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we are in great peril, for Satan will always rule the will that is not
under the control of the Spirit of God. When we place our will in
unison with the will of God, the holy obedience that was exemplified
in the life of Christ will be seen in our lives.—MS 48, 1899. (HC 107.)
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The Will to Be Directed by a Pure Conscience—Inward peace
and a conscience void of offense toward God will quicken and invigo-
rate the intellect like dew distilled upon the tender plants. The will is
then rightly directed and controlled, and is more decided, and yet free
from perverseness.—
Testimonies for the Church 2:327
(1869).
The Will Determines Life or Death—Eternity alone can reveal
the glorious destiny to which man, restored to God’s image, may attain.
In order for us to reach this high ideal, that which causes the soul to
stumble must be sacrificed. It is through the will that sin retains its
hold upon us. The surrender of the will is represented as plucking out
the eye or cutting off the hand. Often it seems to us that to surrender
the will to God is to consent to go through life maimed or crippled
God is the fountain of life, and we can have life only as we are in
communion with Him.... If you cling to self, refusing to yield your
will to God, you are choosing death....
It will require a sacrifice to give yourself to God; but it is a sacrifice
of the lower for the higher, the earthly for the spiritual, the perishable
for the eternal. God does not design that our will should be destroyed,
for it is only through its exercise that we can accomplish what He
would have us do. Our will is to be yielded to Him that we may
receive it again, purified and refined, and so linked in sympathy with
the Divine that He can pour through us the tides of His love and
power.—
Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 61, 62
(1896).
To Understand True Force of Will (counsel to an unstable
young man)—You will be in constant peril until you understand the
true force of the will. You may believe and promise all things, but
your promises or your faith are of no value until you put your will on
the side of faith and action. If you fight the fight of faith with all your
willpower, you will conquer. Your feelings, your impressions, your
emotions, are not to be trusted, for they are not reliable.—
Testimonies
for the Church 5:513
(1889).
[694]
You Can Control Will—But you need not despair.... It is for you
to yield up your will to the will of Jesus Christ, and as you do this God
will immediately take possession and work in you to will and to do of