When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord,
what about him?” Jesus answered . . . “What is that to you? You must follow
me.” —John 21:21-22
One of
the most difficult lessons we ever learn is that we must not interfere in other
people’s lives. It takes us a long time to learn this lesson. We stubbornly
refuse to realize the danger of playing the amateur providence by interfering
with God’s plans for others. We see someone suffering, and we say, “That
person will not suffer. I’ll make sure of it.” In order to prevent
their suffering, we raise a hand against God’s permissive will. How does God
answer? He says, “What is that to you? You must follow me.”
If you
are stagnating spiritually, your own interference may be the cause. Never allow
spiritual stagnation to continue unchecked. Get into God’s presence and find
out why you’re stuck. You may find that it’s because you have inserted yourself
into someone else’s business, proposing things that you had no right to
propose, advising where you had no right to advise. Remember that if it’s ever
necessary for you to give advice, you must lean on God’s nature inside you. God
himself will advise through the direct understanding of his Spirit. Your part
is to be so rightly related to God that his discernment comes through you all
the time for the blessing of another soul.
Most of
us live on the borders of consciousness—consciously serving, consciously
devoted to God. This is immature; it is not the real life yet. The real, mature
life is the life of the child, a life which is never conscious. When we live as
children of God, we are so abandoned to our Father that the consciousness of
being used by him never enters in. If we are still conscious of being used as
broken bread and poured-out wine, we have another stage to reach. Ultimately,
all consciousness of ourselves and of what God is doing through us will be
eliminated. A saint is never consciously a saint; a saint is consciously
dependent on God.
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