Hope

Certainty in an Uncertain World

By Mark A. Finley

If you could choose a single word to describe the mindset of this generation, what would it be? I would choose the word uncertainty. More people seem uncertain about the future than ever before. They are uncertain whether some senseless terrorist attack or hostile nation will suddenly snuff out their lives. They are uncertain about whether we will suddenly be wiped off the face of the earth by nuclear war, or whether global warming will destroy us first.

For millions this sense of uncertainty is extremely personal. They are uncertain where their next meal is coming from or where they will sleep tonight. People are uncertain about their health, their marriages, and their future. Deep within the fabric of their beings, down inside where it really counts, they feel troubled about what might happen next. They have a sense of unease about what is coming on this world. They are seriously concerned about what kind of world their children will grow up in and where society is headed.

Moral principles once taken for granted are being seriously questioned today. The moral foundation of society appears to be crumbling. Very little is certain. Many have lost hope in a bright tomorrow and a positive future. Someone has said, “You can live days without food, hours without water, minutes without air, but no time at all without hope.”

Desperate People Do Desperate Things

The general unrest in our society, this inner sense that something is not right and little seems certain, this fear about the future, has created a sense of hopelessness. This hopelessness has led millions to experience major depression, which affects 20 percent of the world’s population at some point in their lives. The World Health Organization predicts that by 2020, depression will rival heart disease as the health disorder with the highest disease burden in the world. One person dies by suicide approximately every 40 seconds somewhere in the world, and global suicide rates have increased 60% in the past 45 years.

Antidepressants produce around $6 billion in worldwide sales annually. In the United States alone, medical professionals fill over 270 million prescriptions for these medications each year. In desperation, many people turn to alcohol, and according to the World Health Organization, about 140 million people throughout the world suffer from alcohol-related disorders.  

Hope Makes a Difference

When we lose hope, dark clouds of despair hang over our heads. The future appears gloomy and uncertain. But hope leads us from what is to what can be. Hope paints tomorrow in bright colors. It lifts our spirits from the mud below to the heavens above. William Shakespeare wrote, “The miserable have no other medicine, but only hope.” 

Hope is not some vague longing for a better future. Hope is not baseless desire lacking real certainty or assurance. The ancient scriptures present hope as a strong, confident expectation based on the unchangeable promises of God. The apostle Paul, writing in the Bible book of Romans, states that “whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

The promises of God reveal hope for today, tomorrow, and forever. They speak with certainty in an uncertain world. They speak hope to our troubled minds and peace to our anxious spirits.  

The Bible reveals that God created each one of us in His image, and He longs for us to live joyful, abundant lives (Genesis 1:27; John 10:10). We are His special possession. He promises to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5, 6).

Although we face challenges and life might not go as we planned or desired, the promises of God are sure. The ancient prophet Isaiah gives us this assurance: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3). The prophet continues with these words of encouragement: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). 

Our happiness is not based on the illusionary idea that nothing bad will ever happen to us, or the mythical dream that each day is brighter than the day before. In reality bad things do often happen to good people.

We live in a broken world. Sickness, suffering, poverty, and disease afflict both the righteous and the unrighteous. But here is the difference: those who put their faith in God are filled with hope. We anchor our hope in a God who will never let us down (Hebrews 6:18). Hope is rooted in a God who suffers with us in our trials and difficulties (Isaiah 63:9). It has as its foundation a Christ who once lived in human flesh, who understands us and strengthens us in all our trials (Hebrews 4:15). He identifies with us in our tears. He came to provide us with the hope of a better tomorrow. Through Christ the gift of eternal life is ours (John 3:16). He is our hope (1 Timothy 1:1). By faith, as we grasp the gift of eternal life that He so freely offers, we look beyond the problems of this life to the eternal fellowship and everlasting joy that He graciously offers us.

Hope’s Two Great Events

The entire Bible focuses on two great events—the first and second coming of Christ. He came once to redeem us from the guilt, condemnation, and consequences of sin. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). He will come again to deliver us from the presence of sin. One day Jesus will return in glory to take us home. He declared, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).

Today let your heart be filled with hope. One day soon Jesus will come and end the heartaches and trials. The challenges and difficulties of life will be over, and we will live with Him forever. In an uncertain world, His promises are sure. Why not right now bow your head and thank Him for His wonderful promises, praying this simple prayer? 

Dear Jesus,

Just now I open my heart to You. Fill me with a sense of certainty that Your promises are true. Help me grasp them personally and live in the hope of salvation through Jesus Christ and the assurance that You are with me daily to strengthen and encourage me. By faith I believe I can live with a heart filled with hope, confident that one day soon You are coming to take me home to joyfully live with You forever. 

