For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance. Psalm 94:14.

The Lord God of heaven is in communication with the fallen inhabitants of this world. He is not regardless of our world and its variety of concerns. The Lord is represented in His Word as bending toward earth and its inhabitants who are deceived and annoyed and deluded by satanic agencies. He is listening to every word that is uttered.

When Moses turned aside at the sight of the burning bush that was not consumed, the Lord called, “Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God” (Exodus 3:4-6).

Now mark the words of the Lord: “I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians” (verses 7, 8)….

The Lord is not regardless of His people, and He will punish and reprove everyone who oppresses them. He hears every groan; He listens to every prayer; He observes the movements of everyone; He approves or condemns every action. The Lord of heaven is represented as raising up the fallen. He is the Friend of all who love and fear Him, and He will punish everyone who dares to lead them astray from safe paths, putting them in positions of distress as they conscientiously endeavor to keep the way of the Lord and reach the abodes of the righteous.

Not a sparrow falleth to the ground without the notice of your heavenly Father. Then let men be careful how, by word or action, they cause one of God’s little ones sorrow or grief. If the little sparrow that has no soul cannot fall to the ground without the notice of our heavenly Father, surely the souls of those for whom Christ has died are precious; and will not God judge those who cause pain or disappointment to the hearts of those for whom Christ has given His life? …

Who can measure or anticipate the gift of God? For ages, sin [has] interrupted the divine flow of benevolence to man, but that mercy and great love purchased for the fallen race has not ceased to accumulate; it has not lost its earthward direction…. God lives and reigns, and in Christ He has poured forth on the world a healing flood. Our Saviour has made every provision for man.—Manuscript 142, December 16, 1897, “God’s Care for His Workers.”

From The Upward Look – Page 364

I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Acts 26:9.

Many place themselves where it is difficult to maintain integrity and preserve purity. God gives to them the warning to flee out of Sodom. But they cling to their own ideas and think that they know best, and the work that they could do out of the cities, they do, for the sake of convenience, in the cities. They gather round them workers who ought to be out of the cities. Some of these workers may be unbelievers, but they might be converted if the religious interests were made first.

The Lord calls for those in positions of trust in His cause to make centers for their work out of the cities, that they may call round them believers and unbelievers, and then make every provision to give them religious advantages.

Christians will be tested and tried. But if they are sincerely trying to serve God, strength will be given them for every conflict. They are not to listen to the false reports that come to their ears, but are to go straight forward in the path of duty. They are to learn to think for themselves, and their actions are ever to be in accordance with the Word of God.

Do not go out of your way to call your enemy to account. His words of censure and malice are like sparks which, if not blown upon and fed, will go out of themselves. Live down the evil reports of those whose tongues are set on fire of hell. If you stop of dispute, you will but open the way for further abuse.

Often difficulties may be healed by silence. Let the evil talker alone. Go about your work as one who has a sacred trust to fulfill. When you are criticized, move on as one who hears not. Your heart may be wounded; nevertheless, do not allow yourself to be turned aside from your work. Give your time and attention to matters of eternal interest.

Christ is your example. He came to this world and in humanity lived the life that He desires you to live. Look to Him. Study His plans and purposes and methods. His life is our lesson book. A divine-human Saviour, He stands before us with the invitation “Come unto me, … and I will give you rest…. My yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Christ’s life is a perfect revelation of God’s character. What then is our duty? Paul tells us. Christ revealed Himself to Paul as he was persecuting the saints, and he declared, “I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19).—Manuscript 159, December 15, 1902, “Fragments.”

From The Upward Look – Page 363

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.”

From The Upward Look – Page 362

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. James 1:5, 6.

If you will become a learner in the school of Christ, submit your will to Him, and come under His discipline, you will be able to walk in His ways; and by living in constant connection with Jesus, you will be a channel of light to others. You and I … need to feel our entire dependence upon God, for His grace and His guidance. God wants you to come into sympathy and harmony with His plans. Submission to the authority of Christ, which forms an essential qualification in His disciples, is not only opposed to the pride which feels hurt when advised and counseled, but those who have it will choose to be subject one to another….

Fatal deceptions are upon souls. They have a settled confidence. They think they are Christians simply because they assent to the truth; and so completely does this delusion enclose and encase the heart, that the arrows of the Lord do not find access to it, and the deep, searching truths, which clearly portray this very delusion, are listened to without effect, with not a thought of their application to themselves. Oh! seek preparation of heart at the throne of grace, that when you feel your incompetence, you may have clear views of the power and dignity of Christ, and can grasp the promises by faith, and can have a living connection with God….

“God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Oh, what love! what amazing love! And yet how few appreciate it! How few are partakers of the divine nature! Having undertaken the amazing work of redemption, He resolved that He would not give up the plan, but that He would spare nothing, however costly; withhold nothing, however dear, which was essential to the consummation of His design of bestowing on man gift upon gift, until He had opened to Him all the treasures of heaven.

The saving grace of God upon us, the increased conception of His greatness, justice, mercy, and love, will not fill our hearts to no purpose. This knowledge of God, which Jesus came from heaven to impart, must not be trifled with. The love of God cannot remain in our possession unless it is expressed.—Letter 48, December 13, 1888, to David H. Lamson, a conference evangelist and administrator.

From The Upward Look – Page 361

The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. Psalm 89:11.

[Many in this world] are proving themselves to be dishonest in dealing with God’s property. They love not the truth. They turn away from the righteousness of Christ to the beggarly elements of the world. They trample under their feet the precepts of God’s law, especially the Sabbath commandment. The heart of the Saviour is grieved by their conduct. He desires to save every soul whom He has purchased. O that men would understand this, and place themselves in connection with the great Master Worker!

Soon the Lord is coming to this earth with power and great glory, and the work that we are to do now is outlined in the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. Who is doing this work? Who is building the Lord’s altars? Who is preparing the people for the great day of the Lord? Now, just now, everyone who claims to be a child of God should bring of his means to God’s treasury, that there may be a supply to draw from to provide the workers with facilities for entering new places to present the truth to those who have never heard it. Let there be no dearth in the Lord’s treasury. From His treasure God supplies all our necessities. Shall we be only consumers? Shall we not be producers, giving of our means that the truth may be presented to many people, who will acknowledge and accept the message, and in turn give back to God His own, and themselves be numbered among producers? …

We are not only to receive God’s gifts. With a full sense of our accountability we are to bring a return to Him, that there may be in His treasury for the advancement of His work an ample supply of means, a supply from which His workmen may draw to enable them to carry the message from city to city and from country to country. God’s self-sacrificing workers should be provided with sufficient facilities to make their work a success….

“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof” (Psalm 24:1). This world is the Lord’s storehouse, from which we are ever drawing. He has provided fruits and grains and vegetables for our sustenance. For us He makes the sun to shine and the rain to fall. The whole human family, good and evil, are constantly drawing from God’s storehouse. It makes every difference with those so highly privileged how they receive the Lord’s gifts and how they treat the contract the Lord has made with them. He has made them His almoners, directing them to draw from His storehouse, and then make a return to Him in gifts and offerings, “that there may be meat in mine house.”—Manuscript 73, December 12, 1900, “Bring an Offering Unto the Lord.”

From The Upward Look – Page 360