Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty. Judges 5:23.

Shall not this be the time when all who are in connection with God shall come to the front and show their colors? Shall it be seen that men and women step back and show no interest, no zeal, no earnest effort when help is needed? When the car drags heavily, then is the time for everyone to push, put shoulders to the wheels, and not stand back giving orders, or accusing the ones who are trying to push the load, or criticizing everything they do, because it is not done in their way and after their ideas…. Let everyone do his level best to move the load with might and strength….

If the Lord should treat us as some who claim to be Christians treat one another, we should have a sore, hard time. If He should look upon the selfish, or crooked ones as they look upon one another and deal with one another, what would become of us? But I am glad the Lord is not man. He bears with our crooked ways, our selfishness, our separation from Him, our defects of character, and seeks to inform us, sending message after message of mercy, encouragement, warning, reproof, and correction, to bring us into a right position before Him, that we may have His love, His care, His blessing, abiding upon us….

We have each a work to do for the Master. Will we do this work, will we labor with unselfish, self-sacrificing interest to build up His cause, to advance His work? I am determined to do the will of God, to make straight paths for my feet, lest the lame be turned out of the way. There are halting, lame ones enough…. God forbid that any of those who have had a knowledge of, and an experience in, the workings of God should themselves be halting, and need to be carried. Let them come up to help; let them become spiritually strong by doing the will of our heavenly Father, and then they can help the halting, lame ones….

May we work intelligently, heartily, with decision and positiveness, that we may be blessed and may bless others.^{27Letter 30, 1888.}

From That I May Know Him

He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. Luke 16:10.

The active service of God is directly connected with the ordinary duties of life, even its humblest occupations. We are to serve God just where He puts us. He is to place us individually, and not we ourselves. Perhaps service in the home life is the place we are to occupy for a time, if not always. Then a preparation for that work should be obtained, that we may do our best in service for the Lord.

The Lord is testing and proving us to see what sort of timbers, or attributes, we are bringing into the character building. If we are listless and indifferent, negligent and careless, in the small, everyday duties we shall never be fitted for any other service for God…. He that is unfaithful in that which is least would certainly repeat this unfaithfulness if placed in higher positions of trust and given larger responsibilities…. The service of God will be done in a haphazard manner….

The importance of little things is underrated just because they are small, but the influence of the little things for good or evil is great. They supply much of the actual discipline of life for every human being. They are part of the training of the soul in the sanctification of all our entrusted talents to God. Faithfulness in the little things in the line of duty makes the worker in God’s service reflect more and more the likeness of Christ.

Our Saviour is a Saviour for the perfection of the whole man. He is not the God of part of the being only. The grace of Christ works to the disciplining of the whole human fabric. He made all. He has redeemed all. He has made the mind, the strength, the body as well as the soul, partaker of the divine nature, and all is His purchased possession. He must be served with the whole mind, heart, soul, and strength. Then the Lord will be glorified in His saints in even the common, temporal things with which they are connected. “Holiness unto the Lord” will be the inscription placed upon them.^{26The Youth’s Instructor, April 14, 1898.}

From That I May Know Him

And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Matthew 20:4.

There must be those who will come into the harvest field and who will be workers without expecting their wages in this world. In the next world they will be abundantly rewarded. There are men and women who have been letting their talents rust with inaction, … who could do a most precious work and grow in grace and capability to work by doing their best in accepting the work just where they are. They can single out individuals—their neighbors—and give them personal labor….

The Lord will investigate the use we have made of the talents He has entrusted to us. He has paid the wages of His own blood and His own self-denial and sacrifice and sufferings, to secure the willing service of every soul as a laborer together with God. If only all felt their accountability to God wisely to employ the gifts in talents entrusted, what a revenue would be brought to God through Jesus Christ! The one talent may and will increase by use. The supposed lowliest gift, the humblest service, may reach minds and influence hearts that those who possess larger talents could not touch.

Now, now, now is our most favorable time to work. Individual visitation is of great value. In love for Jesus Christ and love for human souls the truth is to be carried to every family, talked of by every fireside that it is possible for you to find access to…. Bear in mind that the Holy Spirit is the worker. The human agent working for God is not alone….

Labor in perseverance, in tenderness, compassion, prayerfulness, and love will do more than sermons. The Lord Jesus, in giving His life for the saving of the world from the curse of sin, intended greater things than our eyes have yet witnessed. The Holy Spirit is waiting for channels through whom to work…. Satan will not always triumph. The Spirit of God will be poured out upon the church just as soon as the vessels are prepared to receive it.^{25Letter 171, 1897.}

From That I May Know Him

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. 2 Timothy 2:20, 21.

The Master has given to every man his work. He has given to every man according to his ability, and his trust is in proportion to his capacity….

Let none mourn that they have not larger talents to use for the Master…. Go to work with steady patience and do your very best, irrespective of what others are doing. “Every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). Let not your thought or your words be, “O that I had a larger work! O that I were in this or that position!” Do your duty where you are. Make the best investments possible with your entrusted gift in the very place where your work will count the most before God…. Be not envious of the talents of others, for that will not increase your ability to do a good or a great work. Use your gift in meekness, in humility, in trusting faith, and wait till the day of reckoning, and you will have no cause for grief or shame….

Do not aspire to do some great service when the duty of today has not been done with fidelity. Take up the commonplace care, trade on the humble talent with a solemn sense of your responsibility for the right use of every power, every thought, that God has given you. God asks no less of the lowliest than of the most exalted; each must do his appointed work with cheerful alacrity, according to the measure of the gift of Christ…. The church of God is made up of persons of different abilities. Like vessels of various dimensions, we are placed in the house of the Lord; but it is not expected that the smaller vessels will contain all that the larger ones will hold. All that is required is that the vessel shall be full and hold according to its ability. If you perform faithfully the duties in your path you will be an acceptable servant, an honored vessel.^{24The Review and Herald, May 1, 1888.}

From That I May Know Him

Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Romans 6:13.

The Lord has given you talents to use, and in using these talents as He intended they should be used, you will have increased aptitude and wisdom and clear spiritual eyesight to understand His work. Your mind and eyes must watch for His appearing, your ears open to hear the faintest whisperings of His voice. Your knees He has made; use them in kneeling in prayer. He is your strength. By faith take hold of the Unseen. Let your feet be shod with the preparation of the gospel for running obediently in the way of His commandments. Your tongue and voice are a talent given you of God to tell the story of His life, of His lessons, of His death, of His resurrection, of His ascension. Your bodily strength is to be devoted to the Master in fighting the good fight of faith on the battlefield, overcoming His enemies with “It is written.” Your sympathies and energies belong to God. Use them to glorify your Redeemer….

Cultivate the thought that you are not alone. All your steps are watched by the Lord. You are encompassed with vigilant angels…. As the angels ministered unto Jacob, so certainly will they minister unto all of the Lord’s humble, contrite ones….

Reach up, higher and still higher, taking hold of one line of faith after another. Walk and work in love to God and the poor oppressed ones, and the Lord will be your helper. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man” (John 1:51). Jesus the precious Saviour, the Son of the living God, is the ladder uniting the celestial world with the terrestrial. His divinity lays hold of the throne of God. His humanity touches the earth. His human arm encircles the entire human race. Through Jesus Christ the angelic ministrations in love, in comfort, in reproof, in light, reach us. O thank the Lord, for He is good, and His mercies endure forever! ^{23Letter 152, 1896.}

From That I May Know Him