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Light Out of Darkness, December 5
Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in
the furnace of affliction.
Isaiah 48:10
.
All the words of consolation I may give you [
Letter written to Elder
J. N. Andrews, laboring in Europe, soon after the death of his daughter,
Mary.
] will not amount to much. You know the Source of your strength
and your consolation. You are not a stranger to Jesus and His love. You
are among many to whom life is a long conflict of pain and weariness and
disappointment. Hope deferred has made the heart sad, but this world is the
scene of our trials, our griefs, our sorrows. We are here to bear the test of
God. The fire of the furnace is to kindle till our dross is consumed and we
come forth as gold purified in the furnace of affliction. You may, my dear
brother, ponder upon the mysterious providence of God that has taken from
you the light of your eyes.
You feel that had it not been for this great loss you would be a compar-
atively happy man. But it may be that the very loss of your child here will
be to you, and not to you only but to many in Switzerland, for the saving
of souls. Light will come out of this darkness which to you at times seems
incomprehensible. “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be
the name of the Lord” (
Job 1:21
). Let this be the language of your heart. The
cloud of mercy is hovering over you and will break over your head even in
the darkest hour. God’s benefits to us are as numerous as the drops of rain
falling from the clouds upon the parched earth, to water and refresh it. The
mercy of God is over you....
The Lord loves you, my dear brother. He loves you. “The mountains
shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from
thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed” (
Isaiah 54:10
). “All
things work together for good to them that love God” (
Romans 8:28
). Could
your eyes be opened, you would see your heavenly Father bending over you
in love and could you hear His voice, it would be in tones of compassion to
you who are prostrate with suffering and affliction. Stand fast in His strength;
there is rest for you, the weary.—
Letter 71, December 5, 1878
, to J. N.
Andrews.
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