God wants to work His life into every part of our soul, that is, into our mind, will, and emotion. How does God do this? The basic requirement of the work of God is that man must cooperate with God; man must let God work. It is not that God does not work, but that many people do not let God work. When some children are sick, they are not willing to take any medicine. When their mother takes them to a doctor, both the doctor and the mother hope that the children will take the medicine, but they are just unwilling. Similarly, it is not that God is unwilling to put Himself into us but that we are reluctant and unwilling.
What then will God do? Doctors and mothers should know that there are three methods to help a child to take medicine. First, they can “trick” him. They can cover the medicine with a sugar coating, and the child will think that he is eating candy; in fact, though, he is taking in the medicine. Second, they can make him happy. When the child is happy and satisfied, he will be willing to take in the medicine. All doctors and nurses use this kind of method to “deceive” their patients, yet their intention is simply to help the patients and gain their cooperation. Third, if the child is reluctant to take medicine, the doctors and nurses can give him a shot. This is a stronger way. They can do this by restraining his hands and feet, not allowing him to resist, and then injecting the medicine into him. For God to fill our inmost part, the methods He uses are similar to these. Some people may ask, “Does God trick us like this?” God does not trick us. He is just like the doctors and nurses, seemingly “deceiving” the patients to take the medicine, but actually trying to gain the cooperation of their patients. It is the same with God; He wants man to cooperate with Him.
There was a couple who went to America for school. Both of them were unbelievers. The wife was the daughter of a pastor. She had both wealth and position, but she did not have God, and she felt pain and emptiness within. One day God gave this couple a very good child. They treasured the child very much, and they knew that God had given him to them. The couple said, “If God had not given us this child, we surely would not have been able to have one by ourselves.” However, they only received the gift but not the God who gave them the gift. They treasured the child, but they did not treasure God. Two years later the child drowned in a river. The couple was very sad. They seemed to have lost the heavens and the earth. It was at this moment that a believer came to them and said, “In the past you only wanted the child that God gave you but not God Himself. You had a child, but he could not give you any comfort.” After the couple heard this, they knelt down before God and confessed their sins, saying, “O God, forgive us, for we heard the gospel in the past, but we were not willing to receive You.” In this way, they received the Lord and God came into them. God often allows similar things to happen to show us that we need Him.
There was a sister in Shanghai who was a nurse. She was married at the age of forty. She and her husband had a child, and they loved him far more than they loved God. The situation of this sister was like a knotted piece of wood, which is not easily split. Then one day her child died. Many brothers and sisters went to help her. When the child was about to be put into the coffin, his mother was crying and said that she wanted to be put into the coffin with him. When the brothers and sisters saw this situation, they were grieved in their hearts, not knowing what to do. However, a few days later this sister went to see a brother and said, “I truly thank God. The way He has dealt with me is right.” After saying this, she burst into tears. If these things had not happened, God would have had no way to enter into her mind, her will, and her emotion. Now, however, God filled her entire being.
If God wants to work in us but we do not cooperate with Him, He will use some ways to make us willing to cooperate with Him. Here we see that if we want God to work in us, we have to cooperate with Him; otherwise, we are asking for trouble. But what is the way to cooperate with God? First, it is a matter of our heart. If we want to cooperate with God and allow Him to work in us, first of all we must turn our heart to God, for those who are pure in heart shall see God. A pure heart in the Bible refers mainly to a heart that desires God. The object of those who are pure in heart is God Himself. They do not want money, position, or beautiful clothing and expensive perfume. They also do not focus too much on their husband or children. Their heart is solely for God. Matthew says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (5:8); and the Psalms say, “Whom do I have in heaven but You? / And besides You there is nothing I desire on earth” (73:25). The pure in heart have a heart so pure that they just want God and nothing other than God.
If Christians are willing to allow God to work in them, the first thing they have to do is to turn their heart to God. God does not have the way to work on many people because their heart is not set on Him. We cannot say that they do not want the Lord. They really do want the Lord, but they also want something other than the Lord Himself. The elderly sisters desire the Lord, but many also desire their children, and many also desire to find a good wife for their son. Many people love the Lord on the one hand, but on the other hand, love money and the respect of the saints. They come to the meeting hall to clean the chairs. This shows that they really love the Lord; however, after they have cleaned the chairs, if the responsible brothers do not show their appreciation of them, they feel uncomfortable. So if we say that they do not love the Lord, we do them an injustice, but if we say that they love the Lord, we do the Lord an injustice. Their inner being is very complicated, but love should be very simple. A wife should love her husband, not for the money that he gives her. In the same way, Christians should love God, not because God gives them money. However, many people love God as the One they can go to when they want to ask for something. Psalm 73:2 says, “But as for me, my feet were nearly turned aside; / My steps had almost slipped.” Even the psalmist said that his steps had almost slipped; what is our situation?
Many times we may be perplexed and wonder why those who are pure in heart are often not prosperous, while those who do not love the Lord are often very prosperous. The answer to these questions is made clear when we enter into the sanctuary of God (v. 17). Other people gain only earthly joy and earthly peace, but the pure in heart gain God Himself. This is what a clean heart possesses. We have to bear in mind that the reason why God cannot work in us is that our inner being is not clean enough. It is hard for God to work in us because our heart is not pure. Once our heart is not proper, our focus is also incorrect. This is why the Bible says that whenever our heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away (2 Cor. 3:16). For this reason, it is hard to see God’s work in many of God’s children. All their problems hinge on whether their heart is on money, on their children, or on God. Judging others does not avail, neither does merely searching the Scriptures. Only turning our heart to God is profitable to us. Some people have half of their heart turned to God, while other people have their heart completely turned away from God. We have to bear in mind that how much our heart is for God determines how much work God will do in us. May we all be those who are pure in heart toward Him.