“Oh, let me give
Out of the gifts thou freely givest;
Oh, let me live
With life abundant because livest;
Oh, make me shine
In darkest places, for thy light is mine;
Oh, let me be
A faithful witness for thy truth and thee.”
“I do sincerely and earnestly want to give everything to the Lord, my whole self and all that he has given me in trust. But I do wish he would show me more definitely what he wants me to do. I do not feel at all certain that my life up to the present time has been what he would have it to be. How much easier it would be if he would only say to me each day, ‘Elise, do this.’”
Thus writes one who eagerly desires to be altogether Christ’s. Yet the desire seems to outrun the attainment. The difficulty is in knowing what the Master would have his disciple to do. She is ready, she believes, to do anything, to go anywhere, to take up any duty, to render any service, to make any sacrifice; but she cannot hear her Lord’s voice telling her his will. She longs for direct, definite, personal guidance.
But it is not thus that Christ guides us in duty. No pillar of cloud moves in the air above our head. No bright angel goes before us to show us the way. No divine voice is heard giving instructions as to the details of our work or service. Yet doubtless there is a way in which we may learn at each step what Christ would have us do. He would not require service of us and yet hide from us what that service is. If everyone’s life is a plan of God, it must be possible for us to learn the divine plan for our own life. God would not expect and require us to fill a certain place and do a certain work, and yet not be ready to give us clear and sure guidance. There is nothing unreasonable or unjust in our Father’s requirements. He would never demand any duty of us and not be willing to tell us what the duty is. We may be sure that he will in some way direct us as to what he would have us do.
Page 1