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                           Tired of Being a Mule

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By David Wilkerson
April 15, 1991
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          "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which
          thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Be ye
          not as the horse, or as the mule, which have not
          understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and
          bridle, lest they come near unto thee" (Psalm 32:8-9)

          In these two brief verses God gives us one of the
          greatest lessons concerning guidance in all of
          Scripture. Verse 8 is a precious promise to us, a
          foundation upon which we can build a great faith. This
          foundation is His willingness to lead and guide us in
          everything!

          As you read the entire chapter youll discover that
          this promise is offered to a special people -- those
          whose sin is covered, and in whom there is no deceit;
          who have the Lords hand heavy upon them; who are
          godly, and pray in a time when they may be heard; who
          are hidden and preserved from trouble; and who sing
          songs of deliverance.

          Yet the Word of God says a person may be such a
          believer -- enjoying all the spiritual benefits of
          being a child of God -- yet remain a stubborn mule when
          it comes to submitting to His ways of guiding and
          leading. God said of Israel, "Forty years long was I
          grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people
          that do err in their heart, and they have not known my
          ways" (Psalm 95:10).

          Think of what God was saying: "After 40 long years of
          receiving My tender guidance and miraculous
          deliverances, they still dont have the slightest idea
          of the way I work! They never even try to understand My
          principles of guidance. To them My leadings are just a
          series of unrelated blessings, nothing more than open
          doors and escapes from crises."

          Personally, I am tired of being a mule-headed Christian
          with no understanding of the principles of Gods
          leading! I dont want God to say of me, "Yes, David was
          forgiven. He laid down his deceit, and My hand was upon
          him. He prayed and I delivered him from trouble, time
          after time. Indeed, I led him in wonderful ways. But in
          his heart he never had a settled knowledge of My ways!"

          Beloved, dont make the Lord be stern with you in His
          leadings. Dont be as the mule, without understanding.
          God does not want to bark directions at His children or
          have to force us to do His bidding.

          God wants a people who know Him well enough to move at
          his slightest urging!

          Picture King David and his captains and counselors
          gathered together, with the enemy close at hand. The
          mens eyes are glued to Davids face, waiting,
          watching. All they need is a nod or a little movement
          of his eye, and theyll know what he wants without a
          word being spoken to them. He is able to guide them
          with his eye!

          Most believers do not spend enough time in Gods
          presence to know Him in this way. Instead, they go
          about their business and never know what it is their
          Captain would have of them. So they have to learn the
          hard way. The Lord comes to them with a bit in His
          hand, and He has to corner them in order to put it in
          their mouth.

          Saints, God would much rather lead us with His eye than
          with the bit and bridle. But some of us have a bit in
          our mouth right now!

          The very term "to lead or guide" suggests that God has
          an ultimate goal for us -- and it is not to lead us in
          circles for forty years. All the guidance Israel
          received in the wilderness, whether it came through a
          word of direction, a victory or a deliverance, was
          related to Gods single purpose of bringing His people
          into a place of promised rest in Him.

          The Israelites were mule-headed children, never seeing
          beyond their present crisis. They were too
          self-centered to trust God for their future. All they
          wanted was a quick, easy way out of the hard places.
          They learned nothing from the supernatural leading that
          took them from slavery to the very edge of the Promised
          Land. Gods glorious demonstrations of love were wasted
          on them because they refused to build their faith on
          His deliverances.

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                           God Promises Us That,
                        Even in the Greatest Crisis,
                         His Eye Never Leaves Us!

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          No trouble or crisis that comes our way is ever a
          surprise to our Lord, because He sees the whole
          picture. His eye is on us from our birth to our very
          last breath. He Himself is the beginning and the end.

          "For the Lords portion is his people; Jacob is the lot
          of his inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and
          in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he
          instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. As
          an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her
          young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth
          them on her wings: so the Lord alone did lead him, and
          there was no strange god with him" (Deuteronomy
          32:9-12).

          The term "apple of the eye" here refers to the
          reflected image in the pupil of ones eye. If you look
          into someones eyes youll see, in the center of the
          pupil, a little image of yourself.

          Now think of what the Word of God is saying: "He kept
          him as the apple of His eye." It means you and I are,
          at all times, in the very center of Gods vision. We
          are the image constantly reflected in His eyes, because
          His gaze never leaves us!

          This is the rock-solid foundation of all understanding
          of how God leads us. "For thus sayeth the Lord of
          hosts... for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of
          his eye" (Zechariah 2:8). In other words, anyone who
          touches Gods people sticks his finger in Gods eye!

