Others May You Cannot
"If God has called you to really be like Jesus, He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility, and put upon you such demands of obedience, that you will not be able to follow other people, measure yourself by other Christians, and in many ways, He will seem to let other people do things which He will not let you do.
Other Christians, and ministers, who seem very religious, and useful, may push themselves, pull wires, work schemes to carry out their plans, but you cannot do it, and if you attempt it, you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord, as to make you sorely penitent.
Others may boast of themselves, or their work, or their successes, or their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing, and if you begin it, He will lead you into some deep mortification, that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.
Others may be allowed to succeed in making money, or may have a legacy left to them, but it is likely God will keep you poor, because He wants you to have something far better than gold, namely, a helpless dependence on Him, that He may have the privilege of supplying your needs day by day out of an 'unseen treasury.'
The Lord may let others be honored and put forward, and keep you hidden in obscurity, because He wants to produce some choice fragrant fruit for His coming glory, which can only be produced in the shade He may let others be great, but keep you small. He may let others do a work for Him and get the credit for it, but He will make you work and toil on without knowing how much you are doing: and then to make your work all the more precious, He may let others get credit for the work which you have done, and thus make your reward ten times greater when Jesus comes!
The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch over you, with a jealous love, and will rebuke you for little words and feelings, or for wasting your time, which other Christians never feel distressed over. So, make up your mind, that God is an infinite Sovereign, and has the right to do as He pleases with His own. He may not explain to you a thousand things which puzzle your reason in His dealing with you, but if you absolutely sell yourself to be His love slave, He will wrap you in a jealous love, and bestow upon you many blessings which come only to those who are in the inner circle.
Settle it forever then, that you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit, and that He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue, or chaining your hand, or closing your eyes, in ways that He does not seem to use with others. Now, when you are so possessed with the living God, that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life, you will have found the 'vestibule of Heaven.'"
-G.D. Watson (1845-1924)
My entire life I've heard this from my mom (who learned it from my grandmother): "Others may, you cannot." Friends who have this print hanging on their wall shared it with us recently. It is a reminder that I've needed. (I'm also grateful for an explanation to accompany the saying.) It doesn't always make sense when we sense the check of conviction or caution about something that is "no big deal" to everyone else--and if we're honest with ourselves, there are times it doesn't really bother us either, "our worldly inspired logic"--but our spirits are stirred. Oftentimes, the things we aren't permitted to do are actually good things, but of course that doesn't mean good for us now. I often wonder if God says "No" simply to see if we'll be obedient. Is our relationship with Him is more valuable to us than indulging in what is currently desirable? Recently I feel as if I've been "sitting on the fence" frequently when it comes to loving Jesus completely versus letting myself be momentarily enamored by other "lovers." Idolatry can so easily capture our hearts and bind our spirits. I want to choose the valuable thing, the best thing, to be "so possessed with the living God, that [I am], in [my] secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over [my] life." Yes yes yes.
