“As in Heaven”
Whatsower I ‘Blessed Lord,
Am I ready for that word?
Is thy will so dear to mine
That the whispers of thy love — Heard all other calls above — Claim me keep me wholly thine?
Search me, teach me, hold my heart.
Draw me to thy blessed feet;
There, in hush or service sweet,
I would Uve the better
“a0 ft (0 in f eaijen”
OD has a thought for every life he sends into this world. In every case it is something beautiful, for every thought of God is beautiful. If only we could be just the being God had in his vision for us when he made us, how radiant, how lovely, how glorious, we should be! If we do God’s will faithfully, patiently, continuously, all oiu* life, we shall work out in oinrself the divine thought for us and realize the divine purpose for us. God’s will is the real pillar of cloud and fire to lead us through this world’s uncharted wilderness. But how can we know what this will for us is.? The people saw the mysterious cloud in those ancient days, but we have no such visible symbol to guide us. The will of Grod is [117]
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made known to us in many ways. It is revealed in the Holy Scriptures. It speaks to us in conscience. It whispers its coimsels in the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit. We learn it ofttimes in the advice of wise human friends, who, far more than we realize, are the interpreters to us of the divine love and wisdom. Then it comes to us continually in the providences of our life, by which doors are opened or closed, duties are brought to oiu* hand, new ways are mapped out for us. If only we truly desire to know the will of God that we may do it, there need never be any real or serious difficulty in ascertaining what it is. One thing, however, we must always remember, — the will of God is not revealed to us in a volume, but in single pages; the whole journey of our life is not charted for us in one great map, spread before our eyes at the beginning, — only one little stretch is shown to us at a time. “Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see The distant scene, — one step enough for me.** [118] “a0rti$m!^eatien**
We need never be impatient to know our future; it is better that we be content to see just the next step and to take that, to know the next duty and do it. This is the way God makes known his will to us. Thus it is that the will of God is to be done by us. It is to be the law of our life. All our conduct is to be moulded by it. All oiu* dispositions are to be colored by it. Our character is to be built up by it. And the fabric thus reared is enduring, “For he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.*” It marks out our path through the world for us. All our common task-work is God’s will for us, if we are doing the things God would have us do. We are not to divide our work into two sections, and say that one is Gods will for us — our spiritual exercises, our devotions, our moral choices, our distinctively Christian work, — and that the other is the sphere of our own will — the things which are secular. God’s will covers the whole of our life. It must rule in our [119]
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business, in our home relations, in our social life, in our pleasures and amusements. There is no nook or cranny in our life, no hywAy no secret comer, in which this divine will must not hold undisputed sway, if we are truly following Christ. Religion is not something which can be gathered into Sundays and church services, and shut out of week-days and the business and pleasure of ones life. It claims all. There is another phase of the doing of the will of God. Sometimes when the words of the prayer are uttered they mean submission to pain or suffering. It was so in the life of Christ himself. His words as he came into the world were, “I delight to do thy will, O my Grod.**^ He went through his years of ministry, doing the Fathers will with joy. It was a wonderful ministry. Wherever he went he left benedictions. But at last he came to an hour when the will of Grod meant suffering and sacrifice for him. Yet he faltered not. Still it was, “Not my will, but thine, be done.“” [ 120 ] (ft
as it 10 in ^toum’
In nearly every life there come hours when instead of the active doing of the Fathers will, there must be suffering or sorrow. One who has been intensely busy in life, while in the very midst of a brilliant service for Grod and men is stricken down and laid aside. It brings immeasingable comfort in such a case to believe that the will of God is being done now in the quiet room, with hands folded, just as truly and as acceptably as it used to be done in the days of active duty when the hands were full of tasks and active services. One in such experiences told a friend how it helped her, when in pain at night, to feel that she was still “working away at God’s will.“” The words spoke of courage, with no repining. She felt that she was as really doing God’s will on her bed, in her suffering, by keeping sweet, patient, and trustful, as ever she did when she was in the ways of busy life, — still working away at his will. Ail of us come to points some time, somewhere, in life, when for a season, at least, we can no [121 ]
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longer go on with the things we have been doing with delight, but must turn aside and lie down in seeming idleness. Or we are called to suffer or to endure loss. Or the path on which we must go is steep and rough. Still, it is always the right way in which this holy will leads us, the way, too, to blessedness. The time is not lost which seems lost to us. Some day we shall know that many of the best things in our life have been wrought for us or by us in the very seasons when, as it seemed to us, we had been interrupted in om* usefulness, and were being kept from doing Gods will. We shall find, too, that when we thought nothing was being done either for us or by us, the fruits of the Spirit were really coming to their best sweetness and ripeness in our life.
