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Courage in the Lord, September 9
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and
of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7
.
Gird on the armor of the Lord.... Opposition will come. Unbelief will be
manifested by those who do not encourage faith and hope. When you cannot tell
which way to turn, rest the whole matter with God. Encourage in your heart the
faith that works by love and purifies the soul....
The Lord has a work for you somewhere, but wherever that field may be, do
not make an incomplete work of your consecration. Strive earnestly to glorify
God, who has given His only begotten Son to save you. When you teach the Word,
keep to the affirmative, and let the melting mercy of the love of God into your
heart, and the quickening influence of His Holy Spirit into your mind....
Be of good courage in the Lord.... Now is our time to pray and to believe
and to do earnest work before the church, the means of higher education, and the
agency of the Holy Spirit. That agency is truly for your life. Christ, the Chief
Physician, has the only wisdom that can apply the unfailing remedy.
I am instructed by the Holy Spirit to say, “All who believe the truth are to
be the Lord’s messengers.” As disciples they are to learn continually of Christ,
how to lift up their thoughts, to enlarge their expectations, and to have the loftiest
conceptions of His excellence and grace, that the endowment of His Holy Spirit
may compensate for the loss of His personal presence. This the Saviour sought to
impress on the minds of His disciples.
Let there be more earnest prayer in seeking the Lord. “Every one,” said Christ,
“that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth” (
Luke 11:10
). I am enjoined to
urge upon every teacher of the gospel the need of multiplying and enlarging their
conceptions of what Christ will be to them in carrying responsibilities. Capabilities
increase wonderfully under the Holy Spirit’s power....
Will you seek the Lord most earnestly? Pray, pray as humble seekers. Do not
put your ingenuity to work to prove that others are evil, but tell them in tenderness
to probe deeply their own sinful hearts, and pray that the Lord will purge the soul
temple of sins. Let each confess his own sins; then may he draw nigh with full
assurance of faith.—
Letter 296, September 9, 1906
, to O. A. Olsen, at the time
secretary of the North American Foreign Department of the General Conference.
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