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Power

Feeling Our Spiritual Need

And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. Luke 18:13.

We should be often in prayer. The outpouring of the Spirit of God came in answer to earnest prayer. But mark this fact concerning the disciples. The record says, “They were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:1-4).

They were not assembled to relate tidbits of scandal. They were not seeking to expose every stain they could find on a brother’s character. They felt their spiritual need, and cried to the Lord for the holy unction to help them in overcoming their own infirmities, and to fit them for the work of saving others. They prayed with intense earnestness that the love of Christ might be shed abroad in their hearts.

This is our great need today in every church in our land. For “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). That which was objectionable in the character is purified from the soul by the love of Jesus. All selfishness is expelled, all envy, all evil-speaking, is rooted out, and a radical transformation is wrought in the heart. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22, 23). “The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace” (James 3:18).

Paul says that “as touching the law”—as far as outward acts were concerned—he was “blameless,” but when the spiritual character of the law was discerned, when he looked into the holy mirror, he saw himself a sinner. Judged by a human standard, he had abstained from sin, but when he looked into the depths of God’s law, and saw himself as God saw him, he bowed in humiliation, and confessed his guilt.—The Review and Herald, July 22, 1890. 

From The Devotional Ye Shall Receive Power

Elijah

And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. 1 Kings 18:21.

Among the mountains of Gilead, east of the Jordan, there dwelt in the days of Ahab a man of faith and prayer whose fearless ministry was destined to check the rapid spread of apostasy in Israel. Far removed from any city of renown, and occupying no high station in life, Elijah the Tishbite nevertheless entered upon his mission confident in God’s purpose to prepare the way before him and to give him abundant success. The word of faith and power was upon his lips, and his whole life was devoted to the work of reform. His was the voice of one crying in the wilderness to rebuke sin and press back the tide of evil. And while he came to the people as a reprover of sin, his message offered the balm of Gilead to the sin-sick souls of all who desired to be healed.

As Elijah saw Israel going deeper and deeper into idolatry, his soul was distressed and his indignation aroused. God had done great things for His people. He had delivered them from bondage and given them “the lands of the heathen: ... that they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws” (Psalm 105:44, 45). But the beneficent designs of Jehovah were now well-nigh forgotten. Unbelief was fast separating the chosen nation from the Source of their strength.

Viewing this apostasy from his mountain retreat, Elijah was overwhelmed with sorrow. In anguish of soul he besought God to arrest the once-favored people in their wicked course, to visit them with judgments, if need be, that they might be led to see in its true light their departure from Heaven. He longed to see them brought to repentance before they should go to such lengths in evil-doing as to provoke the Lord to destroy them utterly.—Prophets and Kings, 119, 120. 

From the devotional Ye Shall Receive Power

Noah

And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Genesis 7:1.

In the days of Noah, the wickedness of the world became so great that God could no longer bear with it; and He said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth” (Genesis 6:7). But He pitied the race, and in His love provided a refuge for all who would accept it. He gave the message to Noah to be given to the people: “My spirit shall not always strive with man” (verse 3).

Noah was directed to build an ark, and at the same time to preach that God would bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy the wicked. Those who would believe the message, and would prepare for that event by repentance and reformation, should find pardon and be saved; but a continued resistance of the entreaties and warnings from God through His servant Noah would separate them from God, and as a result infinite mercy and love would cease its pleadings.

The Spirit of God continued to strive with rebellious man until the time specified had nearly expired, when Noah and his family entered the ark, and the hand of God closed its door. Mercy had stepped from the golden throne, no longer to intercede for the guilty sinner.

All the men of that generation were not in the fullest sense of the term heathen idolaters. Many had a knowledge of God and His law; but they not only rejected the message of the faithful preacher of righteousness themselves, but used all their influence to prevent others from being obedient to God. To everyone comes a day of trial and of trust. That generation had their day of opportunity and privilege while Noah was sounding the note of warning of the coming destruction; but they yielded their minds to the control of Satan rather than of God, and he deceived them, as he did our first parents. He set before them darkness and falsehood in the place of light and truth; and they accepted his sophistry and lies, because they were acceptable to them, and in harmony with their corrupt lives, while truth that would have saved them was rejected as a delusion.—The Signs of the Times, April 1, 1886. 

From Ye Shall Receive Power Devotional

September 2016

Empowered by the Spirit

Enoch

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. Hebrews 11:5.

