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When in Trial, Review God’s Great Mercy, July 21
Uphold my steps in Your paths, that my footsteps may not slip. I have called
upon You, for You will hear me, O God; incline Your ear to me, and hear my
speech.
Psalm 17:5, 6
, NKJV.
The Lord directed Moses to recount to the children of Israel His dealings
with them in their deliverance from Egypt and their wonderful preservation in the
wilderness. He was to call to mind their unbelief and murmuring when brought into
trial, and the Lord’s great mercy and loving-kindness, which had never forsaken
them. This would stimulate their faith and strengthen their courage....
It is just as essential that the people of God in this day should bear in mind
how and when they have been tested, and where their faith has failed; where they
have imperiled His cause by their unbelief and also by their self-confidence. God’s
mercy, His sustaining providence, His never-to-be-forgotten deliverances, are to be
recounted, step by step.
As God’s people thus review the past, they should see that the Lord is ever
repeating His dealings. They should understand the warnings given, and should
beware not to repeat their mistakes. Renouncing all self-dependence, they are to
trust in Him to save them from again dishonoring His name. In every victory that
Satan gains, souls are imperiled. Some become the subjects of his temptations,
never to recover themselves....
God sends trials to prove who will stand faithful under temptation. He brings all
into trying positions to see if they will trust in a power out of and above themselves.
Everyone has undiscovered traits of character that must come to light through
trial. God allows those who are self-sufficient to be sorely tempted, that they may
understand their helplessness.
When trials come to us; when we can see before us, not an increase of prosperity,
but a pressure necessitating sacrifice on the part of all, how shall we receive Satan’s
insinuation that we are to have a very hard time? If we listen to his suggestions,
unbelief in God will spring up.... We should look at the work He has done, the
reforms He has wrought. We should gather up the evidences of Heaven’s blessings,
the tokens for good, saying: “Lord, we believe in Thee, in Thy servants, and in Thy
work.”—
Testimonies for the Church 7:210, 211
.
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