With Love, from the Editresses
“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” (2 Timothy 2:24-26)
Dear Sisters,
Rather than an editorial this time, I want to write, by way of an introduction, about this issue’s topic on modesty.
When setting up, thinking, and praying about this discussion, the above verse has struck me forcibly about the importance of keeping from strife, as servants of the most high God. Who will we reflect if we defensively and close-mindedly bring up our points, without the fear of the Lord on us? In contrast, picture someone who meekly, but firmly, presents their testimony—who do they represent?
I am grateful for the Lord’s faithfulness and mercy in burdening sisters to write—in the fear of the Lord—with meek and gentle hearts, and I pray for the Lord to stir hearts to seek Him in this area of dress. (I want to note here that I don’t mean to encourage independent spirits, but the contrary—dependent spirits—seeking the guidance and wisdom of your parents and the Lord with open hearts.)
I recently read and typed up a little excerpt for a friend from the book Helps to Holy Living, by C. E. Orr, which I would like to pass on to you, too.
The Opened Eye
“Open thou mine eyes.” (Psalm 119:18)
Who among us does not need to pray this prayer? Who among us has an eye to see all that belongs to the Christian life? Are there not yet some glorious things lying out beyond the boundary of our vision? Oh, for the open eye to see the wondrous things God has prepared for them that love Him! Out beyond our spiritual horizon there may be blessed realities awaiting us if we would but seek God earnestly for the open eye to discover them. This world has been called a vale of tears, a wilderness of woe, and man’s way through it a way of trouble and sorrow, yet there is a way running through it which is a way of pleasantness, and a path which is a pathway of peace. We need the open eye to find this heavenly way. If man would but rise to the fullness of life, he would find many glorious things awaiting him there. Up in the higher realms of close companionship with God there is fullness of joy. If man would come into such intimacy with God as to read His mind and know the loving thoughts He has toward him, his joy would be complete. If man could but see all that lies in the fatherhood of God, he would never have a care.
[Charles E. Orr; Helps to Holy Living, “The Opened Eye”]
There are many things God has for His children—many precious lessons to teach each one of us. However, except the Lord build our house, we will labor in vain; except the Lord open our eyes to spiritual truths, we won’t comprehend the full meaning of His words in His blessed book.
I remember an incident that happened not too long ago, which shows how easy it is to lean on our own understanding—perhaps with good intentions, but still our own human understanding.
Not too long ago, there was a writing contest which I had plans to enter, only I didn’t think it was really like a contest. In my mind, I had thought it was just a way to encourage others in the Lord, and if you won, receiving a little gift of thanks.
Talking with Uncle Rick, he gave me his thoughts and encouraged me to pray, leaving the decision between myself and the Lord. He wanted me to seek the Lord for myself and prayed for the Lord to show me what was right, what I should do.
Had my heart been closed and my ideas about the contest all ready firm and concluded, I would have erred in thinking that God approved of my thoughts. But praise the Lord for His faithfulness and answers to our prayers to show us His mind in the matter.
The Lord shortly thereafter confirmed both through Uncle Rick and others and by scripture, which clearly showed that I shouldn’t write. He opened my eyes and gave me understanding because my heart was open to His Word and desired His will.
Girls, I just pray that each one of us would beseech the Lord to open our eyes. Perhaps you’ve assumed, as I did, or you’ve been groping about blindly searching for the truth, wearing dresses because you’ve been influenced by those who wear them, yet without having the personal conviction in your hearts.
Pray, dear girls, and ask the Lord to open you and your family’s hearts to hear the voice of the Lord in not just this area, but in all areas. Does your life evidently bespeak of a holy, consecrated life before God? Does your life, convictions, and walk mirror Jesus and the teachings of His book?
I was reflecting the other day, as we walked in and out of a Bible book house, how sad it is to see so many profess Christianity, yet their lives show evidence of walking after the desires of the flesh.
Don’t cling to your own understanding; don’t cling to any other idol or object or idea, for our own understanding is far from perfect and we’re so prone to go off on tangents, blindly seeking our own way. When we let go and just give all to the Lord, He begins and will be faithful to open your eyes and understanding. It is dangerous for your souls to believe in any other gospel than those that are backed by the Word of God.
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
To close this brief letter, I’d like to end with a favorite song, which echoes the prayer of my heart.
With Thine eye, O Savior, guide me
Through my pilgrimage below;
In Thy secret presence hide me,
On my heart Thy grace bestow.
Guide my thoughts lest they should wander
To the empty dreams of earth;
Let me on Thy goodness ponder,
Yea, on things of heavenly worth.
