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Scripture Reading: Job 38:1-2; 42:1-6
Those who serve the Lord must see that God’s redemptive work is accomplished through man’s cooperation. If we see this, we will have a clearer realization that all our work must be initiated by God, not by us. All our service and work should be initiated by God, not by us. Although we may know this in doctrine, it is not easy to experience.
All of us who work for the Lord in various places and all the responsible brothers in the churches must consider how much of our work in serving God is initiated by God and how much is initiated by us. Regardless of how well it was done, how much of what we have done in the past has been initiated by God? This is truly a great matter. All our work and service in the church must be initiated by God and must be according to His desire.
Anything that is initiated or started by man, regardless of how much it is for God, is a religious activity. In God’s eyes this kind of activity is not His service or His work. God considers only what He has initiated and started as a service and work to Him.
God wants man to cooperate with Him, but He does not want man to initiate anything. Anything that is initiated by man is a religious activity. To an unbeliever, any kind of Christian activity is a religious activity, but according to our knowledge of God, there are two kinds of activities: one is a religious activity, and the other is an action initiated by God. The second type is not a religious activity. An action initiated by God will come from God’s prompting within man. Often a man has no thought of God and no heart to serve God, but God comes to him, prompting and touching him, revealing Himself, giving him a command, a calling, and a leading, so that he receives something of God and cannot help but take action. This kind of action is not related to religion; rather, it comes from God and is initiated by God.
The Bible shows that the first generation that served God after Adam included his sons Abel and Cain. Cain was the older brother, and Abel was the younger brother. Outwardly speaking, both of them had a concept of God. Both Abel and Cain brought an offering to Jehovah (Gen. 4:1-5). Abel’s offering was not a religious activity, but Cain’s offering was a religious activity. Even though both were serving God, Abel’s offering was not a religious activity because his offering was of God, not of himself. God wanted a sacrifice according to Abel’s way. Hebrews 11:4 says, “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.” According to Romans 10:17, faith comes out of hearing; therefore, Abel’s offering came out of hearing. He believed in God. His offering of a sacrifice came in response to God’s word; he offered because he heard God’s word. Abel received a revelation through God’s word; he heard God’s word. Then he believed, and by faith he offered a sacrifice to God.
After Adam’s fall God showed man redemption through the shedding of the blood of a sacrifice. Redemption through the shedding of the blood of a sacrifice was initiated and instructed by God. Because Abel heard, saw, and understood this, he offered a sacrifice according to God’s instruction. Abel’s offering was not of himself but of God; it was revealed, commanded, and ordained by God. Hence, Abel’s offering was not a religious activity. By obeying God’s command, Abel offered a sacrifice according to God’s instruction and rendered service to God.
Conversely, Cain’s offering was not of God but of himself. Although he knew God, thought of God, and worshipped God, his offering of a sacrifice was according to himself. Thus, it was a religious activity. He offered the fruit of the ground to God; this was not according to God’s charge, commandment, or ordination; it came from his own thought. Cain’s offering was entirely a religious activity. He must have thought, “If I offer the work of my hands to God whom I serve in all sincerity, He will be pleased with me. Since I worship Him, I should offer what I have labored on to Him.” Cain’s way of doing things according to his opinion was not of God but of himself.
In the church life, when we see someone who is very zealous for God, we usually admire and praise him. However, someone who has been enlightened by God will be concerned whether this zeal comes from God. It may seem that a person works much and is consecrated to God, but his zeal for God can be of man, not of God. It is quite possible to offer something as Cain did and not as Abel did. According to our natural understanding, we think that God will be pleased as long as we work for Him and preach the gospel to save sinners and present them to God. However, God is concerned whether we are doing this according to our opinion or His revelation. Is our zeal toward Him, and is our offering of sacrifices for ourselves or for Him? This is God’s concern.
Cain was not rejected by God because he sinned but because he did not worship and offer sacrifices according to God’s way. We may think that God will accept us and be delighted in us as long as we preach the gospel, serve Him, and fervently work for Him. This is a religious concept. A person who has been enlightened by God dares not to think or view things in this way, and one who has been enlightened by God will examine himself, asking, “Is my zeal of myself or of God? Is my preaching of the gospel and working for God a profit or a damage to the church? Does my consecration for the church and my work for God originate from God? Is my service like Abel’s, or does it originate from myself like Cain’s?” Only those who examine themselves in this way can serve God properly.
