October 7, 1897

“Trust in the Lord”

EGW

“In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.”ST October 7, 1897, par. 1

It is the privilege of every member of the family of God to know his will in regard to his course of action. The Lord would be sought unto by all who would be instructed and enlightened by the Holy Spirit. He is ready to commune with his people. He declares: “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. For I will not contend forever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made. For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and I smote him; I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. I create the fruit of the lips; peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him. But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it can not rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.”ST October 7, 1897, par. 2

Every individual must seek by earnest prayer to know the Word of God for himself, and then to do it. Only by daily putting his trust in God, and not in the arm of flesh, will any soul obtain the experience essential to answer the prayer of Christ, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”ST October 7, 1897, par. 3

“Come unto me,” is the invitation of Christ. By this he does not mean that we shall go to the next town or to the ends of the earth to learn what course to pursue. He desires us to trust in him as our present Helper, as One who will overrule all things for the best. “If any of you lack wisdom,” he says, “let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.”ST October 7, 1897, par. 4

“In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” This is the lesson given to every soul. The strength of every soul is in God and not in man. Quietness and confidence is to be the strength of all who give their hearts to God. In all our temporal concerns, in all our cares and anxieties, we need to wait upon the Lord. “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the sons of men,” is the word that comes to us. The Lord has united our hearts with his. If we love him, and are accepted in his service, we shall bring all our burdens to the Lord, and wait upon him. Then we shall have an individual experience, a conviction of his presence and his readiness to hear our prayer for wisdom and for instruction, that will give us assurance and confidence in his willingness to succor in perplexity.ST October 7, 1897, par. 5

God would have us rejoice, and praise him every day for the privilege granted us in the words of Christ: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” A kind and loving Friend and Father is overruling all things. And if this is true of individuals and nations, how much more of his church, his chosen ones.ST October 7, 1897, par. 6

The church is established, not on theories of men, not on long-drawn-out plans and forms. It is built on the Rock Christ Jesus, “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” This is the Rock upon which the church may build successfully. It is the living presence of God. The weakest may depend upon it. Those who think themselves the strongest may become the weakest unless they depend upon Christ, as their efficiency, their worthiness. As long as the members of the church shall through faith draw nourishment from Christ, and not from man's opinions and devisings and methods; if, having a conviction of the nearness of God in Christ, they put their entire trust in him, they will have a vital connection with Christ, as the branch has connection with the parent stock.ST October 7, 1897, par. 7

The Lord would have all come to him as their refuge. He would have them come to him for counsel and instruction, for comfort and for hope, in all their anxieties. To him you may tell all your griefs. You will never be told, “I can not help you.” To him all your troubles are worthy of consideration. You may have his help under every difficulty. You may, I may, the weakest one in all the ranks of believers may, trust in a loving, pitiful, faithful High Priest, who is touched with the feelings of our infirmities. He keeps us safe from Satan's power even while we are full of perplexities, discouragements, and trials. Every believer is to keep looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of his faith. All who will do this, will work calmly and quietly, as if in view of the whole heavenly universe. They will trust to no man's opinion of their virtues, but feeling an individual responsibility resting upon them in temporal and eternal things, they will put their trust in God.ST October 7, 1897, par. 8

“Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday; and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.” “Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”ST October 7, 1897, par. 9

The Elder Brother of our race is by the eternal throne. He looks upon every soul who is turning his face toward him as his Saviour. He knows by experience what are the weaknesses of humanity, what are their wants, and where lies the strength of their temptations. The weakness of our human nature will not bar our access to the heavenly Father; for Christ was tempted in all points like as we are, “yet without sin.”ST October 7, 1897, par. 10

Christ has not a casual interest in us. His love for us is stronger than that of a mother for her child. Says the prophet, “Can a woman forget her sucking child? ... yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.” Our Saviour has purchased us by human suffering and sorrow. He suffered insult, reproach, abuse, mockery, rejection, and death. God is near in Christ's atoning sacrifice, in his intercession, his loving, tender, ruling power over his church. Seated by the eternal throne, he watches his children with intense interest. He is watching over you, trembling child of God. He will make you secure under his protection. His promises are: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee.” “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.” “They that wait on the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which can not be moved, but abideth forever.”ST October 7, 1897, par. 11

Mrs. E. G. White