Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:17.
Trust yourself in the hands of God. Do cease complaining, even though you suppose that there is something to complain of. Satan says, “I will harass him until he shall make shipwreck of faith”; but you need not be overcome by his devices. God will uphold you if you will only let Him. At times you are inclined to make a complete surrender of yourself to God, and then you feel at rest; but you take yourself back again, you do not let Jesus carry your burdens.
You want the will of God to be done in you, but at the same time you shrink from the pain and self-sacrifice involved in having it done. In order that the will of God may be done in you, you must trust your heavenly Father as a child trusts its parent. But you have an anxious, troubled heart; you are actually afraid to trust yourself with God, afraid of the consequences that such a surrender may involve. Do not, I beseech you, mar your own Christian experience.
The Spirit speaks to you, “Be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17). In words and attitude you reveal a weakness of character when you are under the impression that you are not treated well and with the confidence and deference you should have...
You are to know that God has you under His special care; you are to trust in Him because you love Him, and He loves you. He will uphold all who put their trust in Him. God will make everything work for your sanctification if you will stop fretting and trust in Him. The words spoken to you by One who cannot make a mistake were: “Do not fall into the temptation to harass your own life and make yourself miserable by your own reflections, which are frequently the direct insinuations of Satan.” You keep fresh in your mind your own grievances, and go over and over the same things, cutting and bruising your own soul...
Do not bring the disagreeable things of the past into your present life. Testify that life with Christ is no failure... Dismiss Satan, walk with Jesus, and be complete in Him. Never, never give Satan the satisfaction of taunting you or others that our faith is a deception, a delusion.
There is a work to be done by the Holy Spirit in the heart; when this is accomplished, bitter tears will no longer flow forth, but the promise will be fulfilled, “The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). You can stand only in God. When the heart is reconciled to God, the fact will be made manifest in your association with your brethren. It will be seen that Christ is abiding in the soul temple.—Letter 10, October 27, 1894, to an evangelist working in Australia.
Reference: E.G. White, "The Upward Look," p. 314.
