Difficulties Concerning The Will

After initial peace, doubts may lead believers to question their faith and feel disconnected from their emotions. The chapter emphasizes that true faith is rooted in the will, not emotions. By surrendering their will to God, believers can overcome emotional struggles and grow spiritually. Aligning the will with God's leads to victory, regardless of fluctuating feelings, and encourages Christians to trust their decision to follow God's path despite emotional turmoil.

When a child of God, with trust, abandons himself to Christ, he may know the joy of the life hid with Christ in God. But, a new difficulty may arise. After the initial peace and rest fade, he feels an utter unreality in his experiences. If those feelings never came, he feels a hypocrite for thinking they are real. He thinks his belief is shallow, a lip-service. So, it is worthless. His surrender is not from the heart, so it cannot please God.

He fears to say he is the Lord's, for it may be untrue. Yet, he cannot deny it, as he longs for it so. The difficulty is real and disheartening. But, it will be easily overcome. The Christian must understand the new life and learn to live in it. People believe that "life hid with Christ in God" means to trust emotions.

So, the soul focuses on them. If they are satisfying, the soul rests. If not, it is troubled. Now, the truth is, this life is not to be lived in emotions. It is to be lived in the will. So, the varying emotional states do not affect life. If the will remains steadfast in its center, God's will.

To make this plain, I must enlarge a little. Fenelon says somewhere that “pure religion resides in the will alone.” He means that the will is the governing power in a man's nature. If the will is set straight, then all his nature must harmonize. By the will I do not mean the man's wish, nor his purpose. I mean the choice, the deciding power, and the king, to which all in the man must obey. It is the man, in short, the “Ego,” that which we feel to be ourselves. It is sometimes thought that emotions are the governing power in our nature. But, from experience, we know there is something within us. It is behind our emotions and wishes. It is an independent self that decides and controls everything.

Our emotions are ours. We suffer and enjoy them. But, they are not ourselves. If God is to possess us, He must enter our central will or personality. If He reigns there by the power of His Spirit, all of our nature must submit to Him. As the will is, so is the man. This truth is very relevant to the difficulty I am considering. Our will often opposes our emotions. If we trust our emotions, we may feel like hypocrites.

We would be declaring real what our will alone has decided. But if we see the will as king, we will ignore any protest. We will accept its decisions as real, no matter how the emotions may rebel.

I know this is a tough subject. But, it is vital to the life of faith. So, I urge you, dear reader, to stick with it until you master it. An example may help. A young man, eager to start a new life, was very smart.

But, he was a slave to a strong habit of doubting. This discouraged him. To his emotions, nothing seemed true or real. The more he struggled, the more unreal it all became. He was told a secret about the will. It was, if he chose to believe, to put his will on the believing side. In short, he must say, "I will believe!" I do believe!” He need not worry about his emotions. They would, eventually, find harmony.

“What!” He said, "Do you mean I can choose to believe that, when nothing seems true to me? “Will that belief be real?" "Yes. Your task is this: put your will on God's side in this matter of believing. If you do this, God will take possession of it. He will work in you to will His good pleasure. Soon, you will find that He has subdued your whole nature to Hi mself."” “Well,” was the answer, “I can do this?

I cannot control my emotions. But, I can control my will. The new life seems possible, if only my will needs to be set straight. "I can give my will to God, and I do!" From that moment, he ignored his emotions.

They accused him of being a hypocrite. This young man held on to his decision. He answered every accusation with a firm belief. He chose to believe; he meant to believe; he did believe. After a few days, he triumphed. Every emotion and thought was now captive to the mighty power of the blessed Spirit of God. He had given his will to God.

He had held fast his faith without wavering. Yet, he felt he had no real faith to hold fast. At times, it drained all his will to say he believed. It was so contrary to all his senses and feelings. But, he knew his will was, after all, himself. If he kept it on God's side, he was doing all he could. Only God could change his emotions or control his being. It has produced one of the grandest Christian lives I know. It is a life of marvelous simplicity, directness, and power over sin. The secret lies just here. Our will, the source of all our actions, is, in its natural state, under the control of self. But, self has been working it in us to our ruin and misery. Now God says, "Yield yourselves to me, as those alive from the dead. I will work in you to will and to do my good pleasure.”