Genesis shows that Cain did not commit the sin of murder immediately; rather, he committed murder some time later. Cain did not kill his brother Abel at the very beginning. Cain served God, was zealous for God, and gave offerings to God. However, his service, his offering, and his zeal originated from himself, not from God, so God disregarded him. In all our service, do we really have a regard for God and fear God? Are we fearful that what we do for God is not of God but of ourselves? Do we fear that our pious activities may be considered rebellious and sinful in His eyes? God has ordained that we work in a certain way, but do we reject God’s command and work in another way? Are we fearful of offering the fruit of the ground rather than animal sacrifices to God? Are we afraid that our work and service are not of God but of ourselves? Just as we fear our temper, do we also fear our preaching of the gospel, our zeal, our service, and our consecration? We should be as fearful of these as we are fearful of sinning and falling.
If we are enlightened, we will be fearful in our service. We may see that our service is like Cain’s, not Abel’s. One who serves the Lord must be fearful that his work, even the ability to preach and cast out demons, is not a service to God. A religious activity is any service and worship that does not originate from God’s revelation, command, and leading. A man may know of God and be zealous in doing things for God according to his own view, but this is only a religious activity. Anything that is not revealed, commanded, or called by God is a religious activity, even if it is for God. Beginning with Adam in the Old Testament and continuing to the end of the New Testament, the activities of one who serves God must originate absolutely from God, not from man.
Noah did not build an ark because he had a dream and then became zealous. Genesis shows that Noah did not have such a thought or idea at any time. Rather, God came to Noah one day and told him to build an ark. This was the origin of the building of the ark (Gen. 6:14 — 7:5). The building of the ark was not even in Noah’s consideration; neither could he imagine that a flood would come one hundred and twenty years later. Even the measurements and methods of building the ark were not according to Noah’s imagination but to God’s determination (6:14-16). This shows that Noah’s service was of God.
Let us continue with Abraham. Did Abraham serve and worship God because his fathers served and worshipped God? Did he serve and worship according to the traditions of his fathers? No, the Bible shows that Abraham was from the land of the Chaldeans, who were involved with idols (11:31; Josh. 24:2). Later, he left his country, a land of idolatry. Abraham, however, did not leave voluntarily; neither did he initiate the move. While he was still living on the other side of the river and worshipping idols like the Gentiles, God came to him and called him, saying, “Go from your land / And from your relatives / And from your father’s house” (Gen. 12:1). Abraham had no thought of leaving; rather, he was urged to leave by God who came to call him. All the moves in Abraham’s life reveal the particular characteristic of Jehovah’s appearing. God’s appearing was the motivation for all of Abraham’s actions. All his actions were controlled by God’s appearing. Except for his going down to Egypt and falling (v. 9—13:4), all his actions were accepted by God because they were of God as a result of His appearing.
Moses feared and knew God, and he was very zealous for the children of Israel because he was educated by his family. He even struck an Egyptian for the Israelites (Exo. 2:7-12). According to the record in the Bible, however, all these things were useless to God. Moses was dealt with by God in the wilderness for a period of forty years to the extent that all his human capabilities were taken from him. At this point he had no interest in any of man’s intentions or in any religious activity. Being nearly eighty years of age, he surely must have wondered whether he could do anything other than shepherd a flock. He no longer thought of worshipping God or of delivering the children of Israel. To him, these things meant nothing.
When he felt that everything was over, however, God came to him and called him, saying, “I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt” (3:10). God came to send Moses. Moses’ deliverance of the children of Israel did not originate from himself but from God. Furthermore, all his actions related to the deliverance of the children of Israel were according to God’s instruction. The actions of the children of Israel, such as slaughtering the lambs, keeping the passover, and crossing the Red Sea, did not come from Moses’ imagination or idea but from God’s instruction. God personally led the children of Israel through every station they passed.
When Moses came to the foot of Mount Sinai for the building of the tabernacle, he followed the pattern that God showed him on the mountain; no deviation was permitted (ch. 40). This shows that genuine service can come only from God, not from us. Anything that comes from us is a religious activity; only that which comes from God is service according to revelation.
