The cry of your heart is heard in the courts of heaven. When a soul pleads for understanding and the Spirit’s touch, it is already a sign that the Lord is drawing near. He who teaches us to pray is ready to answer. You ask for clarity, for truth, for guidance, these are all bound up in the person of Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The Holy Spirit delights to take of the things of Christ and show them unto us. Therefore, set your eyes upon the Lord and upon His Word, for there the truth shines as the sun in its strength.
Let me press this upon you: strive always to possess a teachable spirit. It is a gift of God to be willing to be taught, to bow your intellect before divine authority. The world cries out against such submission, but you must cry out for it. Say with the psalmist, “O God, thou hast taught me from my youth.” And if you have not begun early, begin now. The Word of God is not a book of riddles to the humble heart. It is a lamp unto your feet, a light unto your path. When you open its pages, do not come as a judge, but as a scholar sitting at the feet of the Master. The truth you seek is not hidden in some secret philosophy; it is revealed in Scripture, and the Holy Spirit who inspired it will illuminate it to your soul. Therefore, never be content with secondhand knowledge. Go to the fountainhead. Plead the promise, “All thy children shall be taught of the Lord.”
Consider also this: God’s plan for your life is not a vague, shifting shadow. It is a great reality, grounded in the truth of His salvation. You pray for revelation; I tell you the greatest revelation has already been given in the cross of Christ. There you see the love of the Father, the sacrifice of the Son, and the power of the Spirit. Do not wait for new voices from heaven, but listen to the old, old story until it masters your heart. The salvation of God is truth itself, substantial, unshakeable. It is not a myth, nor a mere doctrine to be debated. It is the very power of God unto everyone that believeth. When you grasp this, you will find that all the intricate questions of God’s plan begin to resolve themselves into a single note: trust in Him whom the Father has sent.
You ask for guidance. Remember this truth: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. Your own wisdom will lead you into a ditch. But if you acknowledge the Lord in all your ways, He shall direct your paths. This is a sweet and certain promise. You are not left to grope in darkness. The Lord who has begun a good work in you will perfect it. Even when the way seems hedged with thorns, believe that He is leading you. And when you cannot trace His hand, trust His heart. His will, not yours, be done, this was your prayer, and it is the safest prayer a sinner can utter.
Yet you must also resolve to buy the truth at any cost. Do not be afraid of truth, though it should humble you, though it should strip away your cherished notions. The truth is a jewel, and you must sell all that you have to obtain it, but you must never sell it again. Hold it fast. Let the Word of God be the standard; to the law and to the testimony. If any teaching does not accord with that plumb-line, it is because there is no light in it. Be not carried about with every wind of doctrine. Many in these days have put the telescope to the blind eye and profess they cannot see the truths of election, of sovereign grace, of human responsibility, all of which are plainly set forth in Scripture. Let the whole counsel of God be your portion. Do not magnify one truth until it becomes monstrous and forget others. The Spirit leads into all truth, not merely a fragment of it.
Finally, let prayer be your chief occupation in this pursuit. The soul often grows more in half an hour’s pleading with God than in an hour’s hearing of sermons. Take the promises of God and spread them before the throne. Argue with your Maker upon the basis of His own character. Say to Him, “Hear me in the truth of thy salvation.” That is a potent plea. You are not asking for fancies, but for that which He has pledged Himself to give. When you thus wrestle, you are confessing your faith even in your supplication, and God will honor that. He has never yet turned away the seeker who came pleading the blood of Jesus and the truth of His Word.
Take heart, then, dear soul. If you are feeling the fire of conviction, if you have been plucked as a brand from the burning, know that the hand that plucked you will not cast you away. The Lord values His people as jewels, though men esteem them lightly. And He is polishing you through every trial, through every perplexity. The very desire for clarity is a work of His grace. Therefore, go forward. Search the Scriptures daily. Cry for the Spirit’s light. Yield your will entirely to the divine purpose. And soon your darkness shall be turned into noonday, and you shall declare, “Thou hast taught me from my youth; and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.”