering presence of doubt. Faith makes the treasure more glorious. I am not speaking of an ideal; I know what I am saying. God's treasure can be expressed in earthen vessels. This is a spiritual paradox; it is precious to every Christian. It is in the context of this spiritual paradox that we live and learn to know our God.
As we journey along this way, we will discover the immensity of the spiritual contradiction that exists within us. As time goes on, we find this cleavage, this dividing gulf, is ever widening; the contradiction within us is ever accentuated. At the same time, the treasure is expressed ever clearer. The earthen vessel remains an earthen vessel. How wonderful this picture is! We find a man whose original traits remain intact, yet God gives him a patience far more excellent than his natural resilience. It is better to see a man in whom God has placed humility than to see a naturally reticent person. It is better to see a man in whom God has placed meekness than to see a person who is weak and impotent by nature. It is better to see a person in whom God's power resides than to see a naturally strong man. The inward difference is enormous. It matters little what kind of earthen vessel we have; the treasure can always go inside. The earthen vessel remains an earthen vessel, but it is now a filled vessel. All weak people think that they are too earthen; their vessels are too full of clay and they are without any hope. Please remember that we have no reason to be disappointed or troubled. Whatever is spiritual, strong, powerful, and comes from the Lord can be manifested in us and will shine brighter and be magnified through the earthen vessel. Since this is the case, we can see the importance of the treasure.
Brothers and sisters, everything depends upon the treasure. I must repeat, all situations revolve around this matter. Every outcome is positive. Those whose eyes are on the negative things are fools. The Lord can express Himself through everyone. When we have the treasure, many will know it.
Watchman Nee
THEME: Messages specifically on life.
CONTENTS: The contents describe the light received before God and the lessons learned in order to help God's children have practical growth in the aspect of life.
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Book Sales DepartmentShanghai Gospel Book RoomMarch 1, 1951