Enoch was a public teacher of the truth in the age in which he lived. He taught the truth; he lived the truth; and the character of the teacher who walked with God was in every way harmonious with the greatness and sacredness of his mission. Enoch was a prophet who spake as he was moved by the Holy Ghost. He was a light amid the moral darkness, a pattern man, a man who walked with God, being obedient to God’s law—that law which Satan had refused to obey, which Adam had transgressed, which Abel obeyed, and because of his obedience was murdered.

And now God would demonstrate to the universe the falsity of Satan’s charge that man cannot keep God’s law. He would demonstrate that though man had sinned, he could so relate himself to God that he would have the mind and Spirit of God and would be a representative symbol of Christ. This holy man was selected of God to denounce the wickedness of the world, and to evidence to the world that it is possible for men to keep all the law of God....

Enoch not only meditated and prayed, and put on the armor of watchfulness, but he came forth from his pleadings with God to plead with his fellow men. He did not mask the truth to find favor with unbelievers, thus neglecting their souls. This close connection with God gave him courage to work the works of God. Enoch walked with God and “had this testimony that his ways pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5).

This is the privilege of every believer today. It is man dwelling with God, and God taking up His abode with man. “I in them, and thou in me” (John 17:23), says Jesus. To walk with God and have the witness that their ways please Him is an experience not to be confined to Enoch, to Elijah, to patriarchs, to prophets, to apostles, and to martyrs. It is not only the privilege but the duty of every follower of Christ to have Jesus enshrined in the heart, to carry Him with them in their lives; and they will indeed be fruit-bearing trees.—The Upward Look, 228. 

From the devotional - Ye Shall Receive Power

Directions for the Youth

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:6.

There are great things expected from the sons and daughters of God. I look upon the youth of today, and my heart yearns over them. What possibilities are open before them! If they sincerely seek to learn of Christ, He will give them wisdom, as He gave wisdom to Daniel. They may obtain directions from Him who is mighty in counsel. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10). Says the psalmist, “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple” (Psalm 119:130). And the wise man writes, “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Let the youth try to appreciate the privilege that may be theirs, to be directed by the unerring wisdom of God. Let them take the Word of truth as the man of their counsel, and become skillful in the use of “the sword of the Spirit.” Satan is a wise general; but the humble, devoted soldier of Jesus Christ may overcome him. It is written of the victors, that “they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11).

We must not trust in self. Our finite strength is only weakness. Says Jesus, “Without me ye can do nothing”; but He promises, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:5, 7).

It is thought a great honor to be invited into the presence of a king of this earth. But let us consider the amazing privilege that is proffered to us. If we obey the requirements of God, we may become the sons and daughters of the King of the universe. Through a crucified and risen Saviour, we may be filled with the fruits of righteousness, and be fitted to shine in the courts of the King of kings through unending ages.... Our work is to seek the closest union with the Son of God, to learn in His school, to become meek and lowly of heart, to work the works of Christ, advancing His kingdom and hastening His coming.—The Review and Herald, February 28, 1888. 

Ye Shall Receive Power - EGW Devotional

True Miracles Will Happen Again

Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. Revelation 14:12.

The great work of the gospel is not to close with less manifestation of the power of God than marked its opening. The prophecies which were fulfilled in the outpouring of the former rain at the opening of the gospel are again to be fulfilled in the latter rain at its close. Here are “the times of refreshing” to which the apostle Peter looked forward when he said: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you” (Acts 3:19, 20).

Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven. By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given. Miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and signs and wonders will follow the believers. Satan also works, with lying wonders, even bringing down fire from heaven in the sight of men. (Revelation 13:13). Thus the inhabitants of the earth will be brought to take their stand.

The message will be carried not so much by argument as by the deep conviction of the Spirit of God. The arguments have been presented. The seed has been sown, and now it will spring up and bear fruit. The publications distributed by missionary workers have exerted their influence, yet many whose minds were impressed have been prevented from fully comprehending the truth or from yielding obedience. Now the rays of light penetrate everywhere, the truth is seen in its clearness, and the honest children of God sever the bands which have held them. Family connections, church relations, are powerless to stay them now. Truth is more precious than all besides. Notwithstanding the agencies combined against the truth, a large number take their stand upon the Lord's side.—The Great Controversy, 611, 612.

Ye Shall Receive Power - No Time to Loose

No Time to Lose

The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. Jeremiah 8:20.

The Lord is coming. The earth's history is soon to close. Are you prepared to meet the Judge of the earth? Bear in mind that “he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy” (James 2:13). How terrible it will be in the last great day to find that those with whom we have been familiarly associated are separated from us forever; to see the members of our family, perhaps our own children, unsaved; to find those who have visited our homes, and eaten at our tables, among the lost. Then we shall ask ourselves the question, Was it because of my impatience, my un-Christlike disposition; was it because self was not under control, that the religion of Christ became distasteful to them?

