You have walked only a very small portion of the path of a believer in God, and you have yet to enter onto the right track, so you are still far from meeting God’s standard. Right now, your stature is not adequate to meet His demands. Due to your caliber and your corrupt nature, you always treat God’s work carelessly; you do not treat it seriously. This is your gravest shortcoming. There is certainly none who can ascertain the path the Holy Spirit walks; most of you do not understand it and cannot see it clearly. Moreover, most of you pay no mind to this matter, much less do you take it to heart. If you continue in this way, living in ignorance of the work of the Holy Spirit, then the path you take as a believer in God will be futile. This is because you do not do everything in your power to seek to meet God’s will and because you do not cooperate well with God. It is not that God has not worked on you, or that the Holy Spirit has not moved you. It is that you are so careless that you do not take the work of the Holy Spirit seriously. You must turn reverse this situation immediately and walk the path on which the Holy Spirit leads people. This is the main topic for today. “The path on which the Holy Spirit leads” refers to gaining enlightenment in spirit; having knowledge of God’s word; gaining clarity on the path ahead; being able to enter step by step into the truth; and coming to a greater knowledge of God. The path on which the Holy Spirit leads people is primarily a path toward a clearer understanding of God’s word, free of deviations and misconceptions, and those who walk it walk straight along it. In order to achieve this you will need to work in harmony with God, find a correct path to practice, and walk the path led by the Holy Spirit. This involves cooperation on man’s part: that is, what you must do to meet God’s requirements of you, and how you must behave to enter onto the right track of belief in God.

Stepping onto the path led by the Holy Spirit may seem complicated, but you will find it much simpler when the path of practice is clear to you. The truth is that people are capable of all that God demands of them—it is not as if He is trying to teach pigs to fly. In all situations, God seeks to resolve people’s problems and settle their concerns. All of you must understand this; do not misunderstand God. People are led according to God’s word along the path the Holy Spirit walks. As mentioned before, you must give your heart to God. This is a prerequisite for walking the path on which the Holy Spirit leads. You must do this in order to enter onto the right track. How does a person consciously do the work of giving their heart to God? In your daily lives, when you experience God’s work and pray to Him, you do it carelessly—you pray to God while you work. Can this be called giving your heart to God? You are thinking about household matters or affairs of the flesh; you are always of two minds. Can this be considered quieting your heart in the presence of God? This is because your heart is always fixated on external affairs, and is not able to return before God. If you would have your heart truly at peace before God, then you must do the work of conscious cooperation. This is to say that every one of you must have a time for your devotions, a time when you put aside people, events, and things; settle your heart and quiet yourself before God. Everyone must keep individual devotional notes, recording their knowledge of God’s word and how their spirit is moved, regardless of whether they are profound or superficial; everyone must consciously quiet their heart before God. If you can dedicate one or two hours each day to true spiritual life, then your life that day will feel enriched and your heart will be bright and clear. If you live this kind of spiritual life every day, then your heart will be able to return more into God’s possession, your spirit will become stronger and stronger, your condition will constantly improve, you will become more capable of walking the path on which the Holy Spirit leads, and God will bestow increased blessings upon you. The purpose of your spiritual life is consciously to gain the presence of the Holy Spirit. It is not to observe rules or conduct religious rituals, but truly to act in concert with God, truly to discipline your body—this is what man should do, so you should do this with the utmost effort. The better your cooperation and the more effort you commit, the more your heart will be able to return to God and the better you will be able to quiet your heart before Him. At a certain point, God will gain your heart completely. No one will be able to sway or capture your heart, and you will belong completely to God. If you walk this path, then God’s word will reveal itself to you at all times and enlighten you about everything that you do not understand—this can all be achieved through your cooperation. This is why God always says, “All who act in concert with Me, I will reward twice over.” You must see this path clearly. If you wish to walk the right path, then you must do all that you can to satisfy God. You must do all that you can to attain a spiritual life. At the start, you may not achieve great results in this pursuit, but you must not allow yourself to regress or wallow in negativity—you must keep working hard! The more you live a spiritual life, the more your heart will be occupied by the words of God, always concerned with these matters, always bearing this burden. After that, reveal your innermost truth to God through your spiritual life; tell Him what you are willing to do, what you are thinking about, your understanding and view of His word. Do not hold back anything, not even a little bit! Practice speaking the words within your heart and revealing your true feelings to God; if it is in your heart, then by all means, say it. The more you speak in this way, the more you will feel God’s loveliness, and God will tug more strongly on your heart. When this happens, you will feel that God is dearer to you than anyone else. You will never leave God’s side, no matter what. If you practice this kind of spiritual devotional on a daily basis and do not put it out of your mind, but treat it as a matter of great importance in your life, then God’s word will occupy your heart. This is what it means to be touched by the Holy Spirit. It will be as if your heart has always been possessed by God, as if that which you love is always in your heart. No one can take that away from you. When this happens, God will truly live inside you and have a place within your heart.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. A Normal Spiritual Life Leads People Onto the Right Track