Question: What is consecration, and what does it mean to take the Lord’s way?
Answer: A believer’s genuine consecration is to allow God to come into him and to work in him. In order to allow God to work in this way, you must learn to follow the sense in your spirit. When you sense in your spirit that God has a demand on you, you must go along with Him. When you sense in your spirit that God wants you to get rid of something, you must obey Him. When you sense in your spirit that God wants you to be broken in a certain aspect, you need to accept His breaking. This is consecration, and this is what it means to take God’s way.
It is not difficult to know God’s way. It is only when we truly want God to work in us and desire to take His way that we feel troubled. We human beings are crooked by nature. Whenever there is a demand within, we usually reject it. When there is a certain feeling, we consider it awhile and then annul it. When a lesson comes to us for our breaking, we put it off and then escape it. Some believers have many such experiences. Some do not let God pass through them or work in them even one day of the entire year. Perhaps some have never let God pass through them or work in them in all their Christian life. Some brothers and sisters consecrate themselves often, and their consecration is genuine. However, whenever they encounter a demand from God, they push it away by making excuses.
More than ten years ago a brother who was also a co-worker asked me, “Do you see any problem in me?” After carefully looking at him for a moment, I said, “Do you want me to tell you the truth?” He smilingly nodded. I said forthrightly, “You have one problem, and it is reasoning.” He said, “I admit I have this problem, but...” I immediately pointed at him and said, “This ‘but’ of yours is your problem. It is seldom that you truly receive into you what others say to you. On the surface you receive it, but eventually you have a ‘but,’ ‘yet,’ or ‘however.’ This is your problem. Rarely have you absolutely received God’s speaking and obeyed any feeling He gives you. On the surface you agree with Him, but eventually you always have a ‘nevertheless’ or ‘however.’ You receive whatever leading God gives you, but in the end you always have a ‘however.’ Your reasoning is your big problem.” He replied, “Brother Lee, I admit this, but...”
It is very difficult for a person’s natural problems to be broken before God. That day I spoke with that brother for at least two hours, but in the end he still said, “Brother Lee, I admit that all you have said is right, but...” At the end of every admission there was a “you are right, but...” After talking for two hours, he was still saying “however,” “but,” “nevertheless,” and “yet.” I hope that this illustration gives you some light to realize how difficult it is for us to be broken.
Many brothers and sisters desire to walk on the Lord’s way, but when the time actually comes to walk on it, they almost always have a “but,” “nevertheless,” “however,” or “yet.” As a result, they are finished. That day I finally said strongly, “Brother, you are like a smooth pebble. When you are touched on this side, you roll to the other side; when you are touched on the other side, you roll to this side. There is not a single hammer that can hold you in place. Others are square and can easily be broken. You are the only one who is round. Regardless of the light you have received, you can always roll away with a ‘nevertheless’ and then roll back with a ‘but.’”
Some saints have been before the Lord for many years but have never been dealt with and have never submitted themselves. It seems that they really mean business to take the Lord’s way, but whenever they encounter a demand, they roll away. Their rolling is not intentional. For example, if I have a cubic piece of stone, it will remain in place no matter what I use to strike it from above. But if I have a marble, it will roll away after I strike it only once. The marble’s rolling is not up to the marble itself; it rolls simply because it is round. The saints who are like marbles may say that they are willing to be dealt with, but once a practical situation arises, they automatically avoid it.
In principle this is a problem that many of us have. It is difficult to find a brother or sister who can genuinely say, “O Lord, go ahead and strike me; I will always remain here. Even if Your striking is wrong, I will still accept it.” Very few Christians are like this. Most Christians would ask, “When we follow the inner sense, is it not possible for us to make mistakes? Should we not consider carefully before we follow the inner sense?” When you begin to consider, you open a back door for yourself. As you consider further, the back door becomes wider. Indeed, it is not easy for you to consecrate yourself on the altar and accept the breaking, because when God comes to lead you and break you, you have many considerations. Actually, these considerations are simply “nevertheless,” “but,” or “however.”
A person who truly consecrates himself does not have considerations once he has a sense within. His only consideration is that he is afraid of losing God’s feeling. Madame Guyon’s autobiography is very helpful in at least two points. Most people recognize that she accepted the work of the cross, but there is another point. She not only accepted the cross but also welcomed it. Today when most Christians have a certain feeling, they consider and reconsider, claiming that they fear the difficulties that might arise if they make a mistake in obeying the feeling. This kind of consideration apparently comes from a fear of making mistakes, but it actually comes from a fear of difficulties. We have only a small fear of obeying wrongly and thus offending God; our great fear is that if we obey wrongly, we might have sufferings. Most of our considerations are not a result of our being afraid of losing our fellowship with God if we make a mistake; rather, they are a result of our being afraid of suffering loss to ourselves if we make a mistake.
Madame Guyon’s most worthy point before the Lord was that she was not afraid that her feeling would be wrong; she feared only that her self would not suffer loss. If we have this kind of motive, we will not have considerations when God’s feelings come. All the leading brothers should see that although many saints are perhaps genuine in their consecration, when God’s leading truly comes, they shirk it. This kind of shirking is very easy, just as losing God’s presence is very easy. There is only one “wall,” but there are many “back doors”—“but,” “however,” “perhaps,” and “yet.” May we all exercise to shut the back doors.