Question: As we follow the Lord, what great difficulties will we encounter in the way ahead?
Answer: In principle, a Christian should not predict that he will have difficulties. However, once he senses that there are difficulties, he should face them. The Lord said, “Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself; sufficient for the day is its own evil” (Matt. 6:34). Someone said, “Do not borrow tomorrow’s troubles for today, and do not save today’s blessings for tomorrow.” We should not make predictions, much less have expectations. You must know that all difficulties come from Satan. When there are no difficulties, do not expect them. When difficulties come, push them away. The first step is to not hope for or expect to have difficulties. The second step is to push them away if you can. Never say that you welcome difficulties because you are learning the discipline of the Holy Spirit; neither should you begin to seek the Lord’s way only after you have failed to reject the difficulties. For example, if after hearing about the discipline of the Holy Spirit you take a rickshaw, and it costs only three dollars but the driver asks for ten, it is not right for you to give him ten. He is extorting money from you; you should speak with him according to reason. To speak is to attempt to solve the problem; if he is reasonable and agrees to back down, you should give him three dollars. It is wrong to expect sufferings, and it is foolish to blindly accept them. Hence, sufferings should not be predicted or expected.
However, when sufferings do come, how should we deal with them? The Lord said, “I am the way and the reality and the life” (John 14:6). Our way is the Lord Himself; thus, the One who deals with the sufferings should be the Lord Himself. There is no way for us to handle sufferings by ourselves. Only the Lord Himself can pass through sufferings. For example, if a young brother marries a sister and later cannot tolerate her, and then he comes to ask what he should do, we can only tell him, “Brother, you must meet the Lord in this matter; the Lord is your way. You need to fellowship with the Lord, bring this problem to the Lord, and touch the Lord. When you touch the Lord, however the Lord moves within you, move accordingly. In this way, the difficulty will pass.”
In the experience of encountering persecution, no two persons are alike. One person can escape persecution, whereas another person must go through it. Because the Lord’s work in each one is different, the Lord’s leading in each one also is different. The Lord may use a very wonderful way to lead someone to escape persecution, but He may use persecution to kill someone else’s naturalness. The Lord’s leading is different in every person. Therefore, the way to deal with difficulties is the Lord Himself. If a difficulty were to befall you today, it would be useless to complain that it was caused by a certain person. You must submit before the Lord and say to Him, “Lord, I have no choice; I have no way; I have only You. Lord, You are my choice and my way. You desire that my weeping would be You and that my joy also would be You.” In this way you will experience the Lord bringing you through. Whatever way a Christian has is simply the Lord Himself. The Lord said, “I am the way.” He is our way and He is our method. Our fear should be that we would depend on ourselves, on others, or on methods and thus break our fellowship with the Lord. The Lord Himself is the way for us to face difficulties.
Question: We desire to submit and yet cannot submit. Exactly how can we gain the power to submit?
Answer: It is true that many times we desire to submit to the Lord and yet cannot submit. You must realize that God’s life contains God’s element; God’s element is in God’s life. Furthermore, this life is transmitted into us through His word. God’s word is the seed of life; once it comes into us, God’s life comes into us. Here we see three things: God, life, and the word. The element of God Himself is in His life, and this life is in His word. Every time the Lord speaks to us, His word is life (John 6:63), and in this life is God Himself. Thus, whenever we receive God’s word, we receive God’s life with God’s element.
Just as we do not have the power to do good, neither do we have the power to submit. In ourselves we are powerless. But thank the Lord that we have the Lord’s word. When we have God’s speaking, there is a power that brings us into submission. For instance, you initially do not believe in the Lord, but one day God sends someone to say to you, “You need to repent.” Once God’s word is spoken, the Holy Spirit speaks God, life, and His word into you, along with repentance, faith, and prayer. After returning home, you are compelled and driven from within to repent. The power to repent is not repentance; the power to repent is life. The next day the Lord’s word comes again: “You need to believe.” This word compels you from within so that you cannot help but believe. As a result, something further—faith—comes into you. The day after that, the word comes once again: “You need to pray.” You do not want to pray, but there is a voice within you saying that you should pray. This is God’s speaking.
God’s word is transmitted into you by the Holy Spirit. This word, this speaking, is like a seed planted into you through the Holy Spirit. In this seed are life and God. God is in His word as a seed. In the same principle, when you hear messages and draw near to the Lord, you hear a word from the Spirit, perhaps through the ministry of the spoken word, the Bible, a spiritual book, or a sense within. This word within will demand something of you and at the same time supply you with power to fulfill its demand.
There are two levels to a spoken message. On the first level, in the minds of the listeners the speaking may be a failure. On the second level, however, the speaking may be carried out with the exercise of the spirit and through the spirit. As the brother is speaking in this way, his spirit moves so that not only his voice but also his spirit enters into people. Once a word spoken with the spirit enters into a listener, there is always a power that enables him to submit without his own effort. Even if a person is stubborn, the Lord will continually work to conquer him until one day he submits. In this submission it is God who causes man to submit, not man who submits by himself. This is our spiritual experience.
For example, I know many young brothers and sisters who were a great source of pride to their families when they entered the university. After they believed in Jesus, however, they were inwardly compelled to consecrate themselves and give up their future. But because they did not want to disappoint their parents, they continued to study hard. However, the compelling within occurred again and again, persuading and urging them to surrender themselves. After a time, it grew even stronger until it subdued them. They were not subdued the first year, the second year, or the third year; it was not until after they graduated from university that they were finally subdued. Even after they had obtained a doctoral degree, they had to yield themselves completely without any recourse.
As another example, perhaps a message has subdued you. You heard the speaking, and something began to happen in you that could not be removed or rejected. This is the power of submission. No one can please God, just as no one can obey the law of God. Thank God, however, that He is the living God. His life is in His word, and His word has been received by us. We may use a florist as an illustration. Suppose the florist has a pile of small, ugly seeds placed next to some brilliant, beautiful flowers. Everyone who looks at the flowers will ask enviously, “How did you grow such flowers?” The florist would point to the ugly seeds on the side and say, “Those seeds grow into such flowers.” Every function of life is hidden within a seed.
Every function of God’s life is hidden in the word of God that enters into us. We have no power in ourselves. But there is power in Him who is life, and this life is in the word. One day this word, like an unrefined, round, and shapeless seed, is ministered into us. The speaking of most ministering brothers seems to be unrefined, but what matters is whether there is life in the speaking and whether it is the word of God’s life, the word of God. If it is the word of God’s life, the word of life, even if it does not seem good outwardly, all the riches of God hidden within it will one day develop and grow. This is the grace of our submission.
Some are subdued more quickly, whereas others are inclined to be slower. Hence, God’s word issues forth from some people quickly, but from others it issues forth slowly. Regardless of whether we are quick or slow, it will eventually issue forth from us. With some, however, it is as if the seed falls into rocky ground in which nothing can grow. This proves that the spiritual power is not with us but is with the Lord Himself and the Lord’s word that enters into us. When we hear the Lord’s word, the function of life begins to take place within us.