'Voices From The Past' Vol. 1 — December 17

We need to stand in the way God has directed us to walk. We are so prone to desire another's work than our own. That which is the Commander's business is not the Private's. The service you do out of your own path is not acceptable to God. God will not thank you for doing that which he did not ask you to do. You might have good intentions, as Uzzah in staying the ark, but God was not pleased with his zeal (2 Sam. 6:7). Saul could make a good excuse for his sacrifice, but it did not serve him well. We must ask ourselves ‘Who required this at our hands?' In moving out of our proper calling, we move out of God's protection. If we love to walk in God's company, we must abide in our place and calling. Every step from that is a departure from God. It is better to stay at home in a humble place and low calling where we may enjoy God's sweet presence than to go to court and live there without him. What a bold adventure it is to stay where you cannot expect his presence! It is dangerous to do what we are not called to do, or to neglect our duty. The earth could not bear with Korah and swallowed him up. The sea bore witness against Jonah the runaway prophet. The ruin of many souls breaks in upon them at this door. We are judged for our own stewardship, and not that of another. God only requires faithfulness in our place. We do not find fault with an apple tree if it is laden with apples and not figs. It is an erratic spirit that carries men out of their place and calling. They may be proud and discontent with the place God has set them. The whole world is too narrow a walk for a proud heart. Shall they be hid in a crowd when they can show the world their worth? No, they cannot stand it. But man always prospers better in his own soil.

Devotional Readings taken from Puritan Devotional Readings 'Voices From The Past Vol.1.'
William Gurnall, The Christian In Complete Armour, I:279-284
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