Read: Luke 11:9-13
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you (Luke 11:9).
The Witness Will Come
Yesterday we saw that, when the witness of the Holy Spirit is delayed, we must persist in our seeking. God will honor a faith that is attested by our willingness to thus tarry. And His tarrying is never arbitrary. In time we shall see that it was best for us.
As we wait in His presence, in private or in public services, God may reveal to us new depths of consecration which we had not yet reached. He may teach us precious lessons of persistent prayer. He may desire to strengthen our faith for the days ahead when we shall face other delayed answers to our agonizing prayers.
If, however, our tarrying is to be pleasing to God, we must continue active seeking, and our waiting must be in a spirit of trust. Any disposition to quit seeking must be overcome, and any spirit of rebellion against delay must be regarded as a manifestation of the carnality from which we seek deliverance. We must persistently tell God of our hunger for holiness, remind Him of His promises, and ask Him to reveal any further work needed on our part.
If we thus tarry, God will keep His promise. The Holy Spirit will come. He will come in His fullness; He will come with cleansing power; He will come with deep, soul-satisfying, inner illumination and the personal assurance that we are now sanctified wholly. We too may sing from glad hearts.
Peace, perfect peace! Love, perfect love! Sweeping o’er my soul in heav’nly tides! Rest, perfect rest! Joy, perfect joy! Is mine since the Holy Ghost abides.
— F. E. Hill