A Vision of God

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Before any work for God there always comes the vision of God. To behold Him, to be lifted up above our troubled hearts, above our worries and discords, and to be absolutely sure that we have spoken with God, and He has spoken with us—this is the indispensable preliminary of doing anything in God’s service. If a servant of God is uncertain of his Master, he will be uncertain of everything that follows in his service. If you and I have no doubt about having seen God, then our divine service will grow sweeter and clearer and easier every year we live. I have had men say to me, “Didn’t Paul’s Christian life begin with the question, ‘What wilt thou have me to do?’” No, it did not; no life begins with that question. It began with the question, “Who art thou, Lord?” (Acts 9:5ff). When Paul had settled that it was the risen Christ who appeared to him, then came the much easier question, “What wilt thou have me to do?” We cannot feed the multitude out of an empty basket; we cannot present the Lord until we have seen the Lord.

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