PUT YOUR FAITH IN GOD TO WORK
Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.--Hebrews 11:6
The [Israelites] were sluggish and selfish. The Lord did not call them "My people," because they had not shown themselves willing in the day of their opportunity. They had not obeyed promptly the word of the Lord. They made pleas for delay. They tried to present a reason why they should delay. They were ingenious in framing excuses. They had begun, but they were broken off in their work because of the hindrance of their enemies. This, they reasoned, proved that it was not the proper time to build. They declared that the Lord had interposed difficulties to reprove their hot haste. But they had no real excuse for leaving the work.
When the heaviest objections were raised, this was the time to build. Their real motive was a selfish dislike to go to extra trouble and expense and encounter danger by arousing the opposition of their enemies. They did not possess that faith that is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. They did not want to move by faith, but to walk out by sight, and no further. Therefore they were easily turned aside from the work.
This history will be repeated. There will be religious failures because men have not faith. When they look at the things that are seen, impossibilities present themselves, but God knows nothing of impossibilities. The great work of God will advance only by the push of faith. (Manuscript 116, October 3, 1897)
REFLECTION: The work of grace upon the heart is not an instantaneous work. It is effected by continuous, daily watching and believing the promises of God. The repentant, believing one, who cherishes faith and earnestly desires the renewing grace of Christ, God will not turn away empty. He will give him grace. And ministering angels will aid him as he perseveres in his efforts to advance. (Evangelism, 287)
Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.--Hebrews 11:6
The [Israelites] were sluggish and selfish. The Lord did not call them "My people," because they had not shown themselves willing in the day of their opportunity. They had not obeyed promptly the word of the Lord. They made pleas for delay. They tried to present a reason why they should delay. They were ingenious in framing excuses. They had begun, but they were broken off in their work because of the hindrance of their enemies. This, they reasoned, proved that it was not the proper time to build. They declared that the Lord had interposed difficulties to reprove their hot haste. But they had no real excuse for leaving the work.
When the heaviest objections were raised, this was the time to build. Their real motive was a selfish dislike to go to extra trouble and expense and encounter danger by arousing the opposition of their enemies. They did not possess that faith that is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. They did not want to move by faith, but to walk out by sight, and no further. Therefore they were easily turned aside from the work.
This history will be repeated. There will be religious failures because men have not faith. When they look at the things that are seen, impossibilities present themselves, but God knows nothing of impossibilities. The great work of God will advance only by the push of faith. (Manuscript 116, October 3, 1897)
REFLECTION: The work of grace upon the heart is not an instantaneous work. It is effected by continuous, daily watching and believing the promises of God. The repentant, believing one, who cherishes faith and earnestly desires the renewing grace of Christ, God will not turn away empty. He will give him grace. And ministering angels will aid him as he perseveres in his efforts to advance. (Evangelism, 287)
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