Now we should consider David who truly believed in God. He overcame all enemies by trusting in God’s grace, and he was made king and lived a peaceful life in the palace. Looking at his situation, he felt that he owed something to God because he lived in such a good palace while God dwelt only in the tabernacle. He felt that this was unfair to God, so he was zealous to build a temple for God (2 Sam. 7:1-3). Did God accept David’s idea? His desire to care for God and love God was accepted by God, but his intention and determination to build a house were rejected by God, who immediately sent Nathan the prophet to David to ask, “Is it you who will build Me a house for Me to dwell in?” (v. 5). God rejected David’s good intention.
No matter related to our service to God should be determined by us. It is right for us to love God, but God does not want us to think about doing something for Him. Our heart to serve Him is acceptable, but our decision to do something for Him is not acceptable. God said, “Is it you...?” God does not want us to decide anything on His behalf. It was not up to David to decide whether or not to build the temple. Nothing should be initiated by us; only God can initiate something. God replied to David, “Jehovah declares to you that Jehovah will make you a house” (v. 11), as if to say, “David, you do not know what you are saying when you speak of building Me a house. It is I who will build you a house.”
David was one who truly feared God. He was not like some Christians today who build a “church” whenever they please. Such people think that as long as they have money and a heart, they can do what they want when they want. In David, however, we see one who feared God. Although he had the opportunity, saw the need, and had the ability to build the temple for God, he stopped. The building of the temple seemed necessary, just as preaching the gospel seems good. However, if something is initiated by man, God will say, “Slow down.” When man’s initiation ceases, God initiates and gives a command.
When we read the Bible, we must see the light in these examples. In the matter of service, no one can initiate anything for God. There is no limit to how much we should love God or turn our heart toward Him. What God demands of us is our love and our heart, but we cannot overstep the boundaries. We can love Him and consider Him but not decide what to do next. God is the One who decides, and we must wait. When He gives a command, we can work. We should love God and wait for His command; we should seek His will and wait for His revelation. Just as the slaves in the Old Testament loved their masters and allowed their ears to be bored through with an awl to a doorpost, we must focus on waiting for our Master’s command (Exo. 21:6).
Many Christians not only love God but also love people, the world, and their family. When they become zealous for God, they immediately desire to do things for God. This is the situation in today’s Christianity. The confusion in Christianity is not caused by lukewarm ones but by zealous ones. Out of their zeal for God, they build one chapel after another; out of their love for God, they establish one school after another. The confusion in Christianity would be less if fewer Christians loved God; the confusion in Christianity increases as more Christians love God. It is right to love God, but in spite of a proper love for God, many Christians are walking on the wrong way. We should only love God; we should not initiate anything for God.
I truly admire David’s condition before God. If David did not fear God, after listening to Nathan’s word, he might have thought, “What are you talking about? I am in the palace; I have both money and authority. There is a need, and I want to cooperate by taking action. Is this not God’s will?” He might have said to Nathan, “I know that you are a prophet, but does only your speaking count? Does no other speaking count?” Because David feared God, however, he did not react to Nathan; rather, he stopped. It is not a small thing to stop. The act of stopping the building of the temple is a great matter.
Sister M. E. Barber said, “Whoever cannot stop working for the sake of God cannot work for the sake of God.” This is a good word of experience. David knew that God needed a temple, but when God’s word came to him, he immediately stopped his work. His stopping was not related to need or ability; rather, he stopped because God did not want him to work. The ability of David not to work for God shows his spirituality. If we were David, could we have stopped? Opportunities will come, but God’s word may also come, saying, “Do not do anything. Slow down. Change your plan. Only My decision counts.” Many who are zealous for God cannot hear such a word. This is the reason many workers of God cannot work for God. May God open our eyes.
David’s stopping established a twofold testimony in the universe. First, all the work in the universe should come from God, not from man. Second, all that matters is what God does for man, not what man does for God. David wanted to build a temple for God, but God said that He would build a house for David from which a kingdom would come forth. Even after God spoke this word to David, he fell twice. First, he murdered Uriah and usurped his wife Bath-sheba (2 Sam. 11:2-17, 26-27). Second, he numbered the children of Israel (24:1-10). It is amazing that after the murder of Uriah, Bath-sheba bore David a son, Solomon, and after David was chastised by God for numbering the people, he offered sacrifices on a piece of land, as instructed by God, which later became the site for the building of the temple (vv. 18-25; 1 Chron. 21:1; 2 Chron. 3:1).
