1227 争战胜败所在
耶和华说，以色列阿，你若回来归向我…《耶利米书4:1》
我们的争战胜败，首先是我们在神面前意志的隐秘处，而不是在世界众目睽睽之下。神的灵抓住了我，我被迫与神独处，并在祂面前争战。直到我这样做之前，我每次都会失败。这场争战可能只花一分钟或一年，但那取决于我，而不是神。无论要花多久的时间，我都必须独自在神面前与我的意志摔跤，且我必须下定决心在祂面前经历放弃或拒绝的地狱。没有什么力量可以胜过一个在神面前争战并获胜的人。
我永远不应该说，「我会等到我陷入困境时再来试试神。」试图那样做是行不通的。我必须在我灵魂的隐秘处，先解决神和我之间的问题，在那里没有人可以介入。然后我可以继续前进，确信这场战争已经得胜了。如果在那里打败仗，那么在世人面前必有灾难、灾祸和失败，就像神的律法一样确定。争战失败的原因，是我先从外面世界打起。要与神独处，在祂面前争战，并一次性解决这个问题。
在处理人的问题时，我们的立场应该始终是推动他们做出意志的决定；这就是降服于神的开始。神并不经常但偶尔会把我们生命带到一个重大的转捩点——生命的重大分水岭。从那一点起，我们要么走向越来越缓慢、懒惰且无用的基督徒生活；要么变得越来越热情，竭诚为主，为神的荣耀尽我们最大的努力。
来自章伯斯的智慧
随着年龄的增长，我是否变得更高尚、更好、更有帮助、更谦卑呢？我是否展现出让人认识到与耶稣同在的生命？或者我是否变得更加自我主张，更加有意地坚持自己的方式？对自己说真话是一件很伟大的事情。《帮助之地》
1227 Where the Battle is Won or Lost
“If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord… —Jeremiah 4:1
Our battles are first won or lost in the secret places of our will in God’s presence, never in full view of the world. The Spirit of God seizes me and I am compelled to get alone with God and fight the battle before Him. Until I do this, I will lose every time. The battle may take one minute or one year, but that will depend on me, not God. However long it takes, I must wrestle with it alone before God, and I must resolve to go through the hell of renunciation or rejection before Him. Nothing has any power over someone who has fought the battle before God and won there.
I should never say, “I will wait until I get into difficult circumstances and then I’ll put God to the test.” Trying to do that will not work. I must first get the issue settled between God and myself in the secret places of my soul, where no one else can interfere. Then I can go ahead, knowing with certainty that the battle is won. Lose it there, and calamity, disaster, and defeat before the world are as sure as the laws of God. The reason the battle is lost is that I fight it first in the external world. Get alone with God, do battle before Him, and settle the matter once and for all.
In dealing with other people, our stance should always be to drive them toward making a decision of their will. That is how surrendering to God begins. Not often, but every once in a while, God brings us to a major turning point— a great crossroads in our life. From that point we either go toward a more and more slow, lazy, and useless Christian life, or we become more and more on fire, giving our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Am I getting nobler, better, more helpful, more humble, as I get older? Am I exhibiting the life that men take knowledge of as having been with Jesus, or am I getting more self-assertive, more deliberately determined to have my own way? It is a great thing to tell yourself the truth.——The Place of Help