Daily Devotional

July 21, 2019

Many Lessons to Be Learned From Nature

Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created. He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree which shall not pass away. Psalm 148:5, 6, NKJV.

How beautiful the psalmist’s description of God’s care for the creatures of the woods: “The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies” (Psalm 104:18). He sends the springs to run among the hills, where the birds have their habitation and “sing among the branches” (Verse 12). All the creatures of the woods and hills are a part of His great household. He opens His hand, and satisfies “the desire of every living thing” (Psalm 145:16).

The eagle of the Alps is sometimes beaten down by the tempest into the narrow defiles of the mountains. Storm clouds shut in this mighty bird of the forest, their dark masses separating her from the sunny heights where she has made her home. Her efforts to escape seem fruitless. She dashes to and fro, beating the air with her strong wings, and waking the mountain echoes with her cries. At length, with a note of triumph, she darts upward, and, piercing the clouds, is once more in the clear sunlight, with the darkness and tempest far beneath.

So we may be surrounded with difficulties, discouragement, and darkness. Falsehood, calamity, injustice, shut us in. There are clouds that we cannot dispel. We battle with circumstances in vain. There is one, and but one, way of escape. The mists and fogs cling to the earth; beyond the clouds God’s light is shining. Into the sunlight of His presence we may rise on the wings of faith.

Many are the lessons that may thus be learned. Self-reliance, from the tree that, growing alone on plain or mountainside, strikes down its roots deep into the earth, and in its rugged strength defies the tempest. The power of early influence, from the gnarled, shapeless trunk, bent as a sapling, to which no earthly power can afterward restore its lost symmetry. The secret of a holy life from the water lily, that, on the bosom of some slimy pool, surrounded by weeds and rubbish, strikes down its channeled stem to the pure sands beneath, and, drawing thence its life, lifts up its fragrant blossoms to the light in spotless purity. – Education, 118, 119.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 243.

Daily Devotional

July 20, 2019

Christ Points Us to a More Glorious World

We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18, NKJV.

Earth and earthly things will perish with the using. A few years will pass by, and death will come. Your eternal destiny will be fixed, eternally fixed. If your soul is lost, what will compensate you for its loss? Christ the Life Giver, Christ the Redeemer, Christ the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, points you to a nobler world. He brings it within range of your vision. He takes you to the threshold of heaven, and brings you to contemplate the glories of eternal realities, that your aspirations may be quickened to grasp the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. As you contemplate heavenly scenes, desire is kindled in your heart to have friendship with God, to be wholly reconciled to Him.

Our Savior’s work is to adjust the claims between earthly and heavenly interests, to put the duties and responsibilities of the life that now is in proper relation to those that pertain to eternal life. The fear and love of God are the first things that should claim our attention. We cannot afford to put off that which concerns our soul’s interest till tomorrow. The life which we now live we are to live by faith in the Son of God. We are redeemed from the beggarly elements of the world with a redemption that is full and complete, that cannot be increased by any supplement from human sources.

But in the midst of this flood of mercies, this plentitude of divine love, many hearts continue in indifference, careless, and unimpressed by the provisions of God’s grace. Shall we who claim to be Christians make no effort to break the spell which Satan has cast upon these souls? Shall we let them go on in hardness of heart, without God, and without hope in the world? No; although every appeal we may make may be slighted and refused, we cannot cease to pray for them and to make tender entreaty for their souls. We must do all we can, through the aid of God’s Holy Spirit, to break down the barriers by which they have sought to make themselves impregnable to the light of God’s truth. We must seek to open their eyes to their blindness, to loose them from the captivity of Satan. – The Signs of the Times, July 17, 1893.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 242.

Daily Devotional

July 19, 2019

Nature Is Guided and Upheld by the Creator

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praises on the harp to our God, who covers the heavens with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow on the mountains. Psalm 147:7, 8, NKJV.

Many teach that matter possesses vital power. They hold that certain properties are imparted to matter, and it is then left to act through its own inherent power; and that the operations of nature are carried on in harmony with fixed laws that God Himself cannot interfere with. This is false science, and is sustained by nothing in the Word of God.

