For almost a year, I sought the Lord diligently to find His will for me. Henry Blackaby’s Experiencing God helped me find it; now I am there, in the place He wants me to be. God’s leading and governance through scripture, circumstance, and people who love me have been extraordinary, and I am thankful.
I praise Him daily for bringing me to this place that meets all my needs better than I could have asked for. As I enjoy the blessings of His grace and favor, I now find myself asking, Lord Jesus, why am I here? He is answering this question daily in remarkable ways.
One of them led me to F. B. Meyer and his book The Secret of Guidance.
The Bible holds every secret of Guidance.
I went to Meyer because his work is saturated with the Bible, God’s Word for His people. In it and through it God promises to guide us. And guide us He does. He knows all, sees all, and watches over all. He is governing all to bring all things to their perfect end and is preparing a place for us so that we will be with Him forever.
God’s plan was drawn before the world began, and God is love. His thoughts of us are good:
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11
The Bible says that the LORD created us and all things good and very good. He walked with Adam* and Eve* in the Garden of Eden, a perfect paradise around the Tree of Life. What happened? An angel rebelled against God and determined to thwart His every purpose.
* indicates there is a bio of this person in my book SPIRITUAL LIVES
The Bible records the spiritual warfare the devi pursues and how the LORD protects His people and turns Satan’s* malice into blessing for them through His love.
Chapter I of the Secret of Guidance:
Meyer mines the Bible deeply to teach us how to understand our role in God’s purpose and where He wants us to be. He uses the children of Israel and the Apostles to teach us that to receive God’s guidance we must be in the center of His will. The Bible gives promise after promise that God will guide us, a central one being:
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. – Proverbs 3:5-6
This promise, indeed, receipt of all guidance from the LORD, rests upon humility and what Meyer calls “pure motives” and a “surrendered will.” Easier said than done based upon our sinful human nature, but near impossible when the devil works his wiles to turn our eyes away from Jesus*.
His is the name that drives away our fears and helps us overcome the world. As we pray and look to Jesus, He sends the Holy Spirit to help and comfort us.
Our prayer is a continual quest for holiness which comes as we wait upon the Lord. “Wait” means be patient for time to pass and for God’s plans to unfold but also to “wait” as a server prepares a diner’s order. See what is ordered and fulfill it to the letter.
Meyer closes his first chapter with this question: What if the guidance doesn’t come?
Chapter 2, "Where am I Wrong?"
7 possibilities:
1. We confuse our experience with our standing with Christ. We are bought with a price, the blood of Jesus. We are redeemed and, St. Paul* tells us, are seated with Him in heavenly places. Ephesians 2:6
2. We confuse our feelings with our will. Our feelings are volatile, and we have little control over them, but we do have control over our will. We need to operate from our will and ask Jesus for help using the prayer He gave us, the prayer that is always answered: Thy will be done. Matthew 6:10
3. Perhaps we have disobeyed some clear command on forgiving one another. Matthew 6:15 Ephesians 4:32
4. Do we allow evil in our lives or household? Permit secret sin? Long for forbidden objects? Cherish resentment or hatred? Refuse to repent of a known sin?
5. Do we take our eyes off Jesus? This song can help! Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.
6. Are we spending enough time in “the secret place” of Psalm 91, in His Word, and prayer?
7. Have we given our lives totally to Jesus as Lord? This song can help: I am Thine O Lord
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. – James 4:8
All this is a prelude to chapter III of the Secret of Guidance:
Chapter III of the Secret of Guidance:
THE SECRET OF CHRIST'S INDWELLING.
The Bible tells us Christ is in everyone who believes in Him. (2 Corinthians 13:5) He comes in quietly, without fanfare as soon as we believe. The thief on the cross shows this.
What does this mean? Jesus wants us to live our lives in Him, just as He lived His earthly life in the Father, doing what He saw the Father do and saying what the Father said. He used the word “abide,” and emphasized its power with this promise:
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. – John 15:7
Meyer gives 3 secrets to making His presence in us a reality:
(1) Be still each day for a short time and ask Jesus to reveal Himself to you.
(2) Recognize your body as the temple of the Holy Ghost. 1 Corinthians 3:16
(3) Hate your own life. (Luke 14:26). We cannot be His disciples unless we leave all to follow Him. This means saying “no” to ourselves and resigning our place as CEO of our own lives!
How do I get there?
Chapter IV of Secret of Guidance: FACT! FAITH! FEELING!
These three words stand for the three most important factors in character and life, and they are in the right order as stated above: FACT! FAITH! FEELING!
The FACT is God’s TRUTH and our SALVATION.
We belong to Him and in Him, our Faith rests. Feelings are very volatile. When we read the Psalms, we see how they jump from despair to joy and vice versa.
This is so even in the lives of great men of God, like Elijah*. Just after fire fell from heaven and burnt up his water-soaked sacrifice and Baal and his prophets were wiped out, Elijah got depressed and asked God to take his life! Feelings cannot be trusted.
Only Jesus and His Word are Facts in which we can rest our faith.
Chapter V of Secret of Guidance:
WHY SIGN THE PLEDGE?
During the 19th century, evangelical Christians endorsed total abstinence from alcohol. F.B. Meyer was a leader in this, hence the chapter on the PLEDGE. Today, Methodists, Baptists, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, and the Salvation Army do not allow drinking.
