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In this chapter we will learn how to have the flow of the Spirit within our inward parts. In Numbers 20 the smitten rock, which typifies Christ as smitten and riven, flowed with living water (cf. 1 Cor. 10:4). Then in Numbers 21 the well dug by the people of God sprang up with water. Therefore, in these two chapters of the same book there is first a rock that must be smitten for the living water to flow out and then a well that must be dug for the water to spring up.
If we read the Scriptures carefully, we will realize that both the rock and the well are types of Christ, revealing Him in two different aspects. The rock typifies Christ on the cross, smitten by God so that the living water, which is the Spirit of life, may flow out into us. The well shows a different aspect. Whereas the rock is Christ on the cross, the well is Christ within us (John 4:14). For believers, it is not a matter of the rock but the well. Christ as the rock has already accomplished His work on the cross, which issued in the water of life flowing into us, but today Christ as the well of living water springing up continuously within us is something else and has much to do with the present process of digging.
The purpose of this chapter is not to give further teaching but to encourage us to go to the Lord to be dug. We must not talk too much about doctrines, about circumstances, about future steps, or about guidance concerning the Lord’s will. We ourselves must be dug. Why? Because I believe that even up to the present moment most of us do not have the free flow of living water. Our prayers are not so free, our testimonies are not so strong, and in many ways we have been defeated and are not so victorious. This is due to one thing: the flow of the spiritual life, or the spring of the living water, is not free within us. There is much dirt within us that must be dug out. You may ask, “What is this dirt?” It is the dirt in our conscience, our emotion, our will, and our mind. Our heart has much dirt, which needs to be dug out, and even in our spirit there is some dirt, which must be dealt with.
What do I mean by using the word dirt? It means that our conscience is not so pure. Perhaps at this very moment some accusation which we have not confessed to the Lord is still upon our conscience. These accusations are the dirt that needs to be dug away. We do not sense much liberty within because of the accusations in our conscience. What are the accusations? You must ask yourself; only you know. You know what is within you that is wrong with others. When you are not right with others, the accusations persist. When you refuse to do what the Lord demands, this becomes an accusation in your conscience. Then you wonder why you are bound and without freedom. It is simply because there is a demand of the Lord which you will not answer, and it has become an immediate accusation in your conscience. Your conscience is not pure from accusations and without offenses.
If we would experience a free, inward flow of the Spirit, our conscience must first be dealt with and purified. The dirt can only be dug away by going to the Lord several times each day. I would suggest that during this week we go to the Lord again and again, even while we are walking along the street. We have to go to the Lord in our spirit and be dug in His presence. By the help of the Holy Spirit we must dig away all the dirt.
After dealing with the accusations in our conscience, we must also dig away the many things condemned by the Lord in our heart. Not many brothers and sisters have a pure heart in seeking only the Lord Himself. On one hand, many are seeking the Lord and His way, but on the other, they are still seeking too many things other than the Lord Himself. The heart then becomes complicated and is not free and pure. We must go to the Lord once again to dig away all the things other than Christ in our heart.
You may ask, “What things need to be dug away?” Perhaps one of the first things is your concern about the future and the guidance of the Lord. You should not be bothered by this; the future is not in your hands but in the Lord’s. In fact, you should not have any future — the Lord Himself is our only future. We do not know how “sticky” our heart is. Many years ago fly paper was used to catch flies, and how sticky it was! Whatever touched it stuck to it. Our heart is just like the fly paper — so sticky. Whatever touches the heart sticks to it. These things must all be cut off. It seems that we are all seeking the Lord. Many of us are living only for the Lord and have given up our homes and our jobs. Day by day we are seeking the Lord’s guidance, but we do not know how many things complicate our heart. Can we forget these things? To dig away the dirt from the conscience is easy, but to dig away the dirt from the heart is not so easy. In so many things we are kind to ourselves; we do not like to dig our heart severely. It is easy to dig away the accusations from our conscience, but it is not so easy to dig away the things that we love from our heart. We are stuck to the things we hold dearly. This is why the Scriptures tell us that we need a good conscience and a pure heart. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8).
There is no doubt that we love the Lord and are seeking Him, but our loving and seeking the Lord is with a complicated heart. The aim and the goal of our heart are not so pure. We do not know how many goals are within our heart. What about our family? Our job? Our degree? What about this year and next year? There are so many things still in our heart. I tell you, brothers and sisters, all this dirt is frustrating the flow of living water within us and must be dug away. Since the day that we received the Lord Jesus as our Savior, He has come into us as the springing well of living water. But the problem today is that there is too much dirt in our conscience and in our heart.
