Trust God to Change You

God is saying, “I stand ready to pour a little liquid fire into your heart, into your spiritual being!”

We respond: “No, Lord, please excuse me. That sounds like fanaticism—and I would have to give up some things!” So we refuse His desire, even though we want all the benefits of His cross.

There is this thoughtful phrase in The Cloud of Unknowing[1]: “He wills thou do but look on Him and let Him alone.” Let God alone. In other words, let Him work! Don’t stop Him. Don’t prevent Him from kindling your heart, from blessing you and leading you out of a common state into that of special longing after Him. You don’t have to coax God. He is not like a reluctant father waiting for his child to beg. The blessings are His to give and He waits for us to let Him work.

Let Him work and your spiritual life will begin to blaze like the rising sun.

This is a very hard thing for Americans to do because we are naturally born “do-it-yourself ” artists! We don’t just hire a plumber and let him do his work—we stand by and tell him how it should be done. It is amazing really that any American ever lies down and allows the doctor to perform the operation. We always want to get our finger in, and that is the way most Christians behave. We think God does the really hard jobs, but that He is glad to have us along to help out.

“Look on Him—and let Him work, let Him alone.” Get your hands down to your side and stop trying to tell God where to cut. Stop trying to make the diagnosis for God. Stop trying to tell God what to give you. He is the Physician! You are the patient.

This is good doctrine, brethren. Dr. A. B. Simpson shocked and blessed and helped dear people in all Christian groups as he taught his truth down through the years—“Let God work! Let Him alone! Take your hands off! It is God that worketh in you!”

Let Him work and your spiritual life will begin to blaze like the rising sun.

[1] An anonymous work on contemplative prayer written in Middle English in the latter half of the fourteenth century.