In my experience with the Lord I have learned a particular secret, and I would like to share it with you. The secret is whenever you find that the Bible tells you to do a certain thing, do not say, “Lord, I’ll do this. I just ask You to help me do it.” Instead, tell Him that you love Him, but that you are not able to fulfill His requirements. For instance, a young person may say, “Lord, I love you. The Bible tells me to honor my parents. Lord, I must confess that I cannot honor them. But I do love You and Your Word. I want to stay with You according to Your Word. Lord, I just want to be here with You.” Then the Lord will assure that young person that although he cannot honor his parents, He Himself will do this in him. We should simply say amen to the Word of God. Then the Lord will do in us what we could never do ourselves. How marvelous!
This matter of telling the Lord that we love Him and His Word, but that we are not able to do what the Bible says surely is not a natural concept or a religious concept. However, it is according to God’s economy. Should the Lord require you to preach the gospel of the kingdom to the uttermost part of the earth, you should say, “Lord, I love You, and I love the Word. But I must tell You, Lord, that I am not able to preach the gospel to the person next door, much less to the uttermost part of the earth. But, Lord, I love You, and I want to stay with You.” If you say this to the Lord, you will have the conviction deep within that even though you cannot fulfill this requirement, the Lord will do it in you and through you. As long as you love the Lord and His Word and as long as you stay with Him, He will do in you what you cannot do yourself.
When I read the Bible many years ago, I said, “Amen! I’ll do whatever the Bible says.” Now when I read the Word, I say, “Lord, I love the Word and I love You. But, Lord, You know that I can’t do what the Bible says. Now I know that whatever You tell me to do, You will do for me. I know what is on Your heart. You have no intention for me to do anything. Although You tell me to do certain things, Your desire is that You do these things in me. You simply want me to love You and to stay with You. The more I stay with You, love You, and tell You that I cannot do anything, the happier You are.”
The Lord likes us to tell Him again and again that we cannot do what the Word tells us to do. He wants to keep us with Him. The more we stay with Him and tell Him that we are not able to do anything, the happier He is. God wants us to stay with Him so that we, like Moses on the mountaintop, may be infused with Himself. This is what God desires today.
God has not only given us the Ten Commandments and certain ordinances and precepts; He has given us the entire Bible. Shall we presume to think that we can do all the Bible says? Certainly not. Instead, we should stay with the Lord and tell Him again and again that we love Him and His Word, but that we cannot do what the Bible says. The Lord is eager to do for us and in us what we cannot do ourselves.
We have pointed out that the decree of the law differs according to the different categories of people. When the law was given, Moses was on the mountaintop experiencing the divine infusion, some were on the mountain afar off worshipping, and the majority were at the bottom of the mountain trembling. Neither those who worshipped afar off nor those at the foot of the mountain could fulfill God’s purpose. God’s purpose could be fulfilled only through Moses, the one who experienced His infusion. Only he could fulfill the desire of God’s heart.
Because Moses was infused with God, he became a man of God, even a God-man. Just as iron can be infused with fire and mingled with it, so Moses was infused with God and mingled with Him. We are like the iron, and God is like the fire. Just as iron can be burned by fire until it glows, God wants us to be burned by Him, infused and mingled with Him, until we shine with Him. This is God’s intention.
No matter where we may be reading in the Bible, we need to say, “Lord, I love You, and I want to stay with You. Lord, I receive whatever You say. But, Lord, I cannot do it. However, now I know Your strategy. You will do everything for me and in me.” If a brother tries in himself to love his wife, he will not be able to do so. But if, instead of trying to love her, he stays with the Lord and is infused with Him, he will love his wife automatically. She may be greatly surprised at the love her husband has for her.
I can testify that many times I have made up my mind to do certain things, only to fail miserably. But at other times I simply opened to the Lord to be infused with Him. Then I found that the Lord would do in me what I was not able to do myself. This is what God is seeking today.