          Before any trouble ever struck your life, God saw it
          coming. He was not surprised when you lost your job or
          were brought low by a sudden illness. "Behold, the eye
          of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that
          hope in his mercy" (Psalm 33:18). "His eye seeth every
          precious thing" (Job 28:10). "The eyes of the Lord are
          upon the righteous" (Psalm 34:15).

          Do you really believe the Lord has His eyes upon you
          and sees everything that is happening n your life? Do
          you believe He sees the future -- your future? If so,
          how could you even begin to think He would let you down
          or allow the enemy to triumph over you?

          I cant begin to comprehend or explain the greatness of
          a God who keeps each of His children as the apple of
          His eye. Yet His Word promises just that: "I am guiding
          you with My eye. Yes, there is a whole world full of
          saints in great need. But you must believe with all
          your heart that you -- yes, you -- are the apple of My
          eye!"

          You can say as David did: "Keep me as the apple of the
          eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings" (Psalm
          17:8).

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                     In All His Guidance, The Lord Has
                       Two Eternal Purposes in View.

              -----------------------------------------------

          Gods first purpose is to gain the fixed confidence of
          His children. The second is to be exalted and honored
          before the wicked. You can rest assured that His every
          leading is ultimately to accomplish these goals.

          God desires that our confidence be so fixed on Him that
          we no longer just live from one crisis to the next.
          Often, when we pray for guidance, we do it with one
          purpose in mind: "God, get me out of this mess. If ever
          I needed a miracle, its now!"

          We treat our blessed Lord disrespectfully when we allow
          ourselves to be consumed by our trouble or difficulty.
          Yet it doesnt take long for us to become convinced we
          are modern-day Jobs and the devil is out to get us --
          that God is either testing us or trying to refine us.

          Beloved, as you read this, can you face your problem or
          situation and believe that your Lord desires to do more
          than just get you out of another mess? What He is doing
          is of eternal significance! His purpose is for you to
          be able to say, as, David did, "He delivered me from
          the lion, He delivered me from the bear, and He will
          deliver this giant into my hands. I know I will face
          more troubles ahead. But in them all, I know I am more
          than a conqueror through Jesus!"

          God hates formulas and "how-to" theories on guidance.
          All we need is simply to grasp that every trial is
          somehow related; that throughout our lives we will have
          them in some form; and that through them all the Lord
          wants more than just to deliver us: He wants to work in
          us to a deep, settled trust that will help us face
          anything.

          Think of how the elderly Israelites must have gathered
          their grandchildren and told them all the hair-raising
          stories of Gods leadings -- stories of seas opening,
          voices thundering, water springing from rocks. Do you
          think they saw these as just a series of unrelated
          events that left them high and dry in the howling
          wilderness? No! Everything was done to get them into
          Canaan!

          I could tell you story after story of how the Lord has
          led me the past thirty years: how He repeatedly rescued
          me just as I was about to go under... how He made a way
          when there was no way... how He wrought miracle after
          miracle to supply our needs, literally hundreds of
          times!

          But what good was any of it if I learned nothing about
          my Lord? What good was it all, if tomorrow I face a
          trial and am flustered and worried, wondering if Hell
          come through again?

          If I have not learned His ways of faithfulness -- if
          these experiences have not brought me into the Canaan
          of rest and confidence in Him -- then I am a mule with
          no understanding!

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                God wants to Provide a Stage to the World--
                  To Bring Down the Enemy for All to See!

             --------------------------------------------------

          Gods purposes in sovereignly leading us are even
          broader than to build our faith and confidence. His
          second purpose is to provide a stage upon which the
          world can watch Him bring down the enemy. He wants to
          set up scenarios in which He will be glorified in the
          sight of all His opponents!

          I want the Holy Spirit to show you a truth so powerful
          you will never again fear the activity of Satan in your
          trials. It is simply this: The enemy is on your heels
          because the Lord is leading him into a trap, a
          destructive showdown in which he will be defeated
          soundly. You see, God is dealing not just with us but
          also with our enemy!

          This is vividly illustrated in Exodus 14. The Lord
          guides Israel into a seemingly hopeless situation. God
          says plainly to Moses, "Encamp before Pihahiroth
          between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon"
          (Exodus 14:2). With detailed instructions from the
          Lord, Moses leads Israel to the brink of the Red Sea.

          The Lord had forewarned Moses that He would harden
          Pharaohs heart once again and draw him near for a
          showdown. God said, "I will harden Pharaohs heart,
          that he shall follow after them" (Exodus 14:4).

          How would you react to such guidance? Imagine the Lord
          had come and warned you: "I am going to put you in a
          situation in which only a miracle can save you. You
          will have no place to turn but to Me. I am going to
          allow the enemy to bear down on you as if to wipe you
          out. But this is not your battle -- it is Mine. I am
          going to be honored through what I do to the enemy, so
          that all will know I am the Lord."

