Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 9 (1894)
Lt 10, 1894
Corliss, J. O.
Campground, Ashfield, Australia
October 27, 1894
Portions of this letter are published in UL 314; SD 224, 298; HP 164. +Note
Dear Brother:
Matters have been presented to me which I must present before you. I have been shown that the Lord has blessed you with much of His Holy Spirit; precious light has come to the people through your instrumentality. The Lord has a work for you to do. But the enemy tempts you. In the past he has so shaped matters in your connection with your brethren that to a great degree you have lost confidence in them. You do not confide in them as being led and taught of God. Through these things the enemy has weakened your courage. Now, temptations will just as surely come to you as they have come to others in the past, but Jesus is your only helper, He is your Pattern. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 1
The Holy Spirit has worked through you while you were standing in defense of the truth against error, and you should give the praise to God and magnify His holy name. Do not give your brethren any occasion to feel that you are self-conceited and boastful and self-sufficient. If God has given you special victories, then you are to be thankful, and not to take credit to yourself. You can find rest and quietude only in God. Let Him give you His Spirit. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 2
Your susceptibilities are becoming strengthened in a wrong direction, and unless controlled, will bring you sorrow and discouragement. Your brethren have sometimes failed in their connection and association with you in the work. They have not always acted wisely, considerately, or justly. Now why did the enemy set in operation a train of circumstances that would make the most disagreeable impressions upon your mind? because he wanted to stir you up and cause your brethren to feel that you could not be trusted. God did not want this to be, but it has been. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 3
My brother, I feel the most tender interest in you, as a mother for her son. I know that Satan is striving to gain the mastery over you. When you see that things are not moving as you think they should move, especially when these matters concern you individually, you have been inclined to the opinion that your brethren did not treat you as they should. You have given them occasion, by your words and attitude; they have been perplexed to know just how to treat you, and you have misapprehended their feelings toward you. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 4
Brother Corliss, you carry your own self too much; you are not at rest in the Spirit. 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. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 5
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. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 6
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. When tempted to complain of your brethren and think it their purpose to place you in a hard and trying position, cut off that right arm, pluck out that eye which will surely discern things not in a correct light. Do not in your own heart bear false witness against your brother. Look past your brother to Jesus; quell the inclination to feel that you are abused and slighted. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 7
Your suppositions have been incorrect, and unjust to your brethren, though they are all real to you. Your ways, your thoughts, may often be in need of modifying, reshaping, as is the case also with those of your brethren. Look unto Jesus, receive His likeness, have a single eye to His glory; then you will have far more confidence in your brethren, which will in turn give them far greater confidence in you. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 8
“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” [1 Thessalonians 5:18.] In this giving of thanks you are continually to realize that God will work in your behalf, that those things which appear to be against you shall work for your good. You are to see the good in everything. God would not bid you be thankful for things that would do you harm. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 9
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. You bring yourself into a very miserable position, and then in your own mind reflect upon your brethren for placing you there. You recall the times your will has been thwarted, your plans changed, and treat the matter as if someone designed to do you harm. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 10
This, said the heavenly messenger, is the right arm to be taken off, the right eye to pluck out. You bring unhappiness upon yourself and those whom you love. Cease to worry. God has shown you His love; you are His property by creation and by redemption; He will take care of His own. You should feel secure in His hands. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 11
Do not bring the disagreeable things of the past into your present life. Testify that life with Christ is no failure. Talk of Christ, let Him be your companion. 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. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 12
There is a work to be done by the Holy Spirit in the heart; when this is accomplished, bitter waters 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 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. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 13
My brother, your self-pity is an injury to you; you sympathize with yourself, feel that you are not esteemed as you should be, that your work is altogether too hard, and your best efforts are unappreciated. These feelings are the result of a spiritual disease which can be cured only through faith in Christ. The temptation seizes you when you are weary or perplexed; but when the first symptoms appear, and the enemy works to make you grumble and murmur, look unto Jesus, trust in your Saviour. This is the only cure for this spiritual malaria. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 14
In the night season I have been conversing with you, bearing to you this message from God: The Lord in His ownership of you hath toward you an exceeding tenderness and pitifullness, as far surpassing that which you have felt toward your own children in their helplessness as the divine is above the human. Both those that are not and those that are, He loves. The love of God is unchangeable, not in any way fitful. Through faith in Christ alone can you be worthy of that love, helpful in that love. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 15
You love God, and the Lord loves you; He is dearer to you than any earthly tie, than any earthly object. Consider how preciously near you may keep to One who is your strength and efficiency. Live not in the shadow of the cross, but on the sunny side of the cross, where the Sun of Righteousness may shine into your heart. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 16
Be strong, yea, be strong. The beauty and helpfulness of your religious life depends on your walking with Jesus, your life hid with Christ in God. Then, whatever the circumstances, you will have the peace that Christ giveth. The strong love of God is your front guard, your rearward. You are not to work yourself up to any unnatural effort, but simply to cooperate with Christ. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 17
