God's work

Watchman Nee in his book "God's work " writes:
"What is the reason for such appalling shallowness and poverty in ministry these days ?
Because the ministers have experienced very little themselves.
They have managed to dodge the cross whenever God offered it to them.
There is often a way out ,another way that is less costly , a lower path and not the way of the cross.
How few and rare are those who are rich spiritually. And why ? Because their sufferings have not abounded.
God arranges things most perfectly.He knows what kind of sufferings each one needs- whether it be physical,material,mental or spiritual.When God in His wisdom brings it to us because He sees that we need it,let us try to rejoice and see that the Lord is in it.Let us accept it with joy,acknowledging that we are absolutely weak and unequal to it,but that He is gloriously equal to it.He indeed is, and in the circumstances we do find Him in His fullness and sufficiency.We come to really know God because we find Him doing in us and for us what we cannot do.
Thus we are able to minister Him in life to others,to build up the body, to scatter life- His life - wherever we go.Whenever death is really working  in us,just then, and only then can life really flow out to others.