"If you cannot express yourself on any subject, struggle until you can. If you do not, someone will be the poorer all the days of his life. Struggle to re-express some truth of God to yourself, and God will use that expression to someone else."
What's with "struggle, struggle, struggle"?
"Take no thought" is a command, a promise, from Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, a phrase five times repeated.
"Take no thought" renders μεριμνάω merimnaó, meaning, to be anxious, distracted, or to have cares for things.
The word speaks to a twisted, struggling mind. Jesus does not want us to struggle, but rather to take His yoke:
"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)
Jesus does not want us to be heavy laden, He does not want us to bear burdens beyond our bearing.
"Go through the winepress of God where the grapes are crushed. You must struggle to get expression experimentally, then there will come a time when that expression will become the very wine of strengthening to someone else; but if you say lazily – “I am not going to struggle to express this thing for myself, I will borrow what I say,” the expression will not only be of no use to you, but of no use to anyone. Try to state to yourself what you feel implicitly to be God’s truth, and you give God a chance to pass it on to someone else through you."
What? Excuse me, Mr. Chambers? Jesus has provided a much better way when it comes to speaking forth what the Lord wants us to say:
"And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:
"For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say." (Luke 12:11-12)
If you do not know of yourself what is the truth, ask the Holy Spirit, who is called many times "The Spirit of Truth"
"Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." (John 14:17)
The Spirit of Truth is already in you! You do not have to struggle to get it!
But this Spirit of Truth does not lie dormant within the believer. Far from it!
"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (John 14:26)
Forget I-pods! Forget CDs, forget "Preachers on retainer", the Holy Spirit within you reminds you of all the promises and goodness that my Lord and your Lord Jesus Christ made manifest to us in His ministry.
The most important thing that the Holy Spirit reminds us of is our righteousness in Christ!
"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." (John 16:8)
Now, the Holy Spirit does not convict a believer of all three. Many preachers in these days have returned to the words which the Holy Spirit moved the gospel writer to put down on paper, instead of relying on one's conjecture or the traditions of men:
Look closely at the verses which follow, and you will understand the true, tripartite ministry of the Holy Spirit in this world:
"Of sin, because they believe not on me" (John 16:9)
Now, it is evident from this passage alone that Jesus is not speaking to his disciples, because they DO believe on Him. Therefore, without question the Holy Spirit does not convict believers of sin at all, because they ARE believers already!
"Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;" (John 16:10)
Aha! Here it is! The Holy Spirit convicts the believer of "righteousness" — Jesus makes it clear — he is speaking to his disciples: "and YE see me no more". If you a are a believer, you are no longer under any condemnation (Romans 8:1). In fact, you have been made "the righteousness of God in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:21)
"Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." (John 16:11)
This judgment is for Satan, "the prince of this world" — not for believers, not in the slightest. The context, the verses, the promptings of the Holy Spirit could not make it any more evident.
"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:" (John 15:26)
When the Holy Spirit moves within us, He does not lead us into error and folly, but testifies of Christ and His Finished Work in our lives, not just to enrich us but to bless everyone we meet and everything that we do.
"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come." (John 16:13)
Wow! The Holy Spirit is our ever-present hotline to the love, life, and will of the living God, who lives and dwells in us!
This is not a struggle at all! This is life, and that more abundantly. In fact, it is the struggle, the worrying, that frustrates the grace of God in us, that we hamper our opportunities to receive what He is saying to us!