Today

Dear Sister _____: … “we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec” (Hebrews 6:19, 20).

We have every reason to trust in God, and to bring all our worries and anxieties to Jesus Christ, that we may become better acquainted with Him. It should not be a difficult thing to remember that the Lord Jesus is desirous that we should bring all our troubles and perplexities to Him. “Take it to the Lord in prayer,” and then leave your perplexities and burdens with Him. How much happier we should be would we do this. You may come to Him as a child comes to his parents, saying, “Here, Lord, I have carried my self as though I could save myself for a long time. My burdens are too heavy for me to carry longer. Thou canst bear them for me.” He says, “I will take them. With everlasting kindness will I have mercy upon thee.”

This love is [as] strong as it is tender. The love of Jesus is stronger than death, for He died to win your love, to have you lean upon Him fully and entirely, and to make you one with Him, mystically and eternally one. The love of Jesus is something expressed, more tender than even the love of a mother for her child. The most tender love we know is that of a mother for her child, but the love of Jesus exceeds this. She may change in her affection. Mothers may become unkind, but Jesus never, never will become unmindful or unkind, or cruel to His children.

Then never, never will we show distrust and want of faith. So strong is His love that it controls all the affections of His nature, and [He] employs all His vast resources to do His people good. His love is durable, without variableness or shadow of turning. Never let us dishonor God by trying so hard to keep ourselves, fixing our eyes upon ourselves, and keeping ourselves constantly in view.

Look unto Jesus who is the Author and Finisher of our faith. Let us not do as we have done, make ourselves miserable over some supposed future tomorrow’s burden. Carry your duties of today cheerfully. Today’s faith, today’s trust in Jesus, we must have. Today I may look and live. Today I will put my trust in God. Today I will rest in quietude and peace kept by the power of God. Say, “The Lord will be glorified by my being cheerful and happy in His assurance of His love—today.”

In much love, Ellen G. White.—Letter 48, June 15, 1896, to a sister in need of encouragement.
The Upward Look p. 180
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Prayer Requests
—-Please be praying. My old church is having meetings right now over Facebook preaching the truth from Daniel and Revelation.. . . We have been having technical difficulties at the beginning. It’s lots of buffering and glitches. Let us pray that these will be cleared and that more people will watch to hear the truth. Jennifer
—-I respectfully ask prayers for my best friend Lyn who is now fighting for her life because of Cerebral Hemorrhage. Sally
—-Please pray for Grayson (4) who has severe brain injury because of the Chattanooga tornado. Becky
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Dear Friends,
Sometimes things happen that leave us overwhelmed and confused. It seems like we have been forsaken. When we first moved to North Carolina in 1979, we rented a garage apartment right across the street from the church and church school. This made it so convenient for Eileen since she could just walk across the street to go to school. It had a nice playground where she and Ronnie Jay could play together. It was also convenient for us as we did not have to drive to the various church meetings. Although the apartment was small, these things made us very happy there.
After we had lived there for a few months, our landlady told us that her son was going to be staying with her for awhile. She was very excited as she had not seen him for a few years. Shortly thereafter, the son and his family arrived with all of their belongings. It looked to us as if her were planning to stay indefinitely. One day, he told us that we would have to move. He was moving to Wilmington permanently and would be living in his mother’s house. He had decided that our apartment would be a perfect place for his mother to live. It was hard to believe that anyone could do such a thing to their mother. I couldn’t help but wonder how excited she was to have her son move back to town.
There was nothing we could do but try to find another place to live as quickly as possible. We had lost everything in a house fire just before we had moved to Wilmington and were going through many other trials at the time. This was so losing that apartment made me feel as if my world was crashing in upon me. I felt forsaken and overwhelmed. Why was this happening? I became very discouraged.
After weeks of searching, I found place in another neighborhood. I was hopeful that we would be happier in this mobile home that was surrounded by trees and on about an acre of land. Behind the trailer was a warehouse where the snack food trucks stored their food supplies. It did not take my children long to discover that if they were outside when the trucks came, the drivers would give them the day-old food that they could not sell. Every day they would come back with their arms loaded with food. It was like having our own bakery outlet store! This was such a blessing to us, as we were having a very hard time financially and this helped our grocery bill tremendously. It was true that most of the food was high in sugar, but at least our children didn’t have to go hungry any more.
There was also a magnolia tree behind our trailer that Eileen loved to climb and a large wisteria vine loaded with fragrant blooms. The front yard was a lovely place with tall pines that shielded us from the street. On warm evenings, we enjoyed having worship under those pines. One evening as the children and I were sitting under those trees, we had a thrilling experience. I was playing the guitar while we were singing songs of praise to our Heavenly Father, when a little screech owl flew down and landed on a post about ten feet from us. We decided that he was enjoying the music. He watched us and we watched him. He stayed there all the time we were having worship and would have stayed longer, but Ronnie Jay, age two, was getting sleepy and wanted to go to bed. We had to walk within inches of that little owl to get inside. That was a little too close for Mr. Owl’s comfort, so he flew away. Suddenly, I realized that we were much happier there than we had ever been in the apartment. I then knew that what had seemed like a great difficulty and trial, was really a great blessing sent to us from our Great Provider. My heart filled with gratitude for His loving care.
Sometimes we cannot understand why things happen the way they do. Trials often make us feel like our world is crashing in on top of us. We feel as did Job, “When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.” Job 30:26 Yet, God has His hand over all of these things. He takes those very circumstances that seem so overwhelming and unfair and works them around for our good. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Rom 8:28
Moreover, He promises, “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Ps 32:8 It may not happen as quickly as we would like, or in the way that we would like, but if we allow Him to, He will untangle all the tangled threads of our lives and make our path straight. Peter tells us, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 4:12,13; 1:7
May we remember to turn to the One Who our comfort and strength when things go wrong and when all forsake us. May we always remember that He is our Fortress and our Mighty Deliverer! May we pray as did David, “In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defense to save me. For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD. Ps 31:1-3, 24
Rose