cccIn traveling through life's hurdles and trials, we
begin with prayer. May God and His Word give each of us His true
inner peace, and may this true inner peace dispel the
life-quenching burdens of worry and anxiety. In Jesus' name, we
pray. Amen.
ccc
ccc“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known unto God.” — Philippians 4:6.
ccc
ccc“It is not work that kills; it is worry. The
only way to avoid worry is to take every trouble to Christ. Let
us not look on the dark side. Let us cultivate cheerfulness of
spirit. I have much to make me sad at heart, but I try not to
speak discouragingly, because someone who hears my words may be
sad at heart, and I must not do anything to increase their
sadness.” — 3MR 368; or Letter 208, 1903.
ccc
ccc“We need to appreciate more fully the meaning
of the words: `I sat down under His shadow with great delight.'
Song of Solomon 2:3. These words do not bring to our minds the
picture of hasty transit, but of quiet rest. There are many
professing Christians who are anxious and depressed, many who are
so full of busy activity that they cannot find time to rest
quietly in the promises of God, who act as if they could not
afford to have peace and quietness. To all such Christ's
invitation is: `Come unto Me, . . . and I will give you rest.'
Matthew 11:28.
cccLet us turn from the dusty, heated thoroughfares of
life to rest in the shadow of Christ's love. Here we gain
strength for conflict. Here we learn how to lessen toil and
worry, and how to speak and sing to the praise of God. Let the
weary and the heavy-laden learn from Christ the lesson of quiet
trust. They must sit under His shadow if they would be possessors
of His peace and rest.” — 7T 69-70.
ccc
ccc“Do not worry. By looking at appearances, and
complaining when difficulty and pressure come, you reveal a
sickly, enfeebled faith. By your words and your works show that
your faith is invincible. The Lord is rich in resources. He owns
the world. Look to Him who has light, and power, and efficiency.
He will bless everyone who is seeking to communicate light and
love.
cccThe Lord desires all to understand that their
prosperity is hid with Him in Christ; that it is dependent on
their humility and meekness, their wholehearted obedience and
devotion. When they shall learn the lesson of the great Teacher,
to die to self, to put no confidence in man, nor to make flesh
their arm, then, as they call upon Him, the Lord will be to them
a present help in every time of need. He will guide them in
judgment. He will be at their right hand to give them counsel. He
will say to them: `This is the way, walk ye in it.'” —
7T 212-213.
ccc
ccc“Many who profess to be Christ's followers have
an anxious, troubled heart, because they are afraid to trust
themselves with God. They do not make a complete surrender to
Him, for they shrink from the consequences that such a surrender
may involve. Unless they do make this surrender, they can not
find peace.
cccThere are many whose hearts are aching under a load
of care because they seek to reach the world's standard. They
have chosen its service, accepted its perplexities, adopted its
customs. Thus their character is marred, and their life made a
weariness. The continual worry is wearing out the life forces.
Our Lord desires them to lay aside this yoke of bondage. He
invites them to accept His yoke; He says, `My yoke is easy, and
My burden is light.' Worry is blind, and can not discern the
future; but Jesus sees the end from the beginning. In every
difficulty He has His way prepared to bring relief. `No good
thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.'
cccOur heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide
for us of which we know nothing. Those who accept the one
principle of making the service of God supreme, will find
perplexities vanish, and a plain path before their feet.
cccThe faithful discharge of today's duties is the best
preparation for tomorrow's trials. Do not gather together all
tomorrow's liabilities and cares and add them to the burden of
today. `Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.'
cccLet us be hopeful and courageous. Despondency in
God's service is sinful and unreasonable. He knows our every
necessity. To the omnipotence of the King of kings our
covenant-keeping God unites the gentleness and care of the tender
shepherd. His power is absolute, and it is the pledge of the sure
fulfillment of His promises to all who trust in Him. He has means
for the removal of every difficulty, that those who serve Him and
respect the means He employs may be sustained. His love is as far
above all other love as the heavens are above the earth. He
watches over children with a love that is measureless and
everlasting.
cccIn the darkest days, when appearances seem most
forbidding, have faith in God. He is working out His will doing
all things well in behalf of His people. The strength of those
who love and serve Him will be renewed day by day.
cccHe is able and willing to bestow upon His servants
all the help they need. He will give them the wisdom which their
varied necessities demand.
cccSaid the tried apostle Paul: `He said unto me. My
grace is sufficient for thee; for My strength is made perfect in
weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my
infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore
I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in
persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am
weak, then am I strong.'” — MH 480-482.
ccc
ccc“`The Lord seeth not as man seeth.' In trusting
in God continually there is safety, there will not be a constant
fear of future evil. This borrowed care and anxiety will cease.
