It is very hard to deal with man. We should not assume that because the Bible speaks of the shining and touching of the Holy Spirit and of the shining and calling of the cross that man will receive the cross and willingly accept the breaking of the cross. This is not the case. In fact, it is extremely rare to find such a person. Therefore, we need much grace, life, Spirit, truth, the word of the ministry, spiritual books, and the testimony of the church.
Furthermore, God also arranges the persons, things, and matters we encounter; He orders the environment and circumstances in our life so that He can break our person. He created the heavens and the earth, and He also prepared the air, water, and sunlight for our existence. He predestinated us before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4-5, 11), and He called us in time as His called ones (Gal. 1:15; 1 Cor. 1:1-2). After we are saved, God does a work of grace in us to cause us to love, desire, and pursue Him. Our neighbors may criticize us and think that we are superstitious. They may feel that our believing into Jesus is too much, but the more we love, pursue, and serve the Lord, the more joy we have within. All of these things are the result of the Lord’s work of grace.
The Lord has predestined everything before the foundation of the world; He has ordered the family, spouse, and children we need for our transformation. He knows the kind of boss, co-workers, classmates, and neighbors that we need; therefore, He prepares and orders everything for us. We are God’s chosen and predestined people, and we are those who find grace in God. God is doing a work of grace in us, and He has prepared everything in our environment and our circumstances in life for us.
The Holy Spirit also works in us through the messages spoken by His servants, the testimony of the saints, and the leading and fellowship of the church so that we may be touched to love the Lord Jesus, desire to pursue Him, and allow Him to live out of us. We even desire and pray to the Lord that we would be willing to be broken, subdued, and filled with Christ in order to live out Christ. While our desire and prayer come from the work of the Holy Spirit and are out of the Lord’s grace, God knows that this alone is not sufficient to deal with our person. Consequently, He arranges everything in our environment, even the things that occurred before we were saved.
There was once a brother who suffered quite much from his parents before he was saved. He did not know the reason, but after he was saved, he realized that the suffering was prepared by the Lord to enable him to learn some spiritual lessons. After he was saved, he loved and pursued the Lord, and he prayed for a good wife. Because he had suffered much through his parents, he wanted a wife like Rebekah, who could comfort him (Gen. 24:67). The Lord accepted his prayers, and from that time forward, he began to consider whom to marry. Many older saints cared for him and introduced different sisters to him, but after he prayed and considered, he felt that these sisters were not the right one and did not fit his taste. In the end he met a sister with a peculiar disposition. As soon as they met each other, however, he felt she was very suitable. He eagerly hoped that she would be like Rebekah and comfort him; however, the dealing he received from this sister far surpassed the dealing he received from his parents. Nevertheless, he could not change his situation, because he could not divorce her and could not fight with her. Eventually, he realized that this arrangement was for him to learn more lessons.
We know of many similar examples. Many saints, after much consideration in choosing a spouse, eventually choose a “dear one” who deals with them. If we do not like an employee, we can fire him, and if a garment does not fit, we can tear it apart and use it as a rag; however, we cannot get rid of our spouse. Hence, we can only ask the Lord to make a way in us. Apart from being raptured or our spouse passing away, we have no options other than the way of the cross, the way of the discipline of the Holy Spirit. The discipline of the Holy Spirit is evident not only in small matters, but also in the big matters of our life. God often gives us a “dear” wife or “dear” husband, and at times we do not know whether we should laugh or cry. In reality, all we can do is turn to the Lord and pray to Him, because many years may pass, and we will not be raptured, and our spouse will be healthy and strong. Eventually, both husband and wife will live together for many years. This is a great discipline.
A great British evangelist named John Wesley lived in an environment where there was the freedom to choose whom to marry, and he chose a “dear” wife. One day Wesley was preaching, and many people were touched by his message; however, his wife came and yelled to everyone, urging them not to listen to his nonsense. Wesley’s dear wife stayed the same and never changed; this was a great discipline to Wesley. Their married life was like a three-legged race involving much stumbling and even falling flat on their backs. These are clear indications of the discipline of the Holy Spirit.
There are great disciplinary arrangements in our human life that we cannot avoid or escape because we cannot be raptured nor die. These arrangements are severe. Before we were born, God chose and predestined us. He ordained everything for us. We make thousands of mistakes in our lives, and these mistakes are not our fault; everything has been set forth by God. In the matter of marriage, we may reject someone who lives near us, and we also may reject someone with whom we are familiar. If, in the end, we choose a peculiar person, we can only blame ourselves. Apparently it is our fault, but if God had not allowed it, He would only have needed to move His little finger, and the marriage would not have been possible. Two people must pass through many steps in order to marry. Thus, even if we do not have good discernment and make a wrong judgment, we still need to admit that it must have been allowed by God, because so many things need to occur in order for a marriage to take place. Without God’s allowance, we could not have made a mistake even if we tried. I absolutely believe this.
Many times we purposefully want to do something that is wrong, but God does not allow it; thus, we cannot make a mistake no matter how hard we try. Sometimes, we are afraid of making mistakes, and we try to avoid and prevent mistakes, but after trying everything, we still make mistakes. Truly speaking, these matters are not in our hands; a man’s heart devises his way, but Jehovah directs his steps (Prov. 16:9). We may choose a different path, but God Himself directs our steps. Nothing happens to us without God’s permission, and nothing happens to us without being measured by God. Things do not happen to us randomly; everything that is measured to us by God is exactly right. God measures a certain person to be our spouse; this is arranged by God or, at the very least, permitted by God.