Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward. Deuteronomy 2:3.
“Go forward” was the word of the Lord to Israel as they stood with the Red Sea before them and Pharaoh’s host pressing hard after them. They obeyed, and as Moses smote the waters with his rod, lo, they parted and stood up on one side as a wall, making a path over which the people passed in safety. With faith and trust let us go forward in the word that the Lord has given us, assured that He will be with us as our Helper and Protector.
Go forward, not in self-sufficiency and self-exaltation, yet filled with faith and hope and courage. Angels of God are guarding His faithful ones. If they keep the way of the Lord, they will receive all needed help. Much of the Lord’s work has, in the beginning, been small, despised by those who desire to see it carried forward from the first with strength and importance. But the Lord must test His workers, many of whom are not able to bear success, who should it come to them, would exalt self.
Let God be praised and magnified. Let men walk in humility before Him, glorifying Him, not themselves. Those who work most successfully for God are those who are much in prayer, who place their entire dependence on Him.
In many cases the dearth of means felt is in accordance with God’s plan, that His work may be carried forward in the same way that the Majesty of heaven carried it forward. Economy, self-denial, and self-sacrifice are ever to be revealed. Until the end of time the church will have to strive with difficulties, that God’s work may stand out pure and clean, untainted with fraud or intrigue. Every institution God will cleanse by driving out the buyers and sellers.
Believe in God, and walk in His counsel. You may be permitted to struggle with difficulties, and then the Lord reveals His power and wisdom in answer to humble prayer. Have confidence in Him as a prayer-hearing, prayer-answering God…. He will reveal Himself to you as a God who can help in every emergency….
The ministry of the Word does not rest merely upon those who preach the Word, but upon all who read and hear the Word. The hearts of God’s people are to be so filled with the love of Christ that their words of thanksgiving and praise will warm other hearts in need of help. This is service that all can perform, and the Lord accepts it as offered to Himself. He makes it efficacious, by imparting to the earnest worker the grace that reconciles man to God.—Manuscript 158, December 14, 1902, “Fragments.”
The Upward Look p. 362
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Esther who is 39 weeks pregnant as of tomorrow. She fell and broke her shoulder on Friday. This will make labor and delivery and caring for a newborn difficult. Rose
—-Please pray for my brothers, Alex and John, who have cancer. Now John also has covid. Pray also for his wife who is struggling with this. L
—-Please pray for Carl who is still recovering from surgery. B
—-Please pray for travelling mercies for Josh and Sarah. BD
—-Pray that God will heal David’s mind. Buck
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Dear Friends,
When I was a little girl, my mother and sometimes my aunt would take me to the carnival whenever it would come to town. The fair grounds were at that time only about a mile from my grandparents’ house, so it was not far to walk. Wide-eyed, I would gaze at rough looking men hawking their wares, look with amazement at the scary rides, beg to go on the little children’s rides that were more to my liking, spend way too much of my mother’s money “fishing” for some worthless prize, watching my mother shoot a rife and getting to choose a nice prize, standing aghast at a man swallow a sword, and other wonders that captivated my attention.
As we were walking along one time, my mother saw the House of Mirrors. Curious, she paid the entrance fee. When we got inside, there was a big room where there were mirrors of all types. When we stood in front of one, we looked very tall and skinny. Another one made us look very short and fat. Still another made us look misshapen. We laughed together as we looked at one another. Then we entered another part of the place which was a corridor of mirrors that wound round and round. Soon we were lost in that maze of mirrors. It was impossible to find our way out by sight. The mirrors were set up in such a way that we could see many reflections of ourselves, but not the way out. I felt panic-stricken! Before long, my mother began to panic too. Sensing her fear, frightened me even more. Finally, she stopped and thought. Then she began feeling her way along the maze. That worked! Once on the outside, we determined never to enter a maze of mirrors again.
How often our life is like that maze of mirrors. Without our Great Redeemer’s guidance, we become lost in the tangle of trials and troubles of our own making. Without His special leading, we can get ourselves into circumstances where there seems to be no way out. The more we try to extricate ourselves from the situation, the deeper we go into the “maze of mirrors” we are in.
There is only one way of escape. If we ask Him, Jesus will help us disentangle ourselves from the mess we have gotten ourselves into. All we need to do is ask Him. Our Dear Saviour promises, “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” Psa 32:8 Praise God! He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life!” John 14:6 No matter what our circumstance, no matter how deeply we are ensnared in our own “house of mirrors,” if we cry unto the Lord in our trouble, He will save us out of all of our distresses, deliver us from self-destructive path we are traveling, teach us His way, and make a plain path for our feet.
While the door of mercy is still open, may we allow our Loving Saviour to take complete control and guide us through this maze of life. May we declare as did David, “Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.” Ps 73:24 May we continually “follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth” is my prayer. Rev 14:4
Rose