But you need not despair. You must be determined to believe,
although nothing seems true and real to you. I need not tell you it
is yourself that has brought you into this unenviable position. You
must win back your confidence in God and in your brethren. It is
for you to yield up your will to the will of Jesus Christ; and as you
do this, God will immediately take possession, and work in you to
will and to do of His good pleasure. Your whole nature will then
be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ; and even your
thoughts will be subject to Him.
You cannot control your impulses, your emotions, as you may
desire, but you can control the will, and you can make an entire
change in your life. By yielding up your will to Christ, your life will
be hid with Christ in God, and allied to the power which is above
all principalities and powers. You will have strength from God that
will hold you fast to His strength; and a new light, even the light of
living faith, will be possible to you. But your will must co-operate
with God’s will, not with the will of associates through whom Satan
[153] is constantly working to ensnare and destroy you.
Will you not, without delay, place yourself in right relation to
God? Will you not say, “I will give my will to Jesus, and I will
do it now,” and from this moment be wholly on the Lord’s side?
Disregard custom, and the strong clamoring of appetite and passion.
Give Satan no chance to say, “You are a wretched hypocrite.” Close
the door, so that Satan will not thus accuse and dishearten you. Say,
“I will believe, I do believe that God is my helper,” and you will find
that you are triumphant in God. By steadfastly keeping the will on
the Lord’s side, every emotion will be brought into captivity to the
will of Jesus. You will then find your feet on solid rock. It will take,
at times, every particle of will-power that you possess, but it is God
that is working for you, and you will come forth from the molding
process a vessel unto honor.
God’s Will and Man’s Will United
Talk faith. Keep on God’s side of the line. Set not your foot
on the enemy’s side, and the Lord will be your Helper. He will do
for you that which it is not possible for you to do for yourself. The
result will be that you will become like a “cedar of Lebanon.” Your
Exercise of the Will 139
life will be noble, and your works will be wrought in God. There
will be in you a power, an earnestness, and a simplicity that will
make you a polished instrument in the hands of God.
You need to drink daily at the fountain of truth, that you may
understand the secret of pleasure and joy in the Lord. But you must
remember that your will is the spring of all your actions. This will, [154]
that forms so important a factor in the character of man, was at
the fall given into the control of Satan; and he has ever since been
working in man to will and to do of his own pleasure, but to the utter
ruin and misery of man.
But the infinite sacrifice of God in giving Jesus, His beloved
Son, to become a sacrifice for sin, enables Him to say, without
violating one principle of His government, “Yield yourself up to
Me; give Me that will; take it from the control of Satan, and I will
take possession of it; then I can work in you to will and to do of
My good pleasure.” When He gives you the mind of Christ, your
will becomes as His will, and your character is transformed to be
like Christ’s character. Is it your purpose to do God’s will? Do you
wish to obey the Scriptures? “If any man will come after Me, let
him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
There is no such thing as following Christ unless you refuse
to gratify inclination and determine to obey God. It is not your
feelings, your emotions, that make you a child of God, but the doing
of God’s will. A life of usefulness is before you, if your will becomes
God’s will. Then you may stand in your God-given manhood, an
example of good works. You will then help to maintain rules of
discipline, instead of helping to break them down. You will then help
to maintain order, instead of despising it, and inciting to irregularity
of life by your own course of action.
I tell you in the fear of God, I know what you may be, if your
will is placed on the side of God. [155]
“We are laborers together with God,” You may be doing your
work for time and eternity in such a manner that it will stand the test
of the judgment. Will you try? Will you now turn square about?
You are the object of Christ’s love and intercession. Will you now
surrender to God, and help those who are placed as sentinels to
guard the interests of His work, instead of causing them grief and
discouragement?—Testimonies for the Church 5:513-516.
140 Messages to Young People
Special Effort Essential
God has appointed means, if we will use them diligently and
prayerfully, that no vessel shall be shipwrecked, but outride the
tempest and storm, and anchor in the haven of bliss at last. But if we
despise and neglect these appointments and privileges, God will not
work a miracle to save any of us, and we will be lost as were Judas
and Satan.
Do not think that God will work a miracle to save those weak
souls who cherish evil, who practice sin; or that some supernatural
element will be brought into their lives, lifting them out of self into
a higher sphere, where it will be comparatively easy work, without
any special effort, any special fighting, without any crucifixion of
self; because all who dally on Satan’s ground for this to be done will
perish with the evildoers. They will be suddenly destroyed, and that
without remedy.—Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers,
[156] 453.
Chapter 41—Divine Guidance
There are three ways in which the Lord reveals His will to us, to
guide us....
God reveals His will to us in His word, the Holy Scriptures.
His voice is also revealed in His providential workings; and it
will be recognized if we do not separate our souls from Him by
walking in our own ways, doing according to our own wills, and
following the promptings of an unsanctified heart, until the senses
have become so confused that eternal things are not discerned, and
the voice of Satan is so disguised that it is accepted as the voice of
God.
Another way in which God’s voice is heard, is through the appeals
of His Holy Spirit, making impressions upon the heart, which
will be wrought out in the character.
If you are in doubt upon any subject, you must first consult the
Scriptures. If you have truly begun the life of faith, you have given
yourself to the Lord, to be wholly His, and He has taken you to
mold and fashion according to His purpose, that you may be a vessel
unto honor. You should have an earnest desire to be pliable in His
hands, and to follow whithersoever He may lead you. You are then
trusting Him to work out His designs, while at the same time you
are co-operating with Him by working out your own salvation with
fear and trembling.—Testimonies for the Church 5:512.