A.W. Tozer - A Cloud by Day, a Fire by Night: Finding and Following Gods Will for You

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

Exodus 13:2122

Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

Exodus 23:20

A very important theme in Dr. A.W. Tozers ministry was the subject of Gods will for each of our lives. He wrestled with it from the time he was a new Christian until the day he passed into eternity.

This book, drawn from a sermon series Dr. Tozer delivered just before leaving his successful church in Chicago, is not a manual on how to find Gods will for your life in five easy steps. Tozer abhorred that sort of thing. Theres no such thing as easy steps in discovering Gods will for your life.

When Tozer preached these sermons, the people of Southside Alliance didnt know his plans, but certain developments were leading Tozer to end his thirty years at Southside and accept a call to pastor a church in Toronto. Im sure he wrestled with the decision for a long time.

The series, titled An Angel before Thee, also holds significance because Tozer shared a number of personal stories, including how God led him from Indianapolis, where he was a successful pastor, to Southside Alliance, which was rather new at the time.

Central to Tozers teaching is what he liked to call the deeper life. This is a life that is spiritually deeper than the average Christians. He bemoans the downgrading of Christianity. The Christianity he was committed to is a progressive upgrading of our walk with Jesus Christ.

Tozer believed that living the Christian life is more than being saved by God and then waiting to go to heaven. Several times he would tell his Chicago congregation something like, If everyone today were physically what they were spiritually, many of you would be wearing diapers and sucking your thumbs. It always got a laugh, but he had a point.

Throughout this book he discusses the battles Christians face almost every day. He frames these battles as taking place in Canaan, as he calls itthe land of promise where we are living today. There are some who dismiss the idea that a Christian will face battles or need spiritual warfare. Yet the reality is we all experience battles according to the level of our progress in Canaan. In chapter 15, Tozer shows the connection between battles and blessings. He points out that you cant have a blessing until you have experienced a battle. But the purpose of the battle is to get us to the blessing. Tozer explores another seeming dichotomy in chapter 22, where he talks about the benefits that can come from discouragement. Only Tozer could look at something so negative and find positives from a spiritual point of view.

Anybody who has ever listened to one of Dr. Tozers sermons knows of his great love for hymns. Each chapter begins with a prayer by Tozer and concludes with a verse or two from a hymn that reflects that chapters topic.

The primary thing I believe Tozer would want the reader to get out of this book is simply this: Never give up; never quit.

So much in life can bring us to that point of discouragement where all we want to do is quit, especially when Gods will for us is unclear. For Tozer, quitting was not an option. You will read how, as a young man, Tozer felt Gods leading to become a pastor. He lacked the typical qualifications an ordination committee would require, but he was determined and had faith that it was Gods will. He learned years later that many of the committee members did indeed question his qualifications, but they also saw his heart for ministry and made ordination possible. I love that story.

This book is about more than finding Gods will for your next step or decision in lifeit is about following His will to the end. With only our human resources, following God would be impossible. But when we cross that line into the deeper life, we enter into the grace of God that enables us to do His will.