Wessels, Brother and Sister [J. J.]
St. Helena, California
September 25, 1907
Previously unpublished.
Mr. J. J. Wessels
Paradise Valley Sanitarium
National City, California
Dear Brother and Sister Wessels:
I sincerely hope that you will not become discouraged. There are some things that we cannot now comprehend; but the Lord will help us to understand them sometime. The Lord is trying and testing you. Do not become discouraged under trial. You have not always stood the test, but the Lord is seeking to give you an experience that will be of value to you in your future work. 22LtMs, Lt 326, 1907, par. 1
I have been over this ground so many times, both during my husband’s lifetime and since then, that I have learned to understand the meaning of God’s dealings with His people. He sends these experiences to us because [He has] lessons to teach us that we have not yet learned. It is our privilege under trial to be beautified by patience and to learn to devote all our affections and powers to God. He understands our weaknesses, and He will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able to bear. In our experiences in the message, my husband and I learned to devote all our powers to God and to leave the results with Him. We learned the lesson of trust in God. 22LtMs, Lt 326, 1907, par. 2
The church of God is passing through a time of severe trial. Some are departing from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. We have not been left in darkness that this time should come upon us unawares. Christ gave us warning of it, that when it should come, His people might realize that the Lord understands all about their experiences and be comforted with the assurance that He will not leave them to the will of the enemy. 22LtMs, Lt 326, 1907, par. 3
The Lord has been proving many who have failed of enduring the test and have been led from the truth. We have abundant evidence that the Lord is training and disciplining His people; if they will submit to His schooling, He will enable them to work out an experience that will be more precious than gold or precious stones. The Lord is proving you, Brother Wessels. You are bearing the test nobly; do not fail or be discouraged. 22LtMs, Lt 326, 1907, par. 4
Christ is to be the life of the believer; His life is to be repeated in the Christian. Christ was a manifestation of the Father. The knowledge and glory of God was revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. Let us behold His character by studying His Word and be changed into His divine likeness. 22LtMs, Lt 326, 1907, par. 5
I have had some very definite things presented to me in reference to the Paradise Valley Sanitarium. Propositions will be made by some that will reveal that those who made them do not comprehend the work that is to be done by that institution. The incompetency of some of the physicians who have been connected with the Paradise Valley Sanitarium has caused discouragement to the work there. 22LtMs, Lt 326, 1907, par. 6
All who have a part in the closing work of God will have trials and perplexities to meet. Let us meet them in the grace of Christ, and they will be the means of fitting us to inhabit the mansions the Lord has gone to prepare for them that love Him. O why do we not appreciate more than we do the excellence there is for us in Christ Jesus. 22LtMs, Lt 326, 1907, par. 7
My prayer for our workers in our sanitariums is that they may stand on high and sacred ground. Those who engage to act a part in sanitarium work pledge themselves to be missionaries in the highest sense of the word. They are so to live that their influence will gather souls to see and partake of Christ’s excellent glory. There are precious lessons to be learned at the feet of Jesus. O that all our workers might learn the lesson of close fellowship with the Father and the Son. 22LtMs, Lt 326, 1907, par. 8
Through the work of our sanitariums, if it is done in the fear and love of God, a class of people will be reached with the present truth who could be reached in no other way. Through these institutions many souls are to become acquainted with the precious truths of the Word of God. I earnestly desire that physicians and ministers, nurses and helpers shall sit at the feet of Jesus and learn of Him how to reveal the grace of Christ in the character. Let our religion be a pure religion. I greatly desire to see this sanitarium, which has cost us so many burdens, running prosperously and fulfilling the mission for which it was established. 22LtMs, Lt 326, 1907, par. 9
May the Lord bless you, my brother and sister. I shall hope to see you at the meeting at Los Angeles. Love to you all. 22LtMs, Lt 326, 1907, par. 10