In Times of Weakness, Trust in God

If, under difficult circumstances, people of spiritual power who are pressed beyond measure become discouraged, this is nothing strange or new. One of the mightiest of the prophets ran for his life from the rage of an infuriated woman. Bitter disappointment crushed the spirits of the weary fugitive, and he asked that he might die. But when hope was gone and his lifework seemed threatened with defeat, he learned the possibility of trusting God under circumstances that seemed the most unlikely to turn out well.RR 61.3

Those who, while spending their life energies in self-sacrificing labor, are tempted to give way to hopelessness may gather courage from the experience of Elijah. God’s watchful care, His love, His power, are especially revealed in behalf of His servants when people reject their counsels and reproofs and repay their efforts toward reform with hatred and opposition.RR 61.4

At the time of greatest weakness Satan attacks the believer with the fiercest temptations. In this way he hoped to prevail over the Son of God, for by this method he had gained many victories over others. When willpower weakened and faith failed, then those who had stood long and valiantly for the right yielded to temptation. Wearied with forty years of wandering and unbelief, Moses failed just on the borders of the Promised Land. Elijah had maintained his trust in Jehovah during the years of drought, but in a moment of weariness he allowed the fear of death to overcome his faith in God.RR 61.5

So it is today. When we are awash in doubt or afflicted by poverty or distress, Satan seeks to shake our confidence in Jehovah. He tempts us to distrust God, to question His love. He hopes to discourage us and break our hold on God.RR 61.6

Those who stand in the forefront of the conflict will frequently feel a reaction when the pressure is off. Discouragement may shake the faith and weaken the will. But God understands. He still pities and loves. He reads the motives of the heart. To wait patiently, to trust when everything looks dark, is the lesson that leaders in God’s work need to learn. Heaven will not fail them in tribulation. Nothing is apparently more helpless, yet really more invincible, than the soul that feels its nothingness and relies entirely on God.RR 61.7

He who was Elijah’s strength is well able to uphold every struggling child of His, no matter how weak. To everyone He grants power according to the need. In the might of God we may overcome evil and help others to overcome. Satan can never gain advantage over us if we make God our defense.RR 62.1

Satan knows your weakness; therefore cling to Jesus. The righteousness of Christ can give you power to turn back the tide of evil sweeping over the world. Bring faith into your experience. Faith lightens every burden, relieves every weariness. By continued trust in God you may come to understand God’s workings that are now mysterious. The records of sacred history are written so that the same faith shown in God’s servants of old may work in us. The Lord will work now in no less remarkable a manner wherever there are hearts of faith to be channels of His power.RR 62.2

Christ will never abandon those for whom He died. We may leave Him and be overwhelmed with temptation, but Christ can never turn from one for whom He has paid the ransom with His own life. If our spiritual vision could be awakened, we would see people bent under oppression, burdened with grief, and ready to die in discouragement. We would see angels flying quickly to help these tempted ones, forcing back the hosts of evil. The battles between the two armies are real. Eternal destinies depend on the outcome of the spiritual conflict.RR 62.3

God’s messengers are not to feel that His work depends on them. He who never slumbers will carry forward His work. He will thwart the plans of the wicked and bring to confusion the counsels of those who plot evil against His people. He who is the King, the Lord of hosts, sits between the cherubim, and amid the strife and tumult of nations He still guards His children. When the arrows of His wrath strike through the hearts of His enemies, His people will be safe in His hands.RR 62.4