The world must be warned of the soon coming of the Lord. We have but a little time in which to work. Years have passed into eternity that might have been improved in seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and in diffusing the light to others. God calls upon His people who have great light, much labor bestowed upon them, and are established in the truth to now work for themselves and others as they have never done before. Make use of every ability; bring into exercise every power, every entrusted talent; use all the light that God has given you to do others good. Do not try to be preachers; but become ministers for God.

As the truth is better understood by the workers, it will ever appear in a more striking light; as you seek to enlighten others, with your minds under the holy influence of the Spirit of God, your attention will be directed toward those things that are of eternal interest. In such efforts, mingled with prayers for divine light, your own hearts will throb with the quickening influence of the grace of God; your own affections will glow with more divine fervor, and your whole Christian life will be more of a reality, more earnest, and more prayerful. Thus by Christ abiding in the heart, you may become laborers together with God.—The Home Missionary, February 1, 1898.

Ye Shall Receive Power - Devotional

Meditating on God's Word

O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Psalm 119:97.

Men need not the dim light of tradition and custom to make the Scriptures comprehensible. It is just as sensible to suppose that the sun, shining in the heavens at noonday, needs the glimmerings of the torchlights of earth to increase its glory. In the Bible every duty is made plain, every lesson is comprehensible. The gift of Christ and the illumination of the Holy Spirit reveal to us the Father. The Word is able to make men and women and youth wise unto salvation.

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). No other book is so potent to elevate the thoughts, to give vigor to the faculties, as the broad, ennobling truths of the Bible. If God's Word were studied as it should be, men would have a breadth of mind, a nobility of character, and a stability of purpose that is rarely seen in these times.

Little benefit is to be derived from a hasty reading of the Scriptures. One may read the whole Bible through, and yet fail to see its beauty or to comprehend its depth of meaning. One passage studied until its significance is clear to the mind, and its relation to the plan of salvation evident, is of more value than the perusal of many chapters with no definite purpose in view and no positive instruction gained. Keep your Bible with you. As you have opportunity, read it; fix the texts in your memory. Even while you are walking in the street, you may read a passage and meditate upon it, thus fixing it on the mind.

Never should the Bible be studied without prayer. Before opening its pages, we should ask for the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, and it will be given. When Nathanael came to Jesus, the Saviour exclaimed, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile” (John 1:47). Nathanael said, “Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee” (verse 48). And Jesus will see us also in the secret place of prayer, if we will seek Him for light, that we may know what is truth. Angels from the world of light will be with those who in humility of heart seek for divine guidance.—Atlantic Union Gleaner June 9, 1909, par. 8.

Ye Shall Receive Power - Devotional

Digging Deeper Into the Mine

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Acts 17:11.

It is proper and right to read the Bible; but your duty does not end there; for you are to search its pages for yourselves. The knowledge of God is not to be gained without mental effort, without prayer for wisdom in order that you may separate from the pure grain of truth the chaff with which men and Satan have misrepresented the doctrines of truth. Satan and his confederacy of human agents have endeavored to mix the chaff of error with the wheat of truth. We should diligently seek for the hidden treasure, and seek wisdom from heaven in order to separate human inventions from the divine commands. The Holy Spirit will aid the seeker for great and precious truths which relate to the plan of redemption. 

I would impress upon all the fact that a casual reading of Scriptures is not enough. We must search, and this means the doing of all the Word implies. As the miner eagerly explores the earth to discover its veins of gold, so you are to explore the Word of God for the hidden treasure that Satan has so long sought to hide from man. The Lord says, “If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching” (John 7:17, RV).

The Word of God is truth and light, and is to be a lamp unto your feet, to guide you every step of the way to the gates of the city of God. It is for this reason that Satan has made such desperate efforts to obstruct the path that has been cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in. You are not to take your ideas to the Bible, and make your opinions a center around which truth is to revolve. You are to lay aside your ideas at the door of investigation, and with humble, subdued hearts, with self hid in Christ, with earnest prayer, you are to seek wisdom from God. You should feel that you must know the revealed will of God, because it concerns your personal, eternal welfare. The Bible is a directory by which you may know the way to eternal life. You should desire above all things that you may know the will and ways of the Lord.—Fundamentals of Christian Education, 307, 308.

Ye Shall Receive Power - Devotional

Knowing the Unknown

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:11.