The son and the site for the building of the temple both came out of David’s being forgiven of his sins. Those who can see this will bow their head and worship God, saying, “It is not we who can do something for You, but You who does something for man.” We must learn deep within that God wants only our cooperation; He does not need us to do anything for Him. Even if we could do something for God, He does not need it; He needs only our cooperation. We must stop all our opinions, decisions, and ideas; we need to let Him speak, let Him come in, and let Him command. All we need to do is cooperate with Him.
In the Old Testament there are many such examples, and we cannot cover all of them. However, there are two examples in the New Testament. On the Mount of Transfiguration Peter saw the Lord’s face shining like the sun, and His garments became as white as the light (Matt. 17:2). Peter was stirred up in his zeal and said to the Lord, “I will make three tents here, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah” (v. 4). This shows that our opinions always accompany our zeal. When someone loves us, there will be hardships, because opinions always come when someone loves us. Those who love us always bring their opinions in addition to their heart.
When I labored for the Lord in mainland China, many people knew that I liked to eat steamed buns rather than white rice, but the southerners did not know how to make steamed buns. In 1934 I went to preach the gospel in Pingyang in Chekiang Province. The brothers and sisters there loved me very much. They entertained me every day and made steamed buns for every meal. They even hired a cook to make steamed buns, but I could not eat the raw, hard steamed buns because of a stomach problem. I gave messages three times a day, but I hardly had any energy because I could not eat much. One day, when I could stand it no longer, I politely told the brothers that it would be better for me if the steamed buns were cooked a little longer. The brothers immediately replied that the steamed buns had been made by an expert. I could not respond. After I labored in Pingyang for three weeks, my body collapsed completely. The brothers were full of love, but they also brought their opinions, telling me to eat this kind of food and that kind of food. If these brothers and sisters had asked me what I could eat and had prepared it accordingly, the situation might have been entirely different. Many wives bring similar hardships upon their husbands because of their love.
On the Mount of Transfiguration, after seeing the Lord’s transfiguration, Peter felt good and suggested making three tents. Immediately there was a voice from heaven, saying, “Hear Him!” (v. 5). The Lord Jesus did not need to listen to Peter, and Peter did not need to give opinions and make decisions. We do not need to give opinions or commands; the Lord Jesus should give the command. May we never forget this: When Peter told the Lord that he would make three tents, one for the Lord, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, a voice from heaven immediately said, “This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight. Hear Him!” Those who serve the Lord must learn this lesson. We should not be those whose opinions and ideas come out whenever we serve the Lord; rather, we need to be quiet and listen to His command.
Paul was Saul before his conversion (Acts 13:9). When he was Saul, he was not a great sinner; rather, he was a Pharisee who feared God, obeyed the law, and was zealous and pious. All his activities, however, were religious activities without revelation or God’s light; they were all based on his ideas. He followed the traditions of his fathers and was taught at the feet of Gamaliel (22:3). On his way to Damascus, however, the Lord met him. It was only at this point that he asked, “What shall I do, Lord?” (v. 10). Blessed is he who asks this question! We should all ask the Lord, “What shall I do?” rather than telling Him, “This is what I will do.” The Lord replied, “Rise up and enter into the city, and it will be told to you what you must do” (9:6; 22:10). The Lord told Paul what to do. Paul did not decide; rather, the Lord showed him a vision. Seeing a vision is not based on our decisions. We should not decide; only God should decide.
All those who serve God must see a principle from these examples: God’s work needs man’s cooperation, but it does not require man’s initiation. No work should be initiated by us. All work should be initiated by God. He commands, He calls, and He charges. We should listen to Him unreservedly. When He charges us, we should obey; when He demands, we should accept.
Lastly, we must ask how we can know God’s command. How can we know God’s will and revelation? How do we know what God wants us to do? Job 38:2 says, “Who is this who darkens counsel / By words without knowledge?” This word has broad implications. Job was a God-fearing person; he was very pious toward God. At the same time, he truly wanted God, and even God boasted that there was “none like him on the earth, a perfect and upright man” (1:8). Even Satan could not deny that Job was a perfect man. Nevertheless, Job’s view and opinion were not broken. In terms of loving God, he truly loved God, but he still had strong views; in terms of fearing God, he feared God very much, but he still had opinions. The debate between Job and his friends shows that God was quite hidden. Throughout the entire book Job is the one who speaks the most. God came in only after all the words of Job and his friends ran out.
