Page 294 - That I May Know Him (1964)

Addressed to Me Personally, October 1
I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me; thou art my
help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God. Psalm 40:17.
Do not let your great need discourage you. The Saviour of sinners, the
Friend of the friendless, with compassion infinitely greater than that of a
tender mother for a loved and afflicted child, is inviting, “Look unto me,
and be ye saved” (Isaiah 45:22 ). “He was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon
him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5)....
There is danger of not making Christ’s teachings a personal matter, of
not receiving them as though they were addressed to us personally. In His
words of instruction Jesus means me. I may appropriate to myself His
merits, His death, His cleansing blood, as fully as though there were not
another sinner in the world for whom Christ died....
There are toils and conflicts and self-denials for us all. Not one will
escape them. We must tread the path where Jesus leads the way. It may be
in tears, in trials, in bereavements, in sorrow for sins, or in seeking for the
mastery over depraved desires, unbalanced characters, and unholy tempers.
It requires earnest effort to present ourselves a living sacrifice, holy and
acceptable to God. It takes the entire being. There is no chamber of the
mind where Satan can hold sway and carry out his devices. Self must be
crucified. Consecration, submission, and sacrifices must be made that will
seem like taking the very lifeblood from the heart.1
Will it make you sad to be buffeted, despised, derided, maligned of the
world? It ought not, for Jesus told us just how it would be. “If the world hate
you,” He says, “ye know that it hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18).
The apostle Paul, the great hero of faith, testifies: “For I reckon that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18). “For our light affliction,
which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17).2 [281]
1 The Review and Herald, July 22, 1884 .
2 Ibid.
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