September 9

"But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because the light is not in him." John 11:10

God is light, and seeing God is seeing light. Seeing light requires a pure heart, a heart adjusted to the love of God. God is as the sun, and I am as a mirror. Unless the mirror faces the sun, it cannot reflect the sun’s rays. Should it not be rightly aligned, then the sunlight cannot reach it and so cannot be reflected. The value is lost. Have you noticed that if your heart is deflected from simple devotion to God, then what comes out in your talk will not reflect him; you will criticize and grumble. This is always proof that you are in the darkness and not in the light.

Some of the Lord’s people can continue to praise him while shedding tears, for although they suffer heartaches they do not stumble. It is because their hearts are inclined toward God that they live in the light. If what you want is man’s praise and you do not receive it, then you stumble. If instead your heart only wants his pleasure, then even if circumstances worsen tenfold you still will not stumble.