If we do not allow God to come in because our words have not run out, we will not be able to understand God’s will because we still have too much within. This is our problem. Our God is quite able to remain silent. When the friends of Job were arguing with him, God was very patient. He stepped aside and let everyone speak; He came in to speak only after everyone was finished. The unique prerequisite to receiving God’s revelation is to stop our speaking, our opinion, our view, and our self. While it is easy to say the word stop, it is not so easy to stop. The best way for us to stop is to die; once we die, we stop.
God’s counsel is darkened by man’s words. A person’s opinion is expressed in his word, and his word represents his opinion. According to God, man’s words darken His counsel. Consequently, when Job spoke, God hid Himself. Later, Job realized that God remained silent when he spoke. When we have an opinion and want to initiate something, God stops and hides Himself. This is what we need to see.
When the Bible speaks of Satan, it sometimes refers to man’s opinion. Matthew 16 records a second incident with Peter. When Peter tried to stop the Lord from going to Jerusalem to suffer, the Lord said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan!...for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men” (v. 23). Then He said, “If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself” (v. 24). All of this speaks of man’s opinions and ideas. When Job said, “I abhor myself” (Job 42:6), he was referring to his opinions, views, and ideas. When we serve in various places to lead and administrate the churches, the greatest problem we encounter is opinions. Once a person has the heart to serve the Lord and becomes zealous, his opinions come out. At such a time, God will hide Himself and withdraw His will. Everything we initiate will be interrupted by God. In the matter of serving God, we must stop ourselves in order to give God the absolute opportunity to speak. This requires our exercise.
Question: The most difficult thing in our service to the Lord is that we do not know how to understand God’s will and touch God’s word. It is truly difficult for us to stop ourselves. Recently, we have sensed a dryness in our service. Then the Lord added a few Taiwanese sisters, and we felt that we should visit them, but two brothers said that we should not go. Hence, we did not know whether we should stop or visit them. After we prayed, some had the feeling that we should not be too hasty and go too soon, lest the sisters withdraw. However, we eventually went, and there was no incident. I would like to ask, How do we know whether a certain matter is of ourselves or of God?
Answer: Those who serve the Lord must thoroughly see, at least once, that their service must originate from God. Many have not seen the Lord in their service; they think that it is good as long as they serve God. There are many who have this kind of thought and view. Hence, the basic problem is whether or not we have seen, at least once, that our service to God must originate from Him, not from ourselves.
If we all have this light, our problems will be solved easily. Many people, however, have not seen this light. Instead, they try to analyze whether their service is according to God’s will and whether or not their service will render help. This is to fall into the mind. The basic matter is that we must fall down because of God’s enlightenment and see that our service to God must come from God, not from us. Seeing and having this light will lead us to a breakthrough in the matter of not daring to initiate anything pertaining to the service of God. We will be enlightened inwardly to the point that we will not initiate anything in the matter of serving God. There is a saying in Chinese: “A newborn calf does not fear the tiger.” This means that a young calf is not afraid of anything. It is even willing to touch a tiger. But if a calf is frightened and hurt by a tiger, it will not dare to touch the tiger again. Some of us are like a newborn calf in the matter of serving God. In the Old Testament David realized that he could not initiate anything in the service of God only after Uzzah was struck by God (2 Sam. 6:6-8).
We are not speaking of trivial principles but rather about a fundamental issue: In our service to the Lord, we must have a definite experience and come to a clear point of being enlightened by the Lord to see that our service must be of God, not of ourselves. If we have seen this basic matter, it will be much easier for us in practice.
How can we discern what is an opinion? An opinion is something that comes from us and is initiated by us. When something is initiated by us, we enjoy and like it. Anything initiated by us will bear our flavor and be our boast. Hence, when a service is initiated by us according to our opinion, often our enjoyment, preference, and boast are associated with it. When a certain matter is initiated by us, we enjoy and love it; moreover, we often feel that it is very good.
Negatively speaking, we often become upset when we encounter problems and difficulties in service or work that originates from us, especially when our service and work are ruined and overthrown. But when our service and work originate with the Lord, we can worship Him even when we encounter problems.
If I have a job, working and taking orders from a manager, I may suffer a setback and be unable to carry out my job. When I encounter any hindrance and fail to succeed, I should report to my manager, but the failure is his responsibility, not mine. Conversely, when there is a success, it is my manager’s boast, not mine. However, when I initiate a matter, its success will be my boast, and its failure will cause me to reflect on my own faults. Therefore, these two tests, one positive and one negative, determine whether the work and the responsibility we bear in all the localities comes from God or from ourselves. The positive test is whether or not we receive a sense of enjoyment and boasting from our work. The negative test is whether or not we are able to eat and sleep peacefully when our work is not carried out successfully. Both of these are tests to us.
