Fear
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life experience. Faith grows strong in earnest conflict with doubt and
fear.—
Testimonies for the Church 4:116, 117
(1876).
Fear Reveals Unbelief—As Jesus rested by faith in the Father’s
care, so we are to rest in the care of our Saviour. If the disciples
had trusted in Him, they would have been kept in peace. Their fear
in the time of danger revealed their unbelief. In their efforts to save
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themselves, they forgot Jesus; and it was only when, in despair of
self-dependence, they turned to Him that He could give them help.
How often the disciples’ experience is ours! When the tempests
of temptation gather, and the fierce lightnings flash, and the waves
sweep over us, we battle with the storm alone, forgetting that there
is One who can help us. We trust to our own strength till our hope
is lost, and we are ready to perish. Then we remember Jesus, and if
we call upon Him to save us, we shall not cry in vain. Though He
sorrowfully reproves our unbelief and self-confidence, He never fails
to give us the help we need. Whether on the land or on the sea, if we
have the Saviour in our hearts, there is no need of fear. Living faith
in the Redeemer will smooth the sea of life and will deliver us from
danger in the way that He knows to be best.—
The Desire of Ages,
336
(1898).
Perilous to Manifest Fear in Sickroom—Those who minister to
the sick should understand the importance of careful attention to the
laws of health. Nowhere is obedience to these laws more important
than in the sickroom. Nowhere does so much depend upon faithfulness
in little things on the part of the attendants. In cases of serious illness,
a little neglect, a slight inattention to a patient’s special needs or
dangers, the manifestation of fear, excitement, or petulance, even a
lack of sympathy, may turn the scale that is balancing life and death
and cause to go down to the grave a patient who otherwise might have
recovered.—
The Ministry of Healing, 219
(1905).
Fear Grieves the Holy Spirit—Faith takes God at His word, not
asking to understand the meaning of the trying experiences that come.
But there are many who have little faith. They are always fearing
and borrowing trouble. Every day they are surrounded by the tokens
of God’s love, every day they enjoy the bounties of His providence;
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but they overlook these blessings. And the difficulties they encounter,
instead of driving them to God, separate them from Him, by arousing
unrest and repining.... Jesus is their Friend. All heaven is interested