Do Not Give Up
You must hold fast to those whom you are trying to help, or victory will never be yours. They will be continually tempted to evil. Again and again they will be almost overcome by the craving for strong drink. Again and again they may fall. But do not, because of this, cease your efforts.MHH 91.4
They have decided to make an effort to live for Christ, but their will power is weakened, hence they must be carefully guarded by those who watch for souls as they that must give an account. They have lost their self-respect and nobility as human beings, and this they must win back. Many have to battle against strong hereditary tendencies to evil. Unnatural cravings, sensual impulses, were their inheritance from birth. These must be carefully guarded against. Within and without, good and evil are striving for the mastery. Those who have never passed through such experiences cannot know the almost overmastering power of appetite or the fierceness of the conflict between habits of self-indulgence and the determination to be temperate in all things. Over and over the battle must be fought.MHH 91.5
Many who are drawn to Christ will not have moral courage to continue the warfare against appetite and passion. But the worker must not be discouraged by this. Is it only those rescued from the lowest depths that backslide?MHH 92.1
Remember that you do not work alone. Ministering angels unite in service with every truehearted son and daughter of God. And Christ is the Restorer. The Great Physician Himself stands beside His faithful workers, saying to the repentant soul, “Your sins are forgiven you.” Mark 2:5.MHH 92.2
Many are the outcasts who will grasp the hope set before them in the gospel and will enter the kingdom of heaven, while others who were blessed with great opportunities and great light that they did not improve will be left in outer darkness.MHH 92.3
The victims of evil habits must be aroused to the necessity of making an effort for themselves. Others may put forth the most earnest endeavor to uplift them, the grace of God may be freely offered, Christ may entreat, His angels may minister, but all will be in vain unless they themselves are roused to fight the battle in their own behalf.MHH 92.4
The last words of David to Solomon, then a young man, and soon to receive the crown of Israel, were, “‘Be strong, ... and prove yourself a man.’” 1 Kings 2:2. To every child of humanity—candidate for an immortal crown—are these words of inspiration spoken, “Be strong, ... and prove yourself a man.”MHH 92.5
The self-indulgent must be led to see and feel that great moral renovation is necessary if they would become Christlike. God calls upon them to arouse and in the strength of Christ win back the God-given nobility that has been sacrificed through sinful indulgence.MHH 92.6
Feeling the terrible power of temptation, the drawing of desire that leads to indulgence, many people cry in despair, “I cannot resist evil.” Tell them that they can, that they must, resist. They may have been overcome again and again, but it need not be always thus. They are weak in moral power, controlled by the habits of a life of sin. Their promises and resolutions are like ropes of sand. The knowledge of their broken promises and forfeited pledges weakens their confidence in their own sincerity and causes them to feel that God cannot accept them or work with their efforts. But they need not despair.MHH 92.7
Those who put their trust in Christ are not to be enslaved by any hereditary or cultivated habit or tendency. Instead of being held in bondage to the lower nature, they are to rule every appetite and passion. God has not left us to battle against evil with only finite strength. Whatever may be our inherited or cultivated tendencies to wrong, we can overcome through the power that He is ready to impart.MHH 92.8