Self-Confidence
275
discernment of the atonement of Christ, will give you a knowledge of
yourselves, and will show you wherein you fail to perfect Christian
character....
In a degree you overlook the necessity of having a divine influence
constantly with you. This is positively necessary in doing the work
of God. If you neglect this, and pass on in self-confidence and self-
sufficiency, you will be left to make very great blunders. You need
constantly to cherish lowliness of mind and a spirit of dependence.
He who feels his own weakness will look higher than himself, and
will feel the need of constant strength from above. The grace of God
will lead him to cherish a spirit of constant gratitude. He who is best
acquainted with his own weakness will know that it is the matchless
grace of God alone that triumphs over the rebellion of the heart.
You need to become acquainted with the weak as well as the strong
points in your characters, that you may be constantly guarded lest
you engage in enterprises and assume responsibilities for which God
has never designed you. You should not compare your actions and
measure your lives by any human standard, but with the rule of duty
revealed in the Bible....
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You are too dependent upon your surroundings. If you have a large
congregation, you are elated, and you desire to address them. But
sometimes your congregations diminish, your spirits sink, and you
have but little courage to labor. Surely, something is wanting. Your
hold upon God is not firm enough....
Christ sought for men wherever He could find them,—in the public
streets, in private houses, in the synagogues, by the seaside. He toiled
all day, preaching to the multitude, and healing the sick that were
brought to Him; and frequently, after He had dismissed the people that
they might return to their homes to rest and sleep, He spent the entire
night in prayer, to come forth and renew His labors in the morning....
You need to bring your soul into close communion with God by
earnest prayer mixed with living faith. Every prayer offered in faith lifts
the suppliant above discouraging doubts and human passions. Prayer
gives strength to renew the conflict with the powers of darkness, to
bear trials patiently, and to endure hardness as good soldiers of Christ.
While you take counsel with your doubts and fears, or try to solve
everything that you cannot see clearly before you have faith, your
perplexities will only increase and deepen. If you come to God, feeling