The release of the Spirit | Diet 11

LAUNCHING OUT AND RETREATING (Cont'd) 

 Our spirit is given to us by God to enable us to respond to Him. But the outward man is ever responding to things without, hence depriving us of the presence of God. We cannot destroy all the things without, but we can break down the outward man. We cannot put a stop to all the things without; these millions and billions of things in the world are utterly beyond our control. Whenever anything happens, our outward man will respond; thus we are not able to enjoy God's presence in peace. We conclude, therefore, that experiencing the presence of God is contingent upon the breaking of our outward man. If, through the mercy of God, our outward man has been broken, we may be characterized as follows: Yesterday we were full of curiosity, but today it is impossible to be curious. Formerly our emotions could be easily aroused, either stirring our love, the most delicate emotion, or provoking our temper, the crudest. But now no matter how many things crowd upon us, our inward man remains unmoved, the presence of God unchanged, and our inner peace unruffled. 

It becomes evident that the breaking of the outward man is the basis for enjoying God's presence. Brother Lawrence was engaged in kitchen work. People were clamoring for things they wanted. Though there was the constant clatter of dishes and utensils, his inward man was not disturbed. He could sense God's presence in the hustle and bustle of a kitchen as much as in quiet prayer. Why? He was impervious to external noises. He had learned to commune in his spirit and ignore his soul life. Some feel that to have God's presence their environment must be free of such distractions as the clatter of dishes. The farther away they are from mankind, the better they will be able to sense the presence of God. What a mistake! The trouble lies not in the dishes, nor in other people, but in themselves. God is not going to deliver us from the dishes; He will deliver us from our responses!

 No matter how noisy it is outside, the inside does not need to respond. Since the Lord has broken our outward man, we simply react as if we had not heard. 

Praise the Lord, we may possess very keen hearing, but due to the work of grace in our lives we are not at all influenced by the things pressing on our outward man. We can be before God on such occasions as much as when praying alone. Once the outward man is broken, one no longer needs to retreat Godward, for he is always in the  presence of God. Not so with one whose outward man is still intact. After running an errand he needs to return, for he assumes he has moved away from God. Even in doing the work of the Lord, he slips away from the One he serves. So it seems the best thing for him is not to make any move. Nevertheless, those that know God do not need to return, for they have never been away. They enjoy the presence of God when they set aside a day for prayer, and they enjoy the same presence in much the same degree when they are busily engaged in the menial tasks of life.

 Perhaps it is our common experience that in drawing near to God, we sense His presence; while we are engaged in some activity, in spite of our vigilance, we feel that somehow we have drifted away. Suppose, for example, we are preaching the gospel or trying to edify people. After a while we feel like kneeling down to pray. But we have a sense that we must first retreat into God. Somehow our conversation with people has led us a little away from God, so in prayer we must first draw closer to Him. We have lost God's presence, so now we must have it restored to us. Or we may be occupied with some menial task such as scrubbing the floor. Upon completing our job, we decide to pray. Once again we feel we have taken a long trip and must return. What is the answer? The breaking of the outward man makes such returns unnecessary. We sense the presence of God in our conversation as much as in kneeling in prayer. Performing our menial tasks does not draw us away from God, hence we need not return.

To be continued in diet 12

Author: Watchman Nee

Compiled and edited by: Peter O. Olutoyese