When someone is digging a deep well, many times he will discover that the earth is of many layers. One layer is of soft dirt, the next layer is of hard dirt, and another layer is of stone. It is difficult to dig through a layer of stone. This illustrates the many layers in us through which we have to dig. We have a layer of the conscience, a layer of the heart, and now we have a layer of our mind, which holds much dirt. We do not know how many imaginations we have day by day. We not only dream during the night while we are asleep, but we are still dreaming during the day while we are awake. All our imaginations are different dreams. We have already spoken about Satan blinding our minds; he does it merely by the imaginations. Sometimes while you are listening to a message, I do not know where your mind is — perhaps it has traveled to the moon! Outwardly you are nodding your head, but inwardly your mind is imagining something in space. During the message you hear the voice, but you do not receive anything. Your mind has been blinded by imaginations.
Many times people travel completely around the world in their imaginations. Within seconds people can travel through the whole world. They can go to the Far East faster than the best jet. How many imaginations are in the mind! When there is a lot of dirt in your mind, how can the flow of living water within you be free? Since your mind has been blocked, the living water has also been blocked in your mind. The heaps of dirt are simply the many thoughts, imaginations, and dreams, which must be dug away before the living water can freely flow.
The will also contains much dirt. There are not many who are absolutely and utterly obedient to the Lord. We need to be more submissive in our will. How many times we do not submit ourselves to the Lord’s sovereign arrangement! Sometimes we think that we are quite submissive to the Lord, but when He puts us into certain circumstances, we are exposed. It is easy to submit to the invisible Lord, but it is rather difficult to submit to visible persons. You say, “I am submissive to the Lord. With the Lord I have no problem. But...” Yes, there is a big but! “Before the Lord I have no problem, but with the church...Oh, I cannot be submissive to them!” The Lord especially put you into your local church in order to break your will.
“If my husband could be such a dear brother, I would gladly be submissive to him.” How many times have you sisters thought this? But the fact is that your husband cannot be that kind of person. The Lord gave you such a suitable husband; he is just the husband you need. If you could have the husband of your dreams, you would never be exposed. Many experiences and circumstances under His sovereignty simply expose us to the light so that we may know how stubborn our will is. You may point out a brother who is stubborn, but every one of us is stubborn. We may be the most stubborn brother. Every one of us has to dig our will. How easy it is to obtain more and more spiritual knowledge, but our life, our nature, our disposition are never changed. This is utter failure. If the living water is to flow in us, we must be dug. The flowing is the Lord’s business, but the digging is our business. We have to dig ourselves.
After digging away the dirt from the will, we need to deal with our emotion. I do not know how to illustrate how troublesome our emotion is. The emotional problem not only exists with the sisters but also includes the brothers. When we are emotional, we are occupied with ourselves. We are under the control and bondage of our emotions. If we would spend some time with the Lord and open ourselves, we must start by digging our conscience, then our heart, next our mind, and then our will. Finally, we will come to the point where we see how much we are still in our emotions. It is so easy for us to like one thing and dislike another. It is so easy to make friends with one brother but the next morning to treat him as an enemy. It is not very easy to change our will, but it is easy to have many changes in our emotions. Our emotions fluctuate even more than the weather.
This is not just a message. My deep concern is to give a little instruction so that you will go to the Lord. Forget about your needs, your job, your future, and your circumstances. Only seek the Lord’s presence, and ask Him to bring you into His light. Then follow His light to dig away the dirt in your conscience, heart, mind, will, and emotion. The more you dig away the dirt, the more you will be alive. You will be living, you will be strengthened, and you will be victorious. This is the key to solve your many problems. You must maintain the flow of living water, that is, the fellowship of life flowing freely within you. When the living water flows freely within you, then there is victory. All the problems will be solved spontaneously and even unconsciously. Although you do not know how to solve them, yet they will be solved by the flowing of the living water, the fellowship of life. This flowing of the living water is entirely dependent upon your digging.
This digging is accomplished only by prayer. We have to spend more and more time with the Lord and pray according to His inner leading. According to that leading, we must confess and dig away all the dirt within us. I believe these instructions are clear; now we need to practice them. Sometimes we need to pray with others, but the digging prayer is more prevailing in privacy. It is extremely necessary to spend more private time with the Lord. All the dirt within the conscience, heart, mind, will, and emotion must be dug away by our prayers. You may say, “I am so busy.” But although we are busy with the duties of the day, we can still touch the Lord and dig away the dirt. Many times while I am working, I apply myself to the digging exercise. We should learn to pray, to contact the Lord, and to dig away all the inward dirt.