          You can see clearly in this example that God wants to
          accomplish two things. First, He wants to establish a
          people who will walk in His fear, holy and unmovable,
          by not rescuing them from a desperate situation. And
          second, He wants to use the hard place to deal a fatal
          blow to all their enemies from hell. This is Gods
          battle with the devil, with you right in the middle of
          it all!

          What are you going through right now? Is your back
          hopelessly against a wall? Is the enemy roaring down on
          you? Do you hear the hoofbeats of demonic powers? Does
          your mind imagine all kinds of dreadful things about to
          happen to you and your family? Does your situation look
          hopeless?

          Beloved, if you love the Lord, you are not about to go
          down. Instead, you are actually on the brink of two
          victories -- your miraculous deliverance, and the honor
          that this victory will bring to the Lord. Your enemy is
          going to be buried in the process of your deliverance!
          People will be amazed. They will say, "The devil could
          not bring them down. They won -- because their God
          fought the battle for them!"

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                          Dont Become as a Mule,
                       Allowing Your Circumstances
					     -- and Not the Lord --
                               to Rule You!

                    ------------------------------------

          Scripture says that at first the Israelites marched out
          boldly, without fear. But before long they allowed
          their circumstances to overcome their hearts: " The
          children of Israel went out with an high hand. But the
          Egyptians pursued after them... and overtook them
          encamping by the sea... and when Pharaoh drew nigh, the
          children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold,
          the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore
          afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the
          Lord: (Exodus 14:8-10).

          Israel reacted just as we often do -- like dumb mules!
          They had witnessed incredible miracles while in Egypt
          but quickly forgot them. Now they cried out to Moses,
          "What kind of deliverance is this? You brought us out
          here to die? We knew all along we were better off back
          in our old ways. Now its absolutely hopeless!"

          Dear saint, right now you may be in despair. You may be
          afraid because you cannot see any way out of your
          crisis. You are questioning Gods leading, and you
          wonder about His faithfulness -- because all you can
          see is the devil pursuing you, his sword glistening in
          the night.

          But be encouraged: God did not chastise nor rebuke
          Israel when they panicked. Instead, He brought them
          this message of hope: "Fear ye not, stand still, and
          see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to
          you today: for the Egyptians, whom ye have seen today,
          ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord
          shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace"
          (Exodus 14:13-14). You are not alone! God is fighting
          for you!

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                       If You Keep Going on With God,
                    God Will Credit It to You As Faith!

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          Even though the Israelites were afraid, their onward
          march was credited to them as faith: "By faith they
          passed through the Red sea as by dry land" (Hebrews
          11:29).

          Even so, they had to have been frightened. David
          described the scene at the Red Sea: "The voice of thy
          thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the
          world, the earth trembled and shook" (Psalm 77:18).

          There they were, with the enemy bearing down on them,
          the wind howling like a hurricane, awesome lightning
          flashing all around, thunder shaking the earth and the
          mighty waters rolling back. Yet when God said, "Keep
          moving on," they obeyed. Yes, they were still fearful
          and shaking -- but they kept going!

          What was the outcome of their obedience to Gods great
          leading? They received a vision of Gods power over all
          the enemies that would come against them: "And Israel
          saw that great work which the Lord did upon the
          Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed
          the Lord, and His servant Moses" (Exodus 14:31).

          It is tragic that so many Christians today are easily
          defeated when they come to a dead-end crisis. They
          think that when everything goes wrong, with no
          deliverance in sight, God has abandoned them. They
          simply lie down to die, allowing the devils chariots
          to roll over them.

          Little do they know, had they just kept moving on,
          praying, clinging to the Word and going to Gods house,
          scared or not, the sea would have opened up for them
          and a way out would have been provided. Their enemies
          would have been destroyed.

          The Israelites so easily could have quit. They could
          have said, "Thats enough. Weve had it. What will be
          will be. We give up -- were dead." But they didnt let
          that happen. Instead, they persevered.

          We have a greater promise today than Israel had.
          Colossians 2:15 says, "And having spoiled
          principalities and powers, he made a show of them
          openly, triumphing over them in it."

          Keep going on with God! Dont drop out; press on in
          faith that He will deliver you. Trust Him that through
          all your circumstances He will anchor your confidence
          in Him. And watch Him defeat the enemy altogether!

          If you do, youll come to know in fullest measure His
          glorious work on our behalf: "Who hath delivered us
          from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into
          the kingdom of his dear Son" (Colossians 1:13).

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 USA.

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