The moment we yield ourselves, He takes possession of us. He works in us "that which is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship . “ Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect . (Rom. 12:1-2.)Let us take another illustration. A lady, hidden with Christ, faced a great trial. Every emotion within her rebelled against it. If she'd considered her feelings her king, she'd have been in despair. But she had learned this secret of the will. Knowing, at her core, she chose God's will for her, she ignored her emotions.

She met every anxious thought about the trial with the words, repeated over and over, "Your will be done!" Your will be done!” She chose to submit her will to God's. His will should be, and was, her delight. In a very short time, every thought was subdued. She even found her emotions rejoicing in God's will.

Again, there was a lady who had a besetting sin, which in her emotions she dearly loved, but which in her will she hated. She believed she must control her emotions. So, she thought she couldn't conquer them unless her emotions changed first. But she learned a secret about the will. Going to her knees, she said, "Lord, You see that, with one part of my nature, I love this sin. But, in my true self, I hate it." And now I put my will over on thy side in the matter. I will not do it anymore. Do you deliver me.”

Immediately, God took over the will she had surrendered to Him. He began to work in her. His will then mastered her emotions. She found herself delivered, not by an outward command, but by an inward power.

The Spirit of God working in her that which was well pleasing in His sight. And now, dear Christian, let me show you how to apply this principle to your difficulties. Stop considering your emotions. They are only servants. Your will is the real king in you. So, focus on it. Is that given up to God? Is that put into His hands? Does your will decide to believe? Does your will choose to obey? If this is the case, then you are in the Lord’s hands, and you decide to believe, and you choose to obey; for your will is yourself. And the thing is done. The transaction with God is as real, where only your will acts, as when every emotion coincides.

It does not seem as real to you; but in God’s sight it is as real. When you find this secret, you need not attend to your emotions. Simply focus on your will. Then, all the Scripture commands become possible to you. They include: yielding to God, being a living sacrifice, abiding in Christ, walking in the light, and dying to self. You know your will can act and take God's side in all these. But if your emotions had to do it, you would despair, knowing they are uncontrollable. So, when you feel unreal or hypocritical, do not worry. It is just your emotions and not worth a moment's thought. Only ensure your will is in God's hands. Abandon yourself to His work. Choose His side, and there leave it.

Your surging emotions, like a tossing vessel, must yield to a steady pull. This is the power of God, to which you chose to attach yourself. Your emotions must come into captivity, and give their allegiance to Him. You will prove true the say ing, “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine.”

The will is like a wise mother in a nursery; the feelings are like a set of clamoring, crying children. The mother decides upon a certain course of action, which she believes to be right and best. The children clamor against it, and declare it shall not be. But the mother, knowing she is the mistress, remains calm.

Unmoved by the children's clamors, she tries to soothe them. Eventually, the children must yield and accept her decision.

Thus order and harmony are preserved. But if that mother thought the children were the mistresses, chaos would reign. Such instances have been known in family life! And how many souls, at this very moment, are confused? They are so because feelings govern, not the will! Remember, then, that your will decides what is real. Not your emotions. It is more dangerous to be a hypocrite by trusting your feelings than to stick to your will. If your will is on God's side, you are no hypocrite. So, claim as your own the blessed reality of belonging to Him. Your emotions may say otherwise, but they don't matter.

I believe that, throughout the Bible, the "heart" does not mean emotions. It means the will, the man's true self. God's goal is to have this "I" yielded to Him, and to take full control of this central life. It is not the feelings of the man God wants, but the man himself. Have you given Him yourself, dear reader?

Have you abandoned your will to His working? Do you consent to surrender the very centre of your being into His hands? Then, let your nature's outposts clamor as they may. You can, even now, say with the apostle, "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me."

After the chapter was sent to the printer, Pasteur T. Monod of Paris gave a remarkable, practical example of its teachings. It is a Presbyterian minister's experience. This pastor had kept it for many years.

NEWBURGH, Sept. 26, 1842.

