Chapter 54—Moving Forward in Faith
To make no move that calls for the investment of means unless we
have the money in hand to complete the contemplated work, should
not always be considered the wisest plan. In the upbuilding of His
work, the Lord does not always make everything plain before His
servants. He sometimes tries the confidence of His people by having
them move forward in faith. Often He brings them into strait and trying
places, bidding them go forward when their feet seem to be touching
the waters of the Red Sea. It is at such times, when the prayers of His
servants ascend to Him in earnest faith, that He opens the way before
them, and brings them out into a large place.
The Lord wants His people in these days to believe that He will
do as great things for them as He did for the children of Israel in
their journey from Egypt to Canaan. We are to have an educated faith
that will not hesitate to follow His instructions in the most difficult
experiences. “Go forward” is the command of God to His people.
Faith and cheerful obedience are needed to bring the Lord’s designs
to pass. When He points out the necessity of establishing the work in
places where it will have influence, the people are to walk and work
by faith. By their godly conversation, their humility, their prayers and
earnest efforts, they should strive to bring the people to appreciate
the good work that the Lord has established among them. It was the
Lord’s purpose that the Loma Linda Sanitarium should become the
property of our people, and He brought it about at a time when the
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rivers of difficulty were full and overflowing their banks.
The working of private interests for the gaining of personal ends
is one thing. In this, men may follow their own judgment. But the
carrying forward of the Lord’s work in the earth is entirely another
matter. When He designates that a certain property should be secured
for the advancement of His cause and the building up of His work,
whether it be for sanitarium or school work, or for any other branch, He
will make the doing of that work possible, if those who have experience
will show their faith and trust in His purposes, and will move forward
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