Some (it may be many) are led by their feelings. We, as the children of
God, are to be led by the Spirit of God; but not all fully understand what
is meant by "being led by the Spirit." I would rather be led by a sense of
duty than by my feelings. I do not understand that in order to be led by
the Spirit we need always to have a strong inward impression or almost
audible voice speaking to us. The Spirit of God has illuminated the Word
and enlightened your mind to know what is your Christian duty; hence when
you go forward and discharge your duties faithfully, you are truly being
led by the Spirit. You know it to be your duty to help the poor, to
support the weak, to comfort the sorrowful, to attend religious services,
to witness for Jesus, to study the Scriptures, to pray, and diligently to
follow every good work. You may sometimes feel a strong impression to
pray, but you do not need to have this feeling always in order to be duty
-bound to pray. It is your duty to pray, to give of your means, etc.,
oftentimes just as much when you do not feel impressed to do so as when
you have strong inward impressions. You do not need to wait for such
impressions before you act, for a knowledge of your duty makes you
responsible.
A man can have no true steadfastness who is influenced by his emotions or
impressions. The man who is steadfast, unmovable in the Word, goes forward
to a discharge of his known duties, no matter what his feelings may be.
Whatever may be his impressions to do a certain thing, if it is not
consistent with the Word and the Spirit and his knowledge of right, he
persistently refuses to obey.
How the true principle of steadfastness abides in the will of God and the
doctrines of Christ is demonstrated in the teachings of Barnabas to the
church at Antioch. There was some contention in the church over
circumcision, and heavy persecutions from without, and many were being
moved from the true faith. Barnabas exhorted that with purpose of heart
they cleave to the Lord. Steadfastness is a firm, fixed purpose of the
heart to cleave unto God, to attend strictly and promptly to every
Christian duty. It is a decided, unchangeable, unshaken purpose of the
heart to obey implicitly the teachings of the Savior, regardless of the
feelings.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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