I lived in Manila for quite a period of time, and I always stayed with the same family, which included several elders and deacons. They were very clear about the work in the church, and according to their mind, I should have been very troubled about bearing the burden there. They were somewhat bothered because I could eat and sleep well when I stayed with them. However, I told them that I enjoyed every meal and slept well every night despite the heavy burden of the work. One asked me how this was possible, assuming that I did not care for them. All the brothers and sisters, however, could testify that my heart was genuinely for them; otherwise, I would have been unable to live there for so long. I told them that even though I was bearing the burden, I was clear that the responsibility was not upon me. I was not doing a work of my own in Southeast Asia. I was there because I was sent by the Lord. Therefore, I was not doing my work but the Lord’s work. The burden I bore was His burden, not mine.
Moreover, there is other indirect evidence that shows whether a work is of God. If a certain work is not of God, the brothers and sisters often are not willing to carry it out. However, if a certain work is of God, the brothers and sisters are able to labor together. This is very good, but even if the brothers and sisters have some difficulty in laboring together, this is not necessarily a problem, because the work is not their responsibility. Those who are sent by the Lord are often quite patient. When a person is doing his own work, he will be anxious for success, but if he is doing the Lord’s work, he will not be anxious, because it is the Lord’s business. If we want to determine whether a person’s work is of God or of himself, we only need to see if he is anxious in the work. If a person’s work is according to God’s sending, the sent one will not be anxious, and there will not be many opinions.
Once when I was in Manila, I truly sensed that a certain matter was of the Lord because of the Lord’s moving without any initiation on my part. Then a sister asked, saying, “Brother Lee, since this matter is of the Lord, why do you not do it?” I replied, “I need to wait until the saints also have the assurance that it is of the Lord.” Then she said, “You should lead the saints. If you lead the saints, they will listen to you.” I said, “If you sense that this matter is of the Lord, there is no need for you to be anxious.” As a result, there was no dispute among the brothers and sisters. If the brothers and sisters wanted to do a certain thing, and I had said no, or if I wanted to do a certain thing, and the brothers and sisters had said no, there would have been a quarrel. Anything that gives rise to quarreling is of the self, not of God.
These three tests speak of our relationship with God in our work and whether or not our work is of God. We serve in many ways, but what the Lord does through us, whether it is a success or a failure, should not give us much feeling. However, if a work is initiated by us, we will have a deep feeling regarding its success or failure. May the Lord have mercy on us and teach us in these matters so that we may see whether our work is of man or of God.
If a brother sees an improper condition in the church and is not able to eat or sleep well, this will become a problem. When our heart is set on the Lord’s work, we should be able to eat and sleep well, no matter how difficult the environment. However, if a brother is able to sleep peacefully when the sky is “falling” simply because he has no real care or concern, he is useless to God. My family knows that there is not a single burden or work of the church that can press me to the point of making me unable to eat or sleep well. There is much work and burden within me, but I am clear that this is the Lord’s business. Since I am here to cooperate with Him, I do not need to be anxious.
For example, I recently handed over the responsibility of managing the workers’ home to a brother. Many times when I inquire about a certain matter related to the home, he does not fully know. Logically speaking, I should be restless, but I still sleep peacefully. Conversely, even if people praised the arrangement of the workers’ home, I would not feel that this was my glory, because everything is up to the Lord. Hence, I can eat and sleep well, and I have no opinion on the success or failure of any matter because I know that everything originates from the Lord.
Sometimes after we hand over certain matters to the co-workers, they make excuses when they are asked about what they have done. Such people are not competent, and they should not sleep peacefully. It would be quite strange if one was entrusted with the job of bookkeeping but was unable to say at a later date what had been done and could only speak of studying the Bible and giving messages. If one wants to give messages well, work well, and even study the Bible well, he must be serious in whatever he does. An irresponsible person is useless in God’s hand. When someone entrusts us with a certain matter, we must realize that this is a matter of responsibility; we should not say that we do not know.
Therefore, we must all learn to bear responsibility and burden before the Lord, and we must also serve the Lord faithfully. Although these matters are not decided by us nor originate from us, we must be absolutely faithful and responsible in what we do.