I am Pentecostal/Anglican, but I have taken the pledge. The Bible does not forbid alcohol, and Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine. He was called a “winebibber” and used wine to initiate the Lord’s Supper. John the Baptist did not drink. He was a Nazarite, a person who dedicated his or her life to God and vowed never to drink wine. (Samson and Samuel were Nazarites.)
The commitment to faithfulness being separated from the world is 100% Biblical and these are the principles behind the Pledge.
CHAPTER VI of Secret of Guidance: BURDENS, AND WHAT TO DO WITH THEM.
Meyer begins the chapter with a reference to Sabbath-keeping, which, by the way, is the only one of the Ten Commandments NOT repeated in the New Testament. The Jews were not allowed to carry burdens on the Sabbath day.
Our burdens are not literal ones like the Jews bore but the worries, cares, and duties of our lives. The thriving psychology and counseling businesses testify to how widespread such burdens have become.
Jesus frees us from these burdens and cares:
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. – Matthew 11:28-30
St. Peter reminds us: Casting all your care upon him; for He careth for you. --1 Peter 5:7
Chapter VII CHAPTER VII. HOW TO BEAR SORROW.
It is when we experience sorrow that we need the secret of guidance most. Meyer anticipates questions during such times:
At such times life seems almost unsupportable. Will every day be as long as this? Will the slow‑moving hours ever again quicken their pace? Will life ever array itself in another garb than the torn autumn remnants of past summer glory? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Is His mercy clean gone forever?
Apostles, martyrs, faithful men, women, and children have asked these questions as they looked for guidance and comfort. Jesus Himself was tested in every way we have been, and He did this for us, so He could comfort and “succor” us. It’s an old word meaning “relieve” or “befriend.” He is with us as we suffer, sanctifying our deepest distress.
God uses sorrow and suffering to “perfect” us, to accomplish something that we need to make us more like Him. Our sorrow and suffering are not for our sins, Jesus has paid the price for all of them.
It may look like the devil is having his way with us, as he did with Job. But just as He did with Job, the Lord put limits on the sorrow and suffering that Satan could not pass. Job came out of the suffering “as gold,” pure and refined and doubly blessed.
And we are blessed as he was not, by having Jesus with us. Meyer closes this section with this guidance:
In sorrow the comforter is nearby. ‑‑ "Very present in time of trouble." He sits by the crucible, as a Refiner of silver, regulating the heat, marking every change, waiting patiently for the scum to float away, and His own face to be mirrored in clear, translucent metal. No earthly friend may tread the winepress with you, but the Savior is there, His garments stained with the blood of the grapes of your sorrow. Dare to repeat it often, though you do not feel it, and though Satan insists that God has left you, "Thou art with me." Mention His name again and again, "Jesus, JESUS, Thou art with me." So, you will become conscious that He is there.
CHAPTER VIII. IN THE SECRET OF HIS PRESENCE.
As I write this blog article, I am reading “A Treatise on Delighting in God,” by John Howe. It is an in-depth study of Psalm 37:4: Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
It is not a coincidence that my reading of this comes as we examine the secret of His presence. We find the secret of His presence in Psalm 16:11: Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
It is so straightforward and simple. God is always near us, why then don’t we see Him? Because we do not look for Him. He is delightful to look at, the most excellent, glorious, and holy Being in the universe. His splendor, beauty, and goodness can be seen all around us.
That’s why, Paul told the Romans that men are without excuse for not seeing Him in creation.
The unrighteous do not see Him because they are not looking for Him, and they are hampered by “the god of this world” who has purposely and perniciously blinded them to Jesus so that they will not be saved by the Gospel. (2 Corinthians 4:4) His power, goodness and truth are evident because we ARE saved.
After that salvation experience, why don’t we see Him more? Perhaps we are not looking hard enough. Perhaps our eyes are filled with the glittering tinsel toys of this world. Perhaps we don’t spend enough time looking for Him in the secret place and in His Word.
He wants you to see Him: Revelation 3:20
Open that door!
CHAPTER IX. THE FULNESS OF THE SPIRIT.
"Be Filled with the Spirit." ‑‑ Ephesians v:18.
This is a command of St. Paul’s in recognition of Jesus’ teaching and His promise to fill us with the Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit was present at the Creation, moving “on the face of the waters.” Genesis 1:4
The Holy Spirit gives life and has been active throughout time. We see Him in anointed people in both the Old Testament and New, David, Isaiah and John the Baptist stand out. But even in these holy men of God, His Presence was temporary.
The difference He makes is evident in the lives of Jesus' disciples, a group of timid, ignorant men, often intimidated and without purpose. We don’t see anyone that they led to salvation during the time they were with Jesus, but look at them after the Holy Spirit fell on the Day of Pentecost! On that very day, 3,000 people were saved,
This Pentecostal power won the world for Jesus. The Apostles were called the men who “turned the world upside down,” Acts 17:6 And His power continued through the Roman Empire, the Medieval Church, the Reformation, and the revivals and Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th Centuries.
F.B. Meyer recounts some of this history and proves that He is the Biggest Secret of Guidance. He points out ways to seek Him, especially vis the secret place of prayer and emersion in the Word of God.
It was these two elements in the revivals of the 19th century that sparked the Great Pentecostal outpouring of the 20th century in America and England. Now in the 21st, it has spread throughout the world so that hundreds of millions of men, women, boys, and girls have been filled with the Holy Spirit.
He is the real Secret of Guidance and fulfills Jesus' promise that He will teach us “all things.” - John 14:26
Jesus is the Giver, the Baptizer of the Holy Spirit, and He gave us this encouragement:
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? – Luke 11:13
Ask Him today!