5月1日 是真知而非感情

因我们行事为人，是凭着信心，不是凭着眼见。（林后五7）

有些时候，我们感觉到神的关顾；之后，他就开始使用我们。不久，我们便装出一副可怜兮兮的样子，整天说什么试炼困难；其实，神一直训练我们在隐藏中尽自己的本分。属灵方面来说，除非是不得已，没有一个人愿意隐藏自己。神若关上天门，我们能尽什么本分？有些人整天想着头上有发光的金圈，做荣光四射的圣徒，充满了感动启示，并有圣徒经常造就。徒有外表（原文作镀金边）的圣徒是无用的，是不正常的。他无法过平凡的生活，而且根本不像神。我们活在地上，不是做行将长成的天使。我们在世作工，是因为我们已从上面而生，有极大无比的能力，得以在磨难中站立。

要是我们想把罕有的启示经历重演一遍，就表示我们要的不是神。我们只是宝贵与神说话的时刻，并且坚持要他再来一次。其实神是要我们行在信心中。我们多少人曾袖手旁观地说：“神若不向我显现，我是无能为力的。”他不会显现。这样，就是没有启示，没有神出奇不意的触摸，我们也得着手去做。那知，“原来他一直在这里，我竟然不知！”不要为那罕有的时刻而活，这只是惊喜的礼物。当神看我们没有走歪，就会将启示显明出来。千万别把启示的一刻作为标准，我们的标准乃是尽自己的本分。

祈祷◆噢，主啊，为着你的释放和鼓励，我感谢你。那近乎璀璨的喜乐已涌流在我心内。愿你那宁静的平安在此刻充满我。

May 1 Insight Not Emotion

"I have to lead my life in faith, without seeing Him." 2 Corinthians 5:7

For a time we are conscious of God's attentions, then, when God begins to use us in His enterprises, we take on a pathetic look and talk of the trials and the difficulties, and all the time God is trying to make us do our duty as obscure people. None of us would be obscure spiritually if we could help it. Can we do our duty when God has shut up heaven? Some of us always want to be illuminated saints with golden haloes and the flush of inspiration, and to have the saints of God dealing with us all the time. A gilt-edged saint is no good, he is abnormal, unfit for daily life, and altogether unlike God. We are here as men and women, not as half-fledged angels, to do the work of the world, and to do it with an infinitely greater power to stand the turmoil because we have been born from above.

If we try to re-introduce the rare moments of inspiration, it is a sign that it is not God we want. We are making a fetish of the moments when God did come and speak, and insisting that He must do it again; whereas what God wants us to do is to "walk by faith." How many of us have laid ourselves by, as it were, and said – "I cannot do any more until God appears to me." He never will, and without any inspiration, without any sudden touch of God, we will have to get up. Then comes the surprise – "Why, He was there all the time, and I never knew it!" Never live for the rare moments, they are surprises. God will give us touches of inspiration when He sees we are not in danger of being led away by them. We must never make our moments of inspiration our standard; our standard is our duty.