Life's Perplexities Explained All the perplexities of life's experience will then be made plain. Where to us have appeared only confusion and disappointment, broken purposes and  thwarted plans, will be seen a grand, overruling, victorious purpose, a divine harmony.— Education, 305 (1903) . There Jesus will lead us beside the living stream flowing from the throne of God and will explain to us the dark providences through which on this earth He brought us in order to perfect our characters.— Testimonies for the Church 8:254 (1904) . All that has perplexed us in the providences of God will in the world to come be made plain. The things hard to be understood will then find explanation. The mysteries of grace will unfold before us. Where our finite minds discovered only confusion and broken promises, we shall see the most perfect and beautiful harmony. We shall know that infinite love ordered the experiences that seemed most trying. As we realize the tender care of Him who makes...

  In Egypt, Abraham showed that he was not free from human weakness. His wife, Sarah, was “very beautiful,” and he was sure that the Egyptians would covet the lovely stranger and kill her husband. He reasoned that he was not guilty of lying in describing Sarah as his sister, for she was the daughter of his father, though not of his mother. But this was a deception. Through Abraham’s lack of faith, Sarah was placed in great danger. The king of Egypt ordered her to be taken to his palace, intending to make her his wife, but the Lord, in His great mercy, protected Sarah by sending judgment on the royal household. It was through these judgments that the king learned he had been deceived. He reproved Abraham, saying, “What is this you have done to me? ... Why did you say, ‘She is my sister?’ I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.” Pharaoh’s dealing with Abraham was kind and generous, but he told him to leave Egypt. He had ignorantl...

Monday November 30 The Beauty Of Holiness Psalm 96:9 reads, “Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth” (NKJV). How do we understand this concept, “the beauty of holiness”? What should this mean to a Christian, and how should it impact what we teach about art and the beauty often associated with it? Though it has been said that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” we mustn’t forget who it was who created the eye to begin with (see Prov. 20:12). Though we have to be careful not to worship the creation itself (see yesterday’s study), from the beauty of the creation we can learn about God and, indeed, His love of beauty. If our fallen world still looks so beautiful, who can imagine what it must have been like before the Fall? And this teaches us that God indeed is the Creator of the beautiful. Study of arts and sciences can and should, then, draw us closer to the character and heart of God. Because we are a part of God’s own artwork and s...

 It was God's purpose to alleviate by toil the evil brought into the world by man's disobedience. By toil the temptations of Satan might be made ineffectual, and the tide of evil stayed. And though attended with anxiety, weariness, and pain, labor is still a source of happiness and development, and a safeguard against temptation. Its discipline places a check on self-indulgence, and promotes industry, purity, and firmness. Thus it becomes a part of God's great plan for our recovery from the fall. 

  Our work in this world is to live for others’ good, to bless others, to be hospitable; and frequently it may be only at some inconvenience that we can entertain those who really need our care and the benefit of our society and our homes. Some avoid these necessary burdens. But some one must bear them; and because the brethren in general are not lovers of hospitality, and do not share equally in these Christian duties, a few who have willing hearts, and who cheerfully make the cases of those who need help their own, are burdened.— Testimonies for the Church 2:645 . “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” These words have lost none of their force through the lapse of time. Our heavenly Father still continues to place in the pathway of His children opportunities that are blessings in disguise; and those who improve these opportunities find great joy.— Prophets and Kings, 132 .

  August 24, 1850, I saw that the “mysterious rapping” was the power of Satan; some of it was directly from him, and some indirectly, through his agents, but it all proceeded from Satan. It was his work that he accomplished in different ways; yet many in the churches and the world were so enveloped in gross darkness that they thought and held forth that it was the power of God. Said the angel, “Should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?” Should the living go to the dead for knowledge? The dead know not anything. For the living God do ye go to the dead? They have departed from the living God to converse with the dead who know not anything. See  Isaiah 8:19, 20 . I saw that soon it would be considered blasphemy to speak against the rapping, and that it would spread  more and more, that Satan's power would increase, and some of his devoted followers would have power to work miracles, and even to bring down fire from heaven in the sight of men. I was...