“In every life There ’s a pause that is better than onward rush, Better than hewing or mightiest doing; ^T is the standing still at sovereign will. There s a hush thcU is better than ardent speech, [ 122 ] “agitiismeatien’’
Better than sighing or wilderness crying; ‘T is the being still at sovereign mil. The pause and the hmh sing a double song, In unison low and for all time long. 0 human soul, God*s working plan Goes on, nor heeds the aid of man! Stand still, and see! Be still, and know!”
One of the most wonderful words in the Bible tells us that Jesus was made perfect through suffering. Even in his sinless human nature there were qualities whose beauty could be brought out in full perfection only in pain. How much more true is it of our sinful nature that only in furnace fires can it be perfected!
Grods will is not only holy, it is also good. We may be sure therefore that whenever it leads us into any way of suffering, it is because that is the way of blessing. We need never be afraid to accept God’s will, however it may break into our cherished plans and take from us our [ 123 ]
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dearest joys; we may follow our Master confidently, and he will bring us out into the light and the glory.
The standard set in this petition for the doing of God’s will on earth is remarkable — “as it is done in heaven.“” We know that there is no disobedience, even in thought or feeling, in heaven. The will of God is done there perfectly. It is also done cheerfully, without repining, though it be hard. It is done unquestioningly, without any doubt of its goodness and its wisdom. It is done without regard to the quality of the service, as gladly when it is the lowliest task that is assigned, as when it is the highest. We may learn of Christ himself how to do God’s will on earth as it is done in heaven. We know how patient he was. It was not easy for him to live on the earth. Even his truest friends hurt his heart ofttimes by their dulness, or by their imbelief, or by their failure in friendship. But we know how sweetly he kept on his way of love with them. We know with [124] ii
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what self-forgetfulness he served others, going at last to a cross for them. We know how quietly he turned away from his active ministry, when the time came, and set his face to go to Jerusalem to die. Christ himself was our great Teacher. He showed us how God’s will is done in heaven and how we should try to do it on earth.
“The hands that do God’s work are patient hands y And quick for toil, though folded oft in prayer: They do the unseen work they understand And find — no matter where,
“The feet that follow his must be swift feet. For time is all too short; the way too long; Perchance they may he bruised, but falter not. For love shall make them strong.*’
Our prayer teaches us that the obedience of heaven is the divine ideal for the earthly doing of God’s will. Far above us seems this rule of life. We say we never can reach it. The song is too sweet for us ever to sing with our discord- [125] die (S^oinen (3att of Ptapet
ant voice. The life is too holy for us, with our sin-hurt nature, ever to live. Yet we should never think of it as a visionary or an impracticable rule of life. Some day we shall attain it, and we should never cease to strive toward it. Grod never would ask anything impossible or unreasonable of his children. He would not set for us a rule of life which we cannot follow. When he gives a duty he is ready also to give the grace needed for the doing of it. The Holy Spirit dwells in the heart of every believer, and he will help us to do the will of God. “Thy will be done*” is a prayer to our Father. To offer this petition continually without having made a surrender of our will is to pray insincerely. As fast as the divine will is revealed to us we should seek to obey it or submit to it. Then our prayer is that Grod, by his Spirit, would incline us to submission; would bring us more and more fully into accord with his way; would make us willing to be made willing; and would help us, whether in active obedience or [126]
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in patient submission, to do our Fathers will on earth as it is done in heaven. “Father, I do not ask
That thou wouldst choose some other task
And make it mine, I pray
But this: Let every day
Be moulded still
By thine own hand; my will
Be only thine, however deep
I have to bend thy hand to keep.
Let me not simply do, but be content.
Sure that the little crosses each are sent;
And no mistake can ever be
With thine own hand to choose for me.**
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