Some people hesitate to look closely into their life, lest they find such
a delinquency as will disquiet them. Some fear to give a close
examination, lest it give Satan an opportunity to accuse them. This need
not be. We can look closely into our daily life and not allow Satan to
whisper one word to us. We can not make improvement upon our life without
close examination in order to discover weakness and imperfections. When we
discover them, we must set earnestly to work to correct them. The
discovery alone is not sufficient. If we do not correct a fault that we
have discovered, we soon lose consciousness of the fault. There are times
with every one, no doubt, when it seems that they are making no progress,
but these may be the times when we are making most progress.
If we have just one fault, we ought to desire to get rid of it. Our desire
should be so great that we shall set about at once to correct that fault.
Now, if we say, "Oh, it is such a little thing," then we shall not get
free from it, and that little thing may become a greater thing. To be too
quick to speak is a fault. The Bible says, "Be slow to speak." If we have
the fault of speaking too quickly, we should correct that. We can if we
will.
The Bible tells Christians to watch and pray. Christians do not need to
watch and pray lest they rob a bank. They would not rob a bank if they
never prayed. But we do need to watch arid pray lest we do some little
thing that we should not do. I will relate to you the experience of a dear
brother who desired to live for God, but who neglected to watch and pray
as he should. An evil thought was presented to his mind. Not seeing the
evil of it, he indulged the thought, and found pleasure in the indulgence.
After a few minutes he felt the reproving of the Spirit of God and so
dismissed the thought. Later it came again. It was so pleasing that he
indulged it a little longer than before. Again the Spirit reproved him. In
a few evenings the thought came again. It was only a little sensual
thought, a little imaginary indulgence of the flesh. But it came again and
again. It was indulged a little longer and a little longer. Eventually it
worked a fleshly lust into his heart, and after two or three years he was
led into actual commission of a sinful deed. It was an apparently innocent
thought in the beginning, but it ended in sin committed.
There are little yieldings to lightness, impatience, aircastle building,
exaggerations, frettings, murmurings, idleness, etc., that prey upon the
soul and rob it of peace and the sweet consciousness of God's presence.
But there is progress in the divine life for every one of us if we will
only give attention to our life as we pass along. The first thing is to
have a deep interest in making spiritual gain, and then to be full of
faith and encouragement.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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