We have a heavenly Father who careth for His children, and will
and does make His grace sufficient in every time of need. When we
take into our own hands the management of things that concern us,
and depend upon our own wisdom for success, we may well have
anxiety and anticipate danger and loss, for it will most
certainly come upon us.
cccFull and entire consecration to God is required of
us. While the Redeemer of sinful mortals was laboring and
suffering for us, He denied Himself, and His whole life was one
continued scene of toil and privation. Had He chosen to do so, He
could have passed His days on earth in ease and plenty, and
appropriated to Himself all the pleasures and enjoyments of this
life. But He did not; He considered not His own convenience. He
lived not to gratify Himself, but to do good and to save others
from suffering, to help those who most needed help. He endured to
the end. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and He hath
borne the iniquity of us all. The bitter cup was apportioned to
us to drink. Our sins mingled it. But our dear Saviour took the
cup from our lips and drank it Himself, and in its stead He
presents to us a cup of mercy, blessing, and salvation.”
— 2T 72-73.
ccc
ccc“Feeling and faith are as distinct from each
other as the east is from the west. Faith is not dependent on
feeling. Daily we should dedicate ourselves to God, and believe
that Christ understands and accepts the sacrifice, without
examining ourselves to see if we have that degree of feeling that
we think should correspond with our faith. Have we not the
assurance that our heavenly Father is more willing to give the
Holy Spirit to them that ask Him in faith than parents are to
give good gifts to their children? We should go forward as if to
every prayer that we send to the throne of God we heard the
response from the One whose promises never fail. Even when
depressed by sadness it is our privilege to make melody in our
hearts to God. When we do this the mists and clouds will be
rolled back and we will pass from the shadow and darkness into
the clear sunshine of His presence.
cccIf we educated our souls to have more faith, more
love, greater patience, a more perfect trust in our heavenly
Father, we would have more peace and happiness as we pass through
the conflicts of this life. The Lord is not pleased to have us
fret and worry ourselves out of the arms of Jesus. He is the only
source of every grace, the fulfillment of every promise, the
realization of every blessing. . . . Our pilgrimage would indeed
be lonely were it not for Jesus. `I will not leave you
comfortless,' (John 14:18) He says to us. Let us cherish His
words, believe His promises, repeat them by day and meditate upon
them in the night season, and be happy.” — 0HC 120; or
MS 75, 1893.
ccc
ccc“`Be not therefore anxious for the morrow. . .
. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.' Matthew 6:34, R.V
cccIf you have given yourself to God, to do His work,
you have no need to be anxious for tomorrow. He whose servant you
are, knows the end from the beginning. The events of tomorrow,
which are hidden from your view, are open to the eyes of Him who
is omnipotent.
cccWhen we take into our hands the management of things
with which we have to do, and depend upon our own wisdom for
success, we are taking a burden which God has not given us, and
are trying to bear it without His aid. We are taking upon
ourselves the responsibility that belongs to God, and thus are
really putting ourselves in His place. We may well have anxiety
and anticipate danger and loss, for it is certain to befall us.
But when we really believe that God loves us and means to do us
good we shall cease to worry about the future. We shall trust God
as a child trusts a loving parent. Then our troubles and torments
will disappear, for our will is swallowed up in the will of God.
cccChrist has given us no promise of help in bearing
today the burdens of tomorrow. He has said, `My grace is
sufficient for thee' (2 Corinthians 12:9); but, like the manna
given in the wilderness, His grace is bestowed daily, for the
day's need. Like the hosts of Israel in their pilgrim life, we
may find morning by morning the bread of heaven for the day's
supply.
cccOne day alone is ours, and during this day we are to
live for God. For this one day we are to place in the hand of
Christ, in solemn service, all our purposes and plans, casting
all our care upon Him, for He careth for us.” — MB
100-101.
ccc
ccc“Those who take Christ at His word, and
surrender their souls to His keeping, their lives to His
ordering, will find peace and quietude. Nothing of the world can
make them sad when Jesus makes them glad by His presence. In
perfect acquiescence there is perfect rest. The Lord says, `Thou
wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee:
because he trusteth in Thee.' Isa. 26:3. Our lives may seem a
tangle; but as we commit ourselves to the wise Master Worker, He
will bring out the pattern of life and character that will be to
His own glory. And that character which expresses the
glory--character--of Christ will be received into the Paradise of
God. A renovated race shall walk with Him in white, for they are
worthy.
cccAs through Jesus we enter into rest, heaven begins
here. We respond to His invitation, Come, learn of Me, and in
thus coming we begin the life eternal. Heaven is a ceaseless
approaching to God through Christ. The longer we are in the
heaven of bliss, the more and still more of glory will be opened
to us; and the more we know of God, the more intense will be our
happiness. As we walk with Jesus in this life, we may be filled
with His love, satisfied with His presence. All that human nature
can bear, we may receive here. But what is this compared with the
hereafter?” — DA 331-332.
ccc
Your brother in Christ,
Pastor Michael O. Hodges
FORERUNNER ministries
Home church (since 1983)
Permission is hereby given to reprint any
of these studies and articles provided that they are duplicated
in their entirety without any change or comment.
Copyright 2003.