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Peace, March 5
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the
peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts
and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6, 7
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The world’s Redeemer sought to bring to the hearts of the sorrowing
disciples the strongest solace. But from a large field of subjects, He chose the
theme of the Holy Spirit, which was to inspire and comfort their hearts. And
yet, though Christ made much of this theme concerning the Holy Spirit, how
little is it dwelt upon in the churches! The name and presence of the Holy
Spirit are almost ignored, yet the divine influence is essential in the work of
perfecting the Christian character.
Some are not at peace, not at rest; they are in a state of constant fretfulness,
and permit impulse and passion to rule their hearts. They know not what
it means to experience peace and rest in Christ. They are as a ship without
anchor, driven with the wind and tossed. But those whose minds are controlled
by the Holy Spirit walk in humility and meekness; for they work in Christ’s
lines, and will be kept in perfect peace, while those who are not controlled by
the Holy Spirit are like the restless sea.
The Lord has given us a divine directory by which we may know His
will. Those who are self-centered, self-sufficient, do not feel their need of
searching the Bible, and they are greatly disturbed if others do not have
the same defective ideas, and see with the same distorted vision that they
do. But he who is guided by the Holy Spirit has cast his anchor within
the veil wherein Jesus has entered for us. He searches the Scriptures with
eager earnestness, and seeks for light and knowledge to guide him amid
the perplexities and perils which at every step compass his path. Those
who are restless, complaining, murmuring, read the Bible for the purpose of
vindicating their own course of action, and they ignore or pervert the counsels
of God. He who has peace has placed his will on the side of God’s will, and
longs to follow the divine guidance.—
The Signs of the Times, August 14,
1893
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