10月4日 异象与实在

蒙召作圣徒。（林前一2）

为你所看见而未达成的一切感谢神。你见到异象，但其实你一点也未达那境地。我们往往在山谷中退后回头，但山谷却正是我们是否被选上的考验。我们未能接受打击，就是要实现异象必须有的打击。我们看见自己的缺欠，也看见神心目中要我们达到的，但我们到底愿不愿意有被神击打、塑造、使用的异象？神的熬炼，总是从平凡的方法，透过平凡的人而来的。

有时我们不晓得神的用意是什么；但到底我们的异象能否变作我们的个性，全在乎我们，不在乎神。若我们留恋山顶，活在异象的回忆中，那么在现实平凡的人生中，我们实一无用处。我们必须学习倚靠异象所见的去活，不是靠当时那种极乐，也不是靠刻意的默想神。要在异象的真光中活，直至把异象完全实现。所有训练都是朝这个方向走，要学习感谢神让我们知道他的要求。

在神说“做”的时候，那小小的“我”总是怏怏不乐。要把“我”在神的义怒下萎缩，神说：“我是自有永有的，我差遣你。”他必须作主。若知道神透察我们生活的每一洞口，那是何等的启迪哩！他像电光般把我们搜出来，没有谁像神那样认识人。

祈祷◆噢，主啊，为着昨天我能迅速认知你在我里面，我感谢你；求你帮助我今天在稳定和持续的祷告中，与你心意联合。

October 4 The Vision And The Verity

“Called to be saints.” 1 Corinthians 1:2

Thank God for the sight of all you have never yet been. You have had the vision, but you are not there yet by any means. It is when we are in the valley, where we prove whether we will be the choice ones, that most of us turn back. We are not quite prepared for the blows which must come if we are going to be turned into the shape of the vision. We have seen what we are not, and what God wants us to be, but are we willing to have the vision “batter'd to shape and use” by God? The batterings always come in commonplace ways and through commonplace people.

There are times when we do know what God's purpose is; whether we will let the vision be turned into actual character depends upon us, not upon God. If we prefer to loll on the mount and live in the memory of the vision, we will be of no use actually in the ordinary stuff of which human life is made up. We have to learn to live in reliance on what we saw in the vision, not in ecstasies and conscious contemplation of God, but to live in actualities in the light of the vision until we get to the veritable reality. Every bit of our training is in that direction. Learn to thank God for making known His demands.

The little “I am” always sulks when God says do. Let the little “I am” be shrivelled up in God's indignation – “I AM THAT I AM hath sent thee.” He must dominate. Is it not penetrating to realize that God knows where we live, and the kennels we crawl into! He will hunt us up like a lightning flash. No human being knows human beings as God does.