We need to learn this secret of the burning heart. Suddenly Jesus
appears to us, fires are set ablaze, and we are given wonderful visions;
but then we must learn to maintain the secret of the burning heart— a
heart that can go through anything. It is the simple, dreary day, with
its commonplace duties and people, that smothers the burning heart—
unless we have learned the secret of abiding in Jesus.
Much of the distress we experience as Christians comes not as the
result of sin, but because we are ignorant of the laws of our own
nature. For instance, the only test we should use to determine whether
or not to allow a particular emotion to run its course in our lives is
to examine what the final outcome of that emotion will be. Think it
through to its logical conclusion, and if the outcome is something that
God would condemn, put a stop to it immediately. But if it is an emotion
that has been kindled by the Spirit of God and you don’t allow it to
have its way in your life, it will cause a reaction on a lower level
than God intended. That is the way unrealistic and overly emotional
people are made. And the higher the emotion, the deeper the level of
corruption, if it is not exercised on its intended level. If the Spirit
of God has stirred you, make as many of your decisions as possible
irrevocable, and let the consequences be what they will. We cannot stay
forever on the “mount of transfiguration,” basking in the light of our
mountaintop experience (see Mark 9:1-9).
But we must obey the light we received there; we must put it into
action. When God gives us a vision, we must transact business with Him
at that point, no matter what the cost.
We cannot kindle when we will The fire which in the heart resides,
The spirit bloweth and is still, In mystery our soul abides; But tasks
in hours of insight willed Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled.
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