Olsen, O. A.
[Melbourne, Australia]
August 1892
Portions of this letter are published in ChL 76-77. +NoteOne or more typed copies of this document contain additional Ellen White handwritten interlineations which may be viewed at the main office of the Ellen G. White Estate.
Dear Brother Olsen,
Elder Olsen, of necessity you have many burdens to bear; but do not gather burdens and become crushed under them. The Lord does not mean to press weights on any one to crush out his life and forever stop his bearing any burdens. Our loving heavenly Father says to every one of His workers, “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee.” [Psalm 55:22.] Again comes the injunction, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” [1 Peter 5:7.] The Lord estimates every weight before He allows it to rest upon the heart of those who are laborers together with Him. Jesus has borne sorrows and burdens, and He knows just what they are. He has His eye upon every laborer. The Lord telleth the number of the stars, and yet “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.” [Psalm 147:3.] The Lord invites you to roll your burden on Him for He carries you on His heart. 7LtMs, Lt 41, 1892, par. 1
Then have real practical faith in Jesus, and believe He will carry every load great or small. You must take the anxieties to Jesus, and believe He takes them and bears them for you. I know that at this time you have many things pressing upon you, and I am glad that you do not spend more time than you do in Battle Creek, for many things will be rolled upon you, if you will allow them to be, that at present you cannot make better. Take them to Jesus, and lay them trustingly upon the Burden-Bearer. 7LtMs, Lt 41, 1892, par. 2
Jesus will not consent to bear our burdens unless we trust Him. He says, Come unto Me, all ye weary and heavy laden; give Me your load, trust Me. [Matthew 11:28.] You cannot renew a right spirit in man. You cannot give man a new heart. I, your Redeemer, will use you as My instrument. Will you trust Me to do the work which it is not possible for the human agent to do? 7LtMs, Lt 41, 1892, par. 3
Worry is blind and cannot discern the future. But Jesus sees the end from the beginning, and He has prepared His way to bring relief. “So much to do!” Yes; but who is the chief worker? Jesus Christ your Lord. He offers to lighten the loads we carry by putting Himself under the loads. Abiding in Christ, and Christ abiding in us, we can do all things through Him, who strengtheneth us. 7LtMs, Lt 41, 1892, par. 4
Now, my brother, don’t worry. Do not allow yourself to be kept up through unseasonable hours in committee meetings. You need rest for the brain, and you will break down unless you have rest. Reforms will have to be brought round in the holding of committee meetings, that those who are actors in those meetings will have clear, sharp thoughts, and can expedite the business. 7LtMs, Lt 41, 1892, par. 5
Committee meetings, as they are run by our people through the hours when men should rest the weary brain, are destructive to the mental, physical, and moral powers. Then have it understood that those who come to the committee meetings come with the thought that they are to meet with God who has given them their work, that it is a sin to waste moments in unimportant conversation, for you are doing the Lord’s business, and must do the same in a most business-like, perfect way. Let all understand that there is to be no trifling. Every one should come to these meetings in a consecrated, devotional frame of mind, because important matters are to be considered in relation to the cause of God. 7LtMs, Lt 41, 1892, par. 6
This work is to be done after His own order, and if men have been elected to the grave responsibility of having a voice, and exerting an influence in the accomplishment of this great work, let their actions in every particular show that they recognize their responsibility and accountability to understand the will of the Lord as far as it is possible. 7LtMs, Lt 41, 1892, par. 7
If a person comes to these meetings with a careless, irreverent manner, let him be reminded that he is in the presence of a witness by whom all actions are weighed. Let none come to these meetings with a hard, cold, critical, loveless spirit, for they may do great harm. 7LtMs, Lt 41, 1892, par. 8
I have been shown that these committee meetings are not always pleasing to God. A spirit is brought into the meetings by some which savors more of the spirit of the prince of darkness than the Spirit of the Prince of Life and Light. They have had a presence with them to keep them on the wrong side. Oh, what a record has passed into the books of heaven of some of the council and committee meetings! How Satan has exulted! 7LtMs, Lt 41, 1892, par. 9
Servants of God have been in attendance. They needed rest of mind, they needed sleep. “For so he giveth his beloved sleep” [Psalm 127:2], but the unfeeling, hard manner of some on the committee who were destitute of the love and spirit of Christ, has distressed and burdened the burden-bearers until they have been nearly crushed to death. They have wept and prayed, and carried a load of anxiety. Now, my brother, I have been shown of the Lord that He does not require sacrifice in this line. Life is too precious in His sight to be imperilled in this way. When things are in this order, you cannot cure them. Leave the load on the Lord and wait. 7LtMs, Lt 41, 1892, par. 10
Elder Olsen, the Lord does not require of you to sacrifice your life as did your brother. We must work as reasonable men. Our bodies have been purchased by the infinite price of the Son of God. “Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20. 7LtMs, Lt 41, 1892, par. 11
Thank God with soul and voice, and say, “I thank God that I am alive; I thank God for my reason; I thank God for physical strength that I may speak and act under His supervision. I will not overtax my God-given powers. I will not feel that I can do the work which the Lord God of heaven alone is able to accomplish, and will do if I do not get in the way and consider myself able to do the grand work which God alone can do. I should exhaust all my bank stock of reserve force, break down my mental and physical powers, and be useless if I thought I could do it all.” 7LtMs, Lt 41, 1892, par. 12
Don’t worry. Things will go wrong in the office because of unconsecrated workers. You may shed tears over the result of this, but don’t worry. The blessed Master has all His work from end to end under His masterly supervision. All He asks is that the workers shall come to Him for their orders and obey His directions. Everything—our churches, our missions, our Sabbath-schools, our institutions, are carried upon His divine heart. Why worry? The intense longing to see the church as a living and shining light, as God designs it shall be, must be tempered with entire trust in God, for “Without me,” says Christ, “ye can do nothing.” [John 15:5.] “Follow me,” says Jesus. 7LtMs, Lt 41, 1892, par. 13
He must lead the way, we must follow. Christ dwelling in the soul will prompt to proper action. Empty, weak, worthless as we feel ourselves to be, the Holy Spirit of God is working through the human instrumentality for the saving of many souls. Hearts that were stored with pollution have become vessels unto honor, habitations for God. “Not unto us, O God, not unto us, but unto thy name be all the glory.” [Psalm 115:1.] We are nothingness of ourselves, but the Lord God is everything; He is all and in all. 7LtMs, Lt 41, 1892, par. 14