Guide my actions, O my Father,
Guide my soul to heaven’s shore;
Thee I’ll follow and no other,
Be my guide for evermore.*
—Skye
Dear Sisters,
Greetings to each one of you in the precious name of our Lord! As I was pondering what to write at this season to send to you, the Lord began to speak to me about how important it is to be led by the Holy Spirit in all our actions. Please notice that I did not say, “the spirit,” but the Holy Spirit. There are many different spirits floating around, and most definitely, not all are the Holy Spirit, who alone should guide the lives of the Most High King’s daughter. As children of the Lord, we should have one spirit ruling foremost in our lives. That Holy Spirit brings in other graces that bear the fruit of righteousness in our lives as we allow Him to guide and work in us. But before I go any farther, I’d like to say that if I you are thinking, “Why is she writing about this subject?—it is too far beyond us simple princesses. I can’t know and recognize the Holy Spirit in the every day-to-day life—that is something beyond the common Christian experience.” But, dear sister, you must. I thought the same thing you are thinking—that it was beyond me to know the ways of how the Holy Spirit works and to be guided by Him in such a way that we know without a shadow of a doubt that we are being led by the Lord. But it is not only our privilege to know, dear sister, it is vital to our Christian experience to know how the Holy Spirit leads (Romans 8:14). If we do not know, we can easily be led astray by another spirit. An incident happened to me once that I am ashamed of, but it is something that helped me to see the importance of knowing how the Holy Spirit works, and its fruits (i.e., cheerfulness, modesty, longsuffering, etc.), which He brings into our hearts and guards us from other spirits not of God.
One morning, I was struggling with my fairly long hair, trying to get it up neatly, nicely and reasonably comfortably as the Lord had been showing me. I was more than willing to follow what the Lord wanted me to do, but oh, how deceitfully the devil works, and I was not on guard as I should have been. A friend was watching me and was trying to give helpful hints, and I did not realize that this individual had not been living as close to the Lord as they could have been and had some ideas of hair arranging that did not glorify the Lord and was self-exalting and would draw attention to self. Her spirit was not the humble, meek and quiet spirit that I was seeking for in putting up my hair in simple fashion so that any natural attraction would be out of the way and the Lord could shine through. She was older than I and had put up her hair for years, so I listened to her tips and did not catch the worldly bent in her words. Before I knew what was happening, hair curlers and other things were being placed in my hair and I was beginning to look like I had come from a beauty parlor. Naturally, I, like most anyone else, do enjoy looking nice, and I began to lose sight of why I was putting up my hair and what the Holy Spirit had been teaching me. Pride began to seep in and I began to battle the prideful spirit that tried to seize hold of me. It looks nice. It’s okay—you’re still putting it up. You didn’t do it yourself—someone else did it on you. You should make yourself look as nice as you can, etc. Another spirit besides the Holy Spirit was trying to guide me, and I did struggle to let go of “making myself look nicer.”
That incident stamped into my mind how important it is that we stay in close communion with the Lord so that we have His spirit guiding us every hour of the day. We must not get something from God and then think, “Well, I know what He wants me to do, I guess I can relax now and obey this until He shows me something else.” If you do that, you can be sure the devil will pounce on you in your time of relaxation. The devil does not sleep, he does not rest; he is always roaming about seeking whom he may devour. If you allow yourself to get a little out of tune with the Lord, you put yourself in a very dangerous place. It is important for us to keep up-to-date with the Lord at all times and at all times seeking Him for our everyday needs.
The Lord began to speak to me there while I faced the mirror, looking at what my friend was doing to my hair. The Lord said, “This is not acceptable. How can I shine through you like this?” I asked for grace for me to humble myself in my heart and take down what my friend had done and do my hair in a simple way that pleased Him. Thank the Lord, God always extends grace to His trusting children when they meet His conditions. I’ve thought since then, what if I had run over the voice of the Holy Spirit and gone on with my hair in that worldly fashion that displeased the Lord? What if I had said, “It doesn’t really matter,” and pushed away my uncomfortable feelings toward the manner of arrangement? Dear girls, if I had done such a thing, it would have been very detrimental to my walk with the Lord. You say, “But it was such a little thing! How can that be detrimental to a walk with the Lord?” It is the little foxes that spoil the vines, girls, and little things lead to big things. The next time I would be faced with some situation where I could either obey the voice of the Holy Spirit or disregard its leadings, it would be harder to hear the voice and easier to push it away and go on. Eventually the Holy Spirit would he forced to leave—He will not abide in a place where He is not Ruler of all. How important it is to listen and keep in tune with the Holy Spirit!
Oh, dear sisters, let us set our wills to be guided by the Holy Spirit—we cannot afford to not be guided by Him. Let us seek the throne of grace to be filled with the Holy Spirit and have Him be our guide. Until we do, other spirits will be constantly taking the Holy Spirit’s place, and things will come out of your life that you did not know were there. It could be pride, it could be wrath, it could be impurity, it could be impatience; I don’t know what your problem may be. But I do know some of how important it is that we be filled with the Holy Spirit and guided by Him so that these things do not have opportunity to guide us.
There could be much more written on the Holy Spirit and its importance, but my thoughts are wandering towards the planned discussion on modesty—the dresses/pants question. How important it is to be guided by the Lord in this area of our lives. It may seem not so important, but it is. You may say, “That is just her opinion.” Oh, please do not take it so lightly! What shows on the outside is reflecting the inside. Would you please read with an open heart and then spend some time communing with the Holy Spirit and listen to what He has to say? We are praying earnestly that you will desire all God has for you, that you will be open in all areas to what the Holy Spirit wants to tell you and that you will come closer to the Lord in your journey together.
—Abigail