FOURPrint This Page.

Another big problem of a subjective person is that he cannot receive any guidance from God. He has no way to know God's guidance, and he is completely ignorant of His leading. Every subjective person is as far from God's will as the north pole is from the south pole. It is impossible for him to know God's will, because he does not match the qualifications of those who are God's followers. It takes a pliable and diligent man with a listening ear to receive guidance from God. When God's word comes to such a man, he acts upon it immediately without any subjective views of his own. Balaam's heart erred because it was inclined towards riches. He became subjective in his judgment, and he insisted on his judgment. This is why Balaam prayed to God again and again until God told him to go. When a man's mind is set, it is hard for him to understand God's will. We must learn to walk in God's will. We must realize that God's will often requires that we stop immediately, or it may require that we march immediately. We often have planned out the whole journey, only to find that the Lord wants us to stop immediately. What should we do? If the Spirit of the Lord tells us to stop, are we willing to stop? A subjective man will not stop. A person who has learned to listen to God is not subjective in any way: He will go forward when God commands him to go forward, and stop when God tells him to stop. Do not think that this is a simple thing. A subjective man cannot readily go forward when God tells him to go forward. However, once he has picked up momentum, it is hard for God to stop him. This is where our problem lies. A strenuous effort must be made to push forward those who are subjective, and once they start moving, no one can stop them. This is not the way of the instructed, who are pliable in the hands of God. When God tells them to move, they move. When God tells them to stop, they stop. These are the only ones who will receive guidance from God. Many people will not move until they receive harsh chastisement, and once they move, they never stop. They go on in the same direction continually. God has to stop them forcefully with His strong hand before they will stop. Their subjectivity prevents them from knowing God's will, much less carrying out His will.
In Abraham's offering up of Isaac we get a beautiful picture of a man who was not subjective. If Abraham had been a subjective man when God asked him to offer up Isaac, it would have been difficult for him to obey. He would have had many things to say. He would have reasoned after this fashion: "I had no son before. The possibility of having one never even occurred to me. I thought that Eliezer was enough. It was God who wanted me to have a son. I did not have a thought of a son and neither did Sarah. It was all God's idea. Now that He has given me a son, why would He want me to offer him for a burnt offering?" Brothers and sisters, a subjective man would have had every reason to reject this demand! But Abraham was so simple. Even such a demand presented no problem to him. He believed that God could raise his son from the dead. As he stood by the altar and raised the knife to slay his son, God prepared a ram which he could offer instead of his son (Gen. 22:10, 13). If Abraham had been subjective, such a demand would have presented a new problem to him. He would doubtless have been bewildered and would have wondered how he could be told to do one thing at one moment and just the opposite the next moment. But Abraham did not think this way. He was not subjective. With some people, it is difficult for them to get on the altar, and once they are on the altar, it is more difficult for them to get down. They spend years getting on the altar, and once they are on it, they insist on remaining there until they die. A subjective man will act according to his own will even when he is trying to obey God. Even God cannot stop him. A subjective man is forced into obedience, and his obedience is many times the result of self-effort. He cannot be turned around no matter how hard others try. God's will and commandment may direct him to take back what he has given, but he cannot.
It is interesting to note that when we identify our will with God's will, there often comes a time when God's will changes. If our own will cannot change accordingly, it will be hard for us to act simply according to His word. This is where our biggest problem lies. Do you know how a man tames a horse? A wild horse will refuse any rider on its back. It is difficult to break a horse. In order to break it, a trained rider has to jump on its back and allow it to kick and struggle until it tires itself out. The rider has to use his skills to remain on the horse's back. He has to let the horse run, perhaps for miles, or hundreds of miles. When the horse realizes that it cannot get rid of its master, it will yield to his command. Such horse trainers can turn a wild horse into a fine show horse. The horse can trot around in a small circle with a rope tied to a pole in the center. It can balance itself so well that it will not go so far away as to break the rope nor so close as to allow slack in the rope. It can run around hundreds of times, always keeping the same radius. The trainer trains the horse until it can be maneuvered in this way. When he is done with his training, the horse can be directed to go anywhere. It can go through a small entrance or a big gate; it will always be obedient. Brothers and sisters, we are like wild horses, and it is a big thing for the Lord to train us. He needs to do much work before we can be tamed. After a horse is trained, it will no longer be subjective. It will be so trained that as soon as its rider tugs a little on the reins, it will know whether its master wants it to run or walk. It will go as its master directs, not only one or ten times around the corral, but hundreds of times.
Psalm 32:8-9 says, "I will instruct you and teach you concerning the way you should go;/I will counsel you; my eye is upon you./Do not be like a horse or like a mule, without understanding;/Whose trappings consist of bit and bridle to constrain them,/Else they do not come near you." This is very meaningful. We should be different from the horse or the mule. A dumb mule can be so trained that it can go wherever its master directs. It should be easier for God's children to be taught in the matter of divine guidance than it is to tame a horse. A horse, even when trained, is considered by God as a beast "without understanding." This is because it only knows the will of the master when it is kicked, pushed, or reined. As for us, we should look to the counsel of the Lord's eyes. This is something the horse and the mule cannot do. David said in this psalm, "I will counsel you; my eye is upon you" (v. 8). As soon as the Lord's eyes turn, we should know what He is saying. We should know even before His hand moves; we should know when His eyes turn only a little. Let us pay special attention to the eyes spoken of in this verse. A subjective man has no place here. Brothers and sisters, do not think that our person and our character are small things. Please remember that if we are subjective, we cannot be objective with God. Without training, we will be subjective all our life long. We cannot expect to suddenly know what God wants us to do. We may be satisfied being a tamed horse, but God says that a horse and mule, even when tamed, are without understanding. This means that it is not enough to be tamed. We have to move as fast as the Lord's eyes move. As soon as we know our Master's wish, we should act upon it. Whenever He gives the signal, we should stop. If we are filled with our own ideas, views, and subjective notions, it will be impossible for us to wait on the Spirit of the Lord and to move when He moves and stop when He stops. The Lord often wants us to stop, but we do not stop. We cannot stop because our very self has become involved in the endeavor. Those who seek after God's will must keep their self at bay. Those who do God's will must also keep their self at bay. We should move when the Lord wants us to move, and stop when He wants us to stop. Our self should be kept at bay. As soon as we become subjective, the self becomes involved, and we are unable to stop when the Lord wants us to stop. The problem with many people is twofold: In the beginning they cannot move, and once they start they cannot stop. These are serious problems. The biggest trouble we have is our subjectivity. This is what keeps God's will from being manifested through us.
Understanding God's will has nothing to do with methods; it is a matter of the character of the person. A person will not understand God's will simply because someone else has told him the way to know His will. This is not possible. Only a right person armed with the right method can know God's will. If the person is wrong, he will not know God's will even if he has the right method. The understanding of God's will has to do with the person. Method alone cannot help us understand His will. This does not mean that understanding His will does not involve the use of any method. It means that the crucial factor in understanding God's will is our person. If our person is wrong, nothing will work even if we have the right methods. We must not be subjective. Before we can catch God's every move, we must be touched by the Lord and have our subjectivity dealt with to the extent that we have lost all of our self-opinions. If we cannot be flexible to move and stop at God's will, we cannot understand His will and cannot be His servant. God's servants must be quick to turn with God's will. We should ignore loud demands or clamorous voices from without; they are not our concern. Flexibility and openness to God's changes, haltings, and leadings are basic requirements of a worker of the Lord. This is the only way God can guide us to His pathway.