Another big problem of a subjective person is that he cannot receive any guidance from God. He has no way to know God's guidance, and he is completely ignorant of His leading. Every subjective person is as far from God's will as the north pole is from the south pole. It is impossible for him to know God's will, because he does not match the qualifications of those who are God's followers. It takes a pliable and diligent man with a listening ear to receive guidance from God. When God's word comes to such a man, he acts upon it immediately without any subjective views of his own. Balaam's heart erred because it was inclined towards riches. He became subjective in his judgment, and he insisted on his judgment. This is why Balaam prayed to God again and again until God told him to go. When a man's mind is set, it is hard for him to understand God's will. We must learn to walk in God's will. We must realize that God's will often requires that we stop immediately, or it may require that we march immediately. We often have planned out the whole journey, only to find that the Lord wants us to stop immediately. What should we do? If the Spirit of the Lord tells us to stop, are we willing to stop? A subjective man will not stop. A person who has learned to listen to God is not subjective in any way: He will go forward when God commands him to go forward, and stop when God tells him to stop. Do not think that this is a simple thing. A subjective man cannot readily go forward when God tells him to go forward. However, once he has picked up momentum, it is hard for God to stop him. This is where our problem lies. A strenuous effort must be made to push forward those who are subjective, and once they start moving, no one can stop them. This is not the way of the instructed, who are pliable in the hands of God. When God tells them to move, they move. When God tells them to stop, they stop. These are the only ones who will receive guidance from God. Many people will not move until they receive harsh chastisement, and once they move, they never stop. They go on in the same direction continually. God has to stop them forcefully with His strong hand before they will stop. Their subjectivity prevents them from knowing God's will, much less carrying out His will.
In Abraham's offering up of Isaac we get a beautiful picture of a man who was not subjective. If Abraham had been a subjective man when God asked him to offer up Isaac, it would have been difficult for him to obey. He would have had many things to say. He would have reasoned after this fashion: "I had no son before. The possibility of having one never even occurred to me. I thought that Eliezer was enough. It was God who wanted me to have a son. I did not have a thought of a son and neither did Sarah. It was all God's idea. Now that He has given me a son, why would He want me to offer him for a burnt offering?" Brothers and sisters, a subjective man would have had every reason to reject this demand! But Abraham was so simple. Even such a demand presented no problem to him. He believed that God could raise his son from the dead. As he stood by the altar and raised the knife to slay his son, God prepared a ram which he could offer instead of his son (Gen. 22:10, 13). If Abraham had been subjective, such a demand would have presented a new problem to him. He would doubtless have been bewildered and would have wondered how he could be told to do one thing at one moment and just the opposite the next moment. But Abraham did not think this way. He was not subjective. With some people, it is difficult for them to get on the altar, and once they are on the altar, it is more difficult for them to get down. They spend years getting on the altar, and once they are on it, they insist on remaining there until they die. A subjective man will act according to his own will even when he is trying to obey God. Even God cannot stop him. A subjective man is forced into obedience, and his obedience is many times the result of self-effort. He cannot be turned around no matter how hard others try. God's will and commandment may direct him to take back what he has given, but he cannot.