Give yourself to your Owner daily, hourly. Your mind is the Lord’s, bought with the precious blood of Jesus, and as His property you are to yield it to His control. Bridle your tongue; if you do this, you have your whole body under control, and through faith can do for yourself that which no human being can do for you. Your strong words of censure of your brethren are out of place, and hurt you terribly, while they cannot do the least particle of good. The more you dwell upon the idea that your brethren mean to hurt you and treat you ill, the more will Satan work in furnishing fuel to feed the fire. If you allow your mind to be occupied with these things, the enemy will see that you are kept busy. He puts his magnifying glass before your eyes, and mole hills of difficulty are made to appear as mountains. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 18
You will be grieved sometimes, as we are all grieved by the things which occur, and as every wrong act of yours wrings the heart of Jesus, because it reacts with greater force upon yourself, and is making your way so much harder for you. We are compassed with infirmities, but it is our privilege and duty to consider that we are laborers together with God and must keep the spirit pure and sweet and Christlike. Otherwise we shall work unconsciously in Satan’s lines, unfitting ourselves to be used by the Holy Spirit. If our tongues give expression to the thoughts and feelings that are prompted by satanic agencies, our own course of action is liable to be the very evils which had existed only in our imagination. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 19
You need to understand how to repose in God. A wise heart, molded by the Holy Spirit, it is your privilege to have; and this is the foundation of all true happiness in your home and in connection with your brethren. A wise heart is under the control of the Holy Spirit of God, and is therefore under the control of a will sanctified to God. Under the government of sacred thoughts the tongue will be controlled, so that it will not lead you into difficulty; a wise heart will give utterance to wise words. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 20
This is a matter of vital consequence in your home life. Your children need your example, that they may learn to be wise of speech, and to think evil of no man. The training of the heart, the control of the thoughts, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, will give control of the words. This is true wisdom, and will ensure quietness of mind, contentment, and peace. There will be joy in the contemplation of the riches of the grace of God. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 21
Jesus is regarding you with great tenderness; He says to you, “Come apart, and rest a while.” [Mark 6:31.] Let your mind be free from study, and from everything that will annoy or grieve you; shut the door against the thought that you are an abused man. Such thoughts hurt your soul and mar your religious serenity. Maintain a close and intimate fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ; behold Him as your companion; fortify your soul with the rich promise of God. Sell not the truth at any price; it is essential both to your spiritual and your physical well-being; it purifies the thoughts, it weeds out from the mind unholy suggestions. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 22
Love thinketh no evil, but thinketh and judgeth righteously. When it appears to you that everything is failing, that friends and brethren do not understand and appreciate your efforts, do not allow your mind to harbor the thought. By being dwelt upon continuously, the trouble that is only like a little grain will be magnified into large proportions, and before you are aware of it, you are led to act like a pettish, spoiled child. You say many things that are not wise or brave or Christian. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 23
God would have you trust in His love, and be constantly guarding your soul by locking the gate of your thoughts, that they shall not become unmanageable, for when you allow your mind to indulge these thoughts of self-pity, the enemy comes in to suggest the most unkind and unreasonable things in regard to those who would do you good, and only good. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 24
The Lord is to be your helper, and you will find comfort of mind and strength in considering the very things He would have you think upon. Consider the ways of the Lord toward you that your human life may be an exposition and a witness to His ways. You are a child of God; ever act toward your heavenly Father as you wish your children to act toward you. You cannot measure God; you cannot by searching find out God. “Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? Deeper than hell; what canst thou know?” [Job 11:7, 8.] 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 25
The Bible is to be to you practical and useful in every phase of your life. In every perplexity, go to God; keep your tongue as in a bridle while with men, but talk with God. A life guarded and controlled by the Word of God develops purity and nobility of character, comparable to fine gold, yea, even the golden wedge of Ophir. Jesus bids you come to Him in the night of trial, and you will find rest for your soul. He says, “Take my yoke upon you; and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your soul. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” [Matthew 11:29, 30.] 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 26
Listen to Jesus, follow His counsel, and you will not go astray from the wise and mighty Counselor, the only true Guide, the only One who can give you peace, happiness, and fullness of joy. Is not Jesus, everything to you? Can you not hide your life with Christ in God? One with Christ, you are one with the Father. You may have deep and solemn earnestness, but be careful to have all your powers under the control of the Holy Spirit, that your work may be done in simplicity, and without friction. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 27
You have an impetuous spirit, you are ambitious and love to be constantly in active service; but your brain needs consideration. “Come apart, and rest a while,” is the word from the lips of the great Teacher. [Mark 6:31.] In harmony with God there is peace. Whatever others may think of us or may do to us, it need not disturb this oneness with Christ, this fellowship of the Spirit. You know we cannot find rest anywhere but in Christ. We can abide in His love. We cannot afford to live on the husks of other’s defects or failings. There is no contentment here, no peace, no rest. But by beholding Jesus, talking of His love and perfection of character, you may become changed into the same image. By contemplating the lofty ideal He has placed before you, you will be uplifted into a pure and holy atmosphere, even the presence of God. When you abide here, there goes forth from you a light which irradiates all who are connected with you. Your home may be a symbol of heaven. 9LtMs, Lt 10, 1894, par. 28