The Upward Look

Why God Permits Unsettling Experiences, June 5

All his life long, Moab has lain undisturbed like wine settled on its lees, not emptied from vessel to vessel; he has not gone into exile. Therefore the taste of him is unaltered, and the flavour stays unchanged. Jeremiah 48:11, N.E.B. UL 170.1

Moab did not know anything of the process of unsettling, and the people made but little moral and spiritual progress. “His taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed” (Jeremiah 48:11). UL 170.2

A life of monotony is not the most conducive to spiritual growth. Some can reach the highest standard of spirituality only through the breaking up of the regular order of things.... UL 170.3

God desires human beings to be more closely associated with Him. Therefore He takes them away from their friends and acquaintances. When God was preparing Elijah for translation, He moved him from place to place, that he might leave behind the methods and customs he had previously followed, that he might not settle down on his lees, and thus fail of obtaining moral greatness and spiritual soundness. It was God's design that Elijah's influence should be a power to help many souls to a more perfect experience. UL 170.4

Let those who are not permitted to rest in quietude, who must be constantly on the move, pitching their tent tonight in one place and tomorrow night in another place, remember that the Lord is leading them, and that this is His way of helping them to form perfect characters. In all the changes we are required to make, God is to be recognized as our Companion, our Guide, our Stronghold, and our Dependence. We are to ever be moving, advancing in knowledge, and thus it will be [that] they follow on to know the Lord. The light of His leading He will prepare as the morning. UL 170.5

The Lord has various ways of testing and proving His people. Again and again He has brought about changes to see whether His human agents will keep His commandments. When in His providence He sees that changes are essential for character building, He breaks up the smooth current of the life. He orders that changes shall be made, so that His worker shall not stagnate by following the regular order. UL 170.6

We are living in a time which calls for decided, sanctified action. Everything that can be done by the followers of Christ should be done, for the enemy will work with all his power to deter souls from receiving the truth.... But nevertheless, God's work is to go forward. We are to sow beside all waters, even though we know that many will seek to extinguish the light of truth.—Letter 59, June 5, 1901, to A. G. Daniells. UL 170.7