The true test of a person’s spiritual life and character is not
what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does
during the ordinary times when there is nothing tremendous or exciting
happening. A person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the
ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight (seeJohn 1:35-37 and John 3:30).
It is painful work to get in step with God and to keep pace with Him—
it means getting your second wind spiritually. In learning to walk with
God, there is always the difficulty of getting into His stride, but once
we have done so, the only characteristic that exhibits itself is the
very life of God Himself. The individual person is merged into a
personal oneness with God, and God’s stride and His power alone are
exhibited.
It is difficult to get into stride with God, because as soon as we
start walking with Him we find that His pace has surpassed us before we
have even taken three steps. He has different ways of doing things, and
we have to be trained and disciplined in His ways. It was said of Jesus—
“He will not fail nor be discouraged . . .” (Isaiah 42:4)
because He never worked from His own individual standpoint, but always
worked from the standpoint of His Father. And we must learn to do the
same. Spiritual truth is learned through the atmosphere that surrounds
us, not through intellectual reasoning. It is God’s Spirit that changes
the atmosphere of our way of looking at things, and then things begin to
be possible which before were impossible. Getting into God’s stride
means nothing less than oneness with Him. It takes a long time to get
there, but keep at it. Don’t give up because the pain is intense right
now— get on with it, and before long you will find that you have a new
vision and a new purpose.
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