The Retirement Years

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A Rest Period in the Daytime

Dear Brother [S. N.] Haskell,

[Elder Haskell was 73 and Ellen White was 79 when this letter was written.]

I urge you not to work above that which you are able to do. You should have less constant, taxing labor, that you may be able to keep yourself in a rested condition. You should take a sleep in the daytime. You can then think more readily, and your thoughts will be more clear and your words more convincing. And be sure to bring your whole being into connection with God. Accept the Holy Spirit for your spiritual illumination, and under its guidance follow on to know the Lord. Go forth where the Lord directs, doing what He commands. Wait on the Lord, and He will renew your strength. RY 125.1

But it is not required of you or of me to be on a continual strain. We should surrender continually what He requires of us, and He will show us His covenant. “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him” (Psalm 25:14). We shall be instructed more deeply in the mystery of God the Father and of Jesus Christ. We shall have visions of the King in His beauty, and before us will be opened the rest that remaineth for the people of God. We will soon enter the city whose builder and maker is God—the city we have long talked of.—Selected Messages 2:230, 231. RY 125.2