Nature is not self-acting; it is the servant of its Creator. God does not annul His laws nor work contrary to them; but He is continually using them as His instruments. Nature testifies of an intelligence, a presence, an active agency, that works in, and through, and above its laws. There is in nature the continual working of the Father and the Son. Said Christ, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”

God has finished His creative work, but His energy is still exerted in upholding the objects of His creation. It is not because the mechanism that has once been set in motion continues its work by its own inherent energy that the pulse beats and breath follows breath; but every breath, every pulsation of the heart, is an evidence of the all-pervading care of Him in whom we live and have our being.

It is not because of inherent power that year by year the earth produces its bounties and continues its motion around the sun. The hand of God guides the planets, and keeps them in position in their orderly march through the heavens. It is through His power that vegetation flourishes, that the leaves appear and the flowers bloom. His word controls the elements, and by Him the valleys are made fruitful. He covers the heavens with clouds, and prepares rain for the earth; He “maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.” “He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.” “When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.” …

His care is over all the works of His hands. Nothing is too great to be directed by Him; nothing is too small to escape His notice. – The Signs of the Times, March 20, 1884.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 241.

Daily Devotional

July 18, 2019

Draw Spiritual Lessons and Health Benefits From Trees

He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the service of man, that he may bring forth food from the earth. Psalm 104:14, NKJV.

In a certain place, preparations were being made to clear the land for the erection of a sanitarium. Light was given that there is health in the fragrance of the pine, the cedar, and the fir. And there are several other kinds of trees that have medicinal properties that are health-promoting.

Let not such trees be ruthlessly cut down. Better change the site of the [sanitarium] building than cut down these evergreen trees. There are lessons for us in these trees. God’s Word declares, “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” David says, “I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.”

The Christian is likened to the cedar of Lebanon. I have read that this tree does more than send down a few short roots into the yielding loam. It sends strong roots deep down into the earth, and strikes down further and still further in search of a still stronger hold. And in the fierce blast of the tempest, it stands firm, held by its network of cables beneath.

So Christians strike roots deep into Christ. They have faith in their Redeemer. They know in whom they believe. They are fully persuaded that Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior of sinners. The goodly sound of the gospel is received without conflicting doubts. The roots of faith strike deep down. Genuine Christians, like the cedar of Lebanon, do not grow in the soft surface soil, but are rooted in God, riveted in the clefts of the mountain rocks.

Study these lessons from the trees. I could dwell long on this subject, but I must not just now. I ask you not to cut away your pine trees. They will be a blessing to many. Let them live.

I want to say to you, my brethren and sisters, that you have my prayers and my sympathy in your work. Remember that you are trees in the garden of the Lord, and that the divine protection is round about you. The more visible the line of demarcation between the flowers of God and the briar and thorn of Satan’s planting, the more the Lord is glorified. – Spalding and Magan Collection, 228, 229.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 240.

Daily Devotional

July 17, 2019

Nature Offers Messages of Hope and Comfort

He sends the springs into the valleys, which flow among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. Psalm 104:10, 11, NKJV.

Nature and revelation alike testify of God’s love. Our Father in heaven is the source of life, of wisdom, and of joy. Look at the wonderful and beautiful things of nature. Think of their marvelous adaptation to the needs and happiness, not only of human beings, but of all living creatures. The sunshine and the rain, that gladden and refresh the earth, the hills and seas and plains, all speak to us of the Creator’s love. It is God who supplies the daily needs of all His creatures.

In the beautiful words of the psalmist: “The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing” (Psalm 145:15, 16).

God made Adam and Eve perfectly holy and happy; and the fair earth, as it came from the Creator’s hand, bore no blight of decay or shadow of the curse. It is transgression of God’s law – the law of love – that has brought woe and death.

Yet even amid the suffering that results from sin, God’s love is revealed. It is written that God cursed the ground for man’s sake (Genesis 3:17). The thorn and the thistle – the difficulties and trials that make life one of toil and care – were appointed for our good as a part of the training needful in God’s plan for our uplifting from the ruin and degradation that sin has wrought.

The world, though fallen, is not all sorrow and misery. In nature itself are messages of hope and comfort. There are flowers upon the thistles, and the thorns are covered with roses.

“God is love” is written upon every opening bud, upon every spire of springing grass. The lovely birds making the air vocal with their happy songs, the delicately tinted flowers in their perfection perfuming the air, the lofty trees of the forest with their rich foliage of living green – all testify to the tender, fatherly care of our God and to His desire to make His children happy. – Steps to Christ, 9, 10.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 239.