Revelation is not the creation or invention of something new, but the manifestation of what was, until revealed, unknown to human beings. The great and eternal truths contained in the gospel are revealed through diligent searching and humbling of ourselves before God. The divine Teacher leads the mind of the humble seeker for truth; and by the Holy Spirit's guidance, the truths of the Word are made known to him. And there can be no more certain and efficient way of knowledge than in being thus guided. The promise of the Saviour was “When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). It is through the impartation of the Holy Spirit that we are made to understand the Word of God.

The psalmist writes, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.... Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Psalm 119:9-18).

We are admonished to seek for the truth as for hid treasure. The Lord opens the understanding of the true seeker after truth; and the Holy Spirit enables him to grasp the truths of revelation. This is what the psalmist means when he asks that his eyes may be opened to behold wondrous things out of the law. When the soul pants after the excellencies of Jesus Christ, the mind is enabled to grasp the glories of the better world. Only by the aid of the divine Teacher can we understand the truths of the Word of God. In Christ's school we learn to be meek and lowly because there is given to us an understanding of the mysteries of godliness.

He who inspired the Word was the true expositor of the Word. Christ illustrated His teachings by calling the attention of His hearers to the simple laws of nature, and to the familiar objects which they daily saw and handled. Thus He led their minds from the natural to the spiritual.—Sabbath School Worker, December 1, 1909.

Ye Shall Receive Power - Ellen White Devotional

Searching for Truth

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. John 5:39.

Christ came in the form of humanity to live the law of God. He was the Word of life. He came to be the gospel of salvation to the world, and to fulfill every specification of the law. Jesus is the word, the guidebook, which must be received and obeyed in every particular. How necessary that this mine of truth be explored, and the precious treasures of truth be discovered and secured as rich jewels. The incarnation of Christ, His divinity, His atonement, His wonderful life in heaven as our advocate, the office of the Holy Spirit—all these living, vital themes of Christianity are revealed from Genesis to Revelation. The golden links of truth form a chain of evangelical truth, and the first, and staple, is found in the great teachings of Christ Jesus. Why, then, should not the Scriptures be ennobled and exalted in every school in our land? How little children are educated to study the Bible as the Word of God, and feed upon its truths, which are the flesh and blood of the Son of God!

“Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood [that is, continues to receive the words of Christ and practice them], hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him” (John 6:53-56), “and he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us” (1 John 3:24).

There is necessity for every family to make the Bible the book of their study. Christ's sayings are pure gold, without one particle of dross, unless men, with their human understanding, shall try to put it there, and make falsehood appear as a portion of truth. To those who have received the false interpretation of the Word, when they search the Scriptures with the determined effort to obtain the very marrow of truth contained in them, the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of their understanding, and the truths of the Word are to them as a new revelation.—Fundamentals of Christian Education, 385, 386.

Ye Shall Receive Power - Ellen White Devotional

I am reading Ye Shall Receive Power - a daily Devotional by Ellen White. I like it so much that I decided to share on my blog,  hope you be blessed as you read those inspired words.

The Spirit Essential for Understanding Truth

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 1 Corinthians 2:10.

There is a great work to be done for this time, and we do not half realize what the Lord is willing to do for His people. We talk about the first angel's message, and the second angel's message, and we think we have some understanding of the third angel's message; but we should not be satisfied with our present knowledge. Our petitions, mingled with faith and contrition, should go up to God, for an understanding of the mysteries that God would make known to His saints. We should have a realization that unless taught by the Holy Spirit, we shall not rightly comprehend the Bible; for it is a sealed book even to the learned, who are wise in their own conceit.

Jesus meant just what He said when He directed His disciples to “search the Scriptures.” Searching means to compare scripture with scripture, and spiritual things with spiritual. We should not be satisfied with a superficial knowledge. We should search for the hidden treasure concealed beneath the surface, as the merchantman seeks for goodly pearls. Light, great light, will reward the diligent searcher for truth.

There are many who have not taxed their mental powers, and who have no experience in putting to the stretch their utmost ability to find out what is truth. It is not possible that the Holy Spirit shall fall upon you unless you feel your need, and are more desirous for its descent than you now are. You should realize that you are living upon the very borders of the eternal world, that Christ is coming very soon, and that all heaven is interested in the work that is in progress in fitting up a people for His coming.

If ever there was a people that needed to heed the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodicean church to be zealous and to repent before God, it is the people who have had opened up before them the stupendous truths for this time, and who have not lived up to their high privileges and responsibilities. We have lost much in not living up to the light of the solemn truths which we profess to believe.—The Review and Herald, June 4, 1889