Nature answers every question

He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep…. The sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. John 10:2, 3. The path of the upright is the path of peace. It is so plain that the humble, God-fearing man can walk in it without stumbling and without making crooked paths. It is a narrow path; but men of different temperaments can walk side by side if they but follow the Captain of their salvation. Those who wish to carry along all their evil traits and selfish habits cannot walk in this path, for it is too straight and narrow. What pains the Great Shepherd takes to call His sheep by name and invite them to follow in His footsteps. He seeks the wandering. He flashes the light from His Word to show them their peril. He speaks to them from heaven in warning and reproofs, and in invitations to return to the right path. He seeks to help the erring by His presence and to lift them when they fall. But many have followed the path of sin so long that they will not hear the voice of Jesus. They leave all that can give them rest and security, yield themselves up to a false guide, and presumptuously hurry on in blind self-confidence, going further and further from light and peace, from happiness and rest…. The cross of Christ is our only hope. It reveals to us the greatness of our Father’s love and the fact that the Majesty of heaven submitted to insult, mockery, humiliation, and suffering for the joy of seeing perishing souls saved in His kingdom. If you love your children, let it be your chief study to prepare them for the future, immortal life…. Work while it is day; redeem the time, and win the crown of immortal glory. Save yourself and your household, for the salvation of the soul is precious (Testimonies for the Church 4:502, 503). Many a husband and father might learn a helpful lesson from the carefulness of the faithful shepherd. Jacob, when urged to undertake a rapid and difficult journey, made answer: “The children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die…. I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure” (Genesis 33:13, 14). In life’s toilsome way let the husband and father “lead on softly,” as the companion of his journey is able to endure. Amidst the world’s eager rush for wealth and power, let him learn to stay his steps, to comfort and support the one who is called to walk by his side (The Ministry of Healing, 374). This text is from the devotional book Lift Him Up by Ellen G. White.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27. The transformation of the human character makes the yoke of Christ easy, and His burden light. Through faith everyone can, if he will become one with Christ in his obedience and his service. It is God’s prerogative to command; it is the duty of man to obey. Nothing is forced upon any soul. The honor of duty is a thing conferred upon him as a Son of God, an heir of heaven. He is to labor for God in interested, truehearted, glad, honorable service. In obeying all His commandments, a spirit of love for God is revealed. In this very atmosphere of love Christ lived and worked. Each word, each action, is a work for God. Here is faith in God, and faith in men. Christ would never have given His life for the human race if He had not faith in the souls for whom He died. He knew that a large number would respond to the love He had expressed for humanity. It is not every heart that responds, but every heart may, and can if it will, respond to that love that is without parallel. “My sheep hear my voice,” Christ said. A heart yearning for God will recognize the voice of God. God cannot respond to one soul that does not respond to His grace offered, His love bestowed. He is waiting for a response from souls…. The issue rests wholly with themselves. He bids them to the marriage feast; He sets before them the banquet that will satisfy every want. His word is full of marrow and fatness. “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” … Then the Lord will give an outpouring of His Spirit as on the day of Pentecost…. Communion with God is for each one personal and direct. The heart under the guidance of the Holy Spirit will burn within them with the love of God. They are like trustful children. Christ looks not for merit. O if all would come just as they are, and let Him make the preparation in taking them as His. The Lord only wants them to receive Him and learn to wear His yoke, and lift His burdens, that heaven may behold that they are laborers together with God. Why cannot every soul that needs help and rest come to the burden bearer, that he may have light and life. Christ could not help being bright and shining. His very work was to shine. I am come, He said, “that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” In Me is no darkness at all…. Light means revelation, and the light is to shine amid moral darkness. Christ is everything to those who receive Him. He is their Comforter, their safety, their healthfulness. Apart from Christ there is no light at all. There need not be a cloud between the soul and Jesus…. His great heart of love is longing to flood the soul with the bright beams of His righteousness (Letter 153a, 1897). This text is from the devotional book Lift Him Up by Ellen G. White.

The Gentle and Caring Shepherd, July 24 VIEW POST He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom. Isaiah 40:11. True workers walk and work by faith. Sometimes they grow weary with watching the slow advance of the work when the battle wages strong between the powers of good and evil. But if they refuse to fail or be discouraged they will see the clouds breaking away and the promise of deliverance fulfilling. Through the mist with which Satan has surrounded them, they will see the shining of the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. Work in faith, and leave results with God. Pray in faith, and the mystery of His providence will bring its answer. At times it may seem that you cannot succeed. But work and believe, putting into your efforts faith, hope, and courage. After doing what you can, wait for the Lord, declaring His faithfulness, and He will bring His word to pass. Wait, not in fretful anxiety, but in undaunted faith and unshaken trust. “If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:31, 32) (Testimonies for the Church 7:245). Our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us of which we know nothing. Those who accept the one principle of making the service of God supreme will find perplexities vanish and a plain path before their feet. The faithful discharge of today’s duties is the best preparation for tomorrow’s trials. Do not gather together all tomorrow’s liabilities and cares and add them to the burden of today…. Let us be hopeful and courageous. Despondency in God’s service is sinful and unreasonable. He knows our every necessity. To the omnipotence of the King of kings our covenant-keeping God unites the gentleness and care of the tender shepherd. His power is absolute, and it is the pledge of the sure fulfillment of His promises to all who trust in Him. He has means for the removal of every difficulty, that those who serve Him and respect the means He employs may be sustained. His love is as far above all other love as the heavens are above the earth. He watches over His children with a love that is measureless and everlasting. In the darkest days, when appearances seem most forbidding, have faith in God. He is working out His will, doing all things well in behalf of His people. The strength of those who love and serve Him will be renewed day by day. He is able and willing to bestow upon His servants all the help they need. He will give them the wisdom which their varied necessities demand (The Ministry of Healing, 481, 482). This text is from the devotional book Lift Him Up by Ellen G. White.