Section 11—Emotional Problems
Chapter 58—Faith (Part 1)
A Definition of Faith—Faith, saving faith, is to be taught. The definition of this faith in Jesus Christ may be described in few words: It is the act of the soul by which the whole man is given over to the guardianship and control of Jesus Christ. He abides in Christ and Christ abides in the soul by faith as supreme. The believer commits his soul and body to God and with assurance may say, Christ is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day. All who will do this will be saved unto life eternal. There will be an assurance that the soul is washed in the blood of Christ and clothed with His righteousness and precious in the sight of Jesus. Our thoughts and our hopes are on the second advent of our Lord. That is the day when the Judge of all the earth will reward the trust of His people.—Manuscript 6, 1889.
Other Definitions—Through faith we receive the grace of God, but faith is not our Saviour. It earns nothing. It is the hand by which we lay hold upon Christ and appropriate His merits.—The Desire of Ages, 175 (1898).
Faith is trusting God—believing that He loves us and knows best what is for our good. Thus, instead of our own, it leads us to choose His way. In place of our ignorance, it accepts His wisdom; in place of our weakness, His strength; in place of our sinfulness, His righteousness. Our lives, ourselves, are already His; faith acknowledges His ownership and accepts its blessing. Truth, uprightness, purity, have been pointed out as secrets of life’s success. It is faith that puts us in possession of these principles.—Education, 253 (1903).
Simple in Operation—Faith is simple in its operation and powerful in its results. Many professed Christians, who have a knowledge of the Sacred Word and believe its truth, fail in the childlike trust that is essential to the religion of Jesus. They do not reach out with that peculiar touch that brings the virtue of healing to the soul.—Redemption: The Miracles of Christ, 97 (1874). (The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 6:1074.)
Humility Is Not Faith—Humility, meekness, and obedience are not faith; but they are the effects, or fruit, of faith.—Testimonies for the Church 5:438 (1885).
Faith Gives Self-reliance—These things [the account of Paul’s trust in God] were not written merely that we might read and wonder, but that the same faith which wrought in God’s servants of old might work in us. In no less marked a manner than He wrought then will He work now wherever there are hearts of faith to be channels of His power.
Let the self-distrustful, whose lack of self-reliance leads them to shrink from care and responsibility, be taught reliance upon God. Thus many a one who otherwise would be but a cipher in the world, perhaps only a helpless burden, will be able to say with the apostle Paul, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).—Education, 256 (1903).
Faith Needed Every Step of the Way—Faith is needed in the smaller no less than in the greater affairs of life. In all our daily interests and occupations the sustaining strength of God becomes real to us through an abiding trust.—Education, 255 (1903).
Teach Faith—How to exercise faith should be made very plain. To every promise of God there are conditions. If we are willing to do His will, all His strength is ours. Whatever gift He promises is in the promise itself. “The seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11). As surely as the oak is in the acorn, so surely is the gift of God in His promise. If we receive the promise, we have the gift.—Education, 253 (1903).
Faith Has Precious Lessons for Children—For the child … who is quick to resent injuries, faith has precious lessons. The disposition to resist evil or to avenge wrong is often prompted by a keen sense of justice and an active, energetic spirit. Let such a child be taught that God is the eternal guardian of right. He has a tender care for the beings whom He has so loved as to give His Dearest Beloved to save. He will deal with every wrongdoer.—Education, 256, 257 (1903).
Mind to Be Educated to Exercise Faith—Faith works by love and purifies the soul from all selfishness. Thus the soul is perfected in love. And having found grace and mercy through Christ’s precious blood, how can we fail to be tender and merciful? “By grace are ye saved through faith” (Ephesians 5:8). The mind should be educated to exercise faith rather than to cherish doubt and suspicion and jealousy. We are too prone to look at obstacles as impossibilities.
To have faith in the promises of God, to walk forward by faith, pressing on without being governed by circumstances, is a lesson hard to learn. Yet it is a positive necessity that every child of God learn this lesson. The grace of God through Christ is to be ever cherished; for it is given to us as the only way of approaching God. Faith in the words of God, spoken by Christ enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, would have enabled the children of Israel to leave a record of a very different character. Their lack of faith in God gave them a very checkered history.—Manuscript 43, 1898.
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/78.831#831
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your divine gift of faith. Please bless us to trust You, regardless of circumstances. Teach us how to trust You in us to love and show mercy and compassion toward others, according to Your divine purpose. Through the power of Your Holy Spirit, please bless us to be all You would have us be, and grant us the mind and love of Jesus that others might be drawn to You through how we live and what we say, especially in response to harsh false accusations. Because we ask all these in the Awesome name of Your Son, Almighty Jesus the Christ, our Savior, we say Thank You and Amen.
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DID YOU KNOW THIS…?
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.— Hebrews 11:1 KJV —The WORD OF GOD—It’s the only flesh that is safe to eat (meditate on) to live forever!]
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Do you feel sorrowful, disconnected—without a place to feel at home or useful? I pray this might show you the way forward. Watch…
https://www.youtube.com/live/2QB6fcwVuws?si=fsEvZU-rkI-BngfD
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Therefore, if at any time you fail to receive this post as a text, please visit
https://baiom.org/author/audreystovall/
where devotionals are first posted daily (almost without fail). From there devotionals are publicly shared to my page on FB, LinkedIn, and Signal (in My Story), and to a response-restricted group on WhatsApp (once again when I am able to find the time to successfully rebuild it).
NOTE: These began as daily texts to encourage my academy roommate and dear friend of nearly 50 years, until she suddenly passed March 2023. Now I continue to compile and send them to anyone who will receive them and to her family in honor of their mom. Lately, I have begun featuring consecutive chapter portions of a select Bible-based book.
If you agree to continue receiving them, then this is my personal gift to you; and in this way, I not only honor God but the memory of a very dear friend whom I desperately miss.
My personal prayer is that God will bless me to find ways to multiply this gift, so that we all may be encouraged to be found faithful in the sight of a Holy God, whenever Christ returns or our eyes are shut in the sleep of death.
It is a prayerful process that leads me to share from my personal study.
So please feel free to forward to your loved ones or to anyone, as God leads you.
I’m calling them Barb’s Devotionals.