  And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again.  Revelation 10:10, 11 . In history and prophecy the Word of God portrays the long, continued conflict between truth and error. That conflict is yet in progress. Those things that have been will be repeated. Old controversies will be revived, and new theories will be continually arising. But God's people, who in their belief in fulfillment of prophecy have acted a part in the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels’ messages, know where they stand.... They are to stand firm as a rock, holding the beginning of their confidence steadfast unto the end. A transforming power attended the proclamation of the first and second angels’ messages, as it attends the message of the third angel.... There was diligent study of the Scriptures, point by point. Almost entire night...

  They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.— Revelation 22:4 . But even here Christians may have the joy of communion with Christ; they may have the light of His love, the perpetual comfort of His presence. Every step in life may bring us closer to Jesus, may give us a deeper experience of His love, and may bring us one step nearer to the blessed home of peace. . . . We cannot but look forward to new perplexities in the coming conflict, but we may look on what is past as well as on what is to come, and say, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.” “As thy days, so shall thy strength be.” ( 1 Samuel 7:12 ;  Deuteronomy 33:25 .) The trial will not exceed the strength that shall be given us to bear it. Then let us take up our work just where we find it, believing that whatever may come, strength proportionate to the trial will be given. And by and by the gates of heaven will be thrown open to admit God’s children, and from the lips of the King of glory the ben...

  Searching Out the Treasures of the Universe There, when the veil that darkens our vision shall be removed, and our eyes shall behold that world of beauty of which we now catch glimpses through the microscope, when we look on the glories of the heavens, now scanned afar through the telescope, when, the blight of sin removed, the whole earth shall appear “in the  beauty of the Lord our God,” what a field will be open to our study! There the student of science may read the records of creation and discern no reminders of the law of evil. He may listen to the music of nature's voices and detect no note of wailing or undertone of sorrow.... All the treasures of the universe will be open to the study of God's children. With unutterable delight we shall enter into the joy and the wisdom of unfallen beings. We shall share the treasures gained through ages upon ages spent in contemplation of God's handiwork.— Education, 303, 307 (1903) . Unfettered by mortality, they wing their tir...

  Abraham continued to travel southward, and again his faith was tested. The heavens withheld their rain, and the flocks and herds found no pasture. Starvation threatened the whole camp. Everyone was eagerly  watching to see what Abraham would do, as trouble after trouble came. As long as his confidence appeared unshaken, they felt that there was hope; they were assured that God was his friend and that He was still guiding him. Abraham clung to the promise, “I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.” He would not allow circumstances to shake his faith in God’s word. He went down to Egypt to escape the famine. In his great trouble he did not turn back to the Chaldean land from which he came, but looked for a temporary home as near as possible to the Land of Promise. The Lord in His wisdom had brought this trial on Abraham to teach him lessons for the benefit of everyone after him who would be called to endure affliction. God does not forget or cast...

Sunday November 29 The Lord Alone  There is evidence of the living God in all of His creation. This state-ment has been repeated so often that it has become clichéd. When we consider, for example, the heart of God in creating this world, which humans have proceeded to damage and mar, we may come closer to how we can best teach the arts and sciences. Take the human gestation period, for example. Biology tells us that new intelligent human life emerges from one fertilized egg and grows to full gestation after nine months. The marks of a loving Creator are all throughout this cycle. The loving-kindness of God can be seen in the place that a fetus develops: right below the steady beating of a mother’s heart. As the fetus enlarges, so does the mother’s abdomen, right out in front of her person. The expectant mother is made always aware of her child, just as our heavenly Father is always aware of His children. Read Romans 1:18-21, Psalm 19:1-6, and Nehemiah 9:6. What do they tell us...

  Remember, dear young friends, that each day, each hour, each moment, you are weaving the web of your own destiny. Each time the shuttle is thrown, there is drawn into the web a thread which either mars or beautifies the pattern. If you are careless and indolent, you spoil the life which God designed should be bright and beautiful. If you choose to follow your own inclinations, unchristlike habits will bind you with bands of steel. And as you walk away from Christ, your example will be followed by many who, because of your wrong course, will never enjoy the glories of heaven. But if you make brave efforts to overcome selfishness, allowing no opportunity to pass for helping those around you, the light of your example will guide others to the cross.— The Youth's Instructor, December 5, 1901 .