Dear Brother, -- I take a moment of my time, devoted to the Lord, to write a short letter to you, His servant. It is sweet to feel we are wholly the Lord’s, that He has received us and called us His. Th is is religion. It is a giving up of self-ownership. It is a full embrace of the idea, "I am not my own, I am bought with a price." Since I last saw you, I have been pressing on. Yet, there is nothing remarkable in my experience to share. I do not know if it is best to seek remarkable things. But I strive to be holy, as God is holy, pressing on toward the prize.

I do not feel qualified to instruct you; I can only tell you the way in which I was led. The Lord deals differently with each soul. We should not copy others' experiences. But those seeking a clean heart must attend to certain things. We must personally consecrate all to God. We must make a covenant with Him to be wholly and forever His. I made this, using only my mind. My heart is hard and dark, full of sin and disbelief. I feel nothing. I covenanted to be the Lord’s, and laid all upon the altar, a living sacrifice, to the best of my ability. And after I rose from my knees, I was conscious of no change in my feeling.

I was painfully conscious that there was no change. But I was sure I did. With all my sincerity, I made an eternal, complete dedication of myself to God. I did not consider the work done by any means. But, I engaged to be a living, perpetual sacrifice, wholly devoted to God. And now came the effort to do this. I knew that I must believe that God did accept me, and had come in to dwell in my heart. I was conscious that I did not believe this, and yet I desired to do so. I read with much prayer John’s First Epistle, and endeavored to assure my heart of God’s love to me as an individual. I was sensible that my heart was full of evil.

I seemed to have no power to overcome pride or to repel evil thoughts, which I abhorred. But Christ was manifested to destroy the devil's works. The sin in my heart was the devil's work. I was enabled, therefore, to believe that God was working in me. He was to will and to do, while I worked out my own salvation with fear and trembling.

I was convinced of unbelief, that it was voluntary and criminal. I clearly saw that unbelief was an awful sin; it made the faithful God a liar. The Lord showed me my besetting sins. They had dominion over me. They were, especially, preaching myself instead of Christ. I also indulged in complacent thoughts after preaching. I was enabled to make myself of no reputation, and to seek the honor which cometh from God only. Satan struggled hard to beat me back from the Rock of Ages.

But thanks to God, I found a way to live in the moment. Then, I found rest.

I trusted in the blood of Jesus as a full atonement for my past sins. I committed my future to the Lord, agreeing to do His will as He revealed it. I saw that I had to look to Jesus for grace. I had to trust Him to cleanse my heart and keep me from sin now. I felt a need to depend on the grace of Christ, if only for a moment. I would not let the enemy trouble me about the past or future. I expected, each moment, a supply for that moment. I agreed to be a child of Abraham. I would walk by faith in the Word of God, not by my feelings. I would seek to be a Bible Christian. Since that time the Lord has given me a steady victory over sins which before enslaved me.

I delight in the Lord, and in His Word. I delight in my work as a minister: my fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. I am a baby in Christ; I know my progress has been small compared with that made by many. My feelings vary. But when I feel, I praise God and trust His word.

When I'm empty and feel nothing, I do the same. I have covenanted to walk by faith and not by feelings.

The Lord is beginning to revive His work among my people. “Praise the Lord.” May the Lord fill you with all His fullness and give you all the mind of Christ. Oh, be faithful! Walk before God and be perfect. Preach the Word. Be instant in season and out of season. The Lord loves you. He works with you. Rest your soul completely upon that promise, “Look, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

Your fellow soldier, WILLIAM HILL There may be some who will object to this teaching, that it ignores the work of the blessed Holy Spirit.

But I must refer such to the introductory chapter of this book, in which I have fully explained myself.

I am not writing upon that side of the subject; I am considering man ’s part in the matter, and not the part of the Spirit. I know that all a man can do would be useless if the Holy Spirit did not work in him continually. I write as I do because I believe in the Spirit. It is a mighty, ever-present power, ready to do his work. But, like the wind that blows where it wants, you hear its sound. But you cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes. The Spirit's actions are beyond our control and understanding.

The results we know, and the steps on our part which lead to those results, but we know nothing more.

And yet, like a factory worker, we dare to urge men to act. They must, like the worker, trust an unseen power, called steam, behind their machinery. It can accomplish the impossible. We know the mighty Spirit will always provide the power needed for each moment's act. We boldly claim that we, as writers, can say, as earnestly as any other Christians, "We believe in the Holy Ghost."