If we will but listen, God’s created works will teach us precious lessons of obedience and trust. From the stars that in their trackless courses through space follow from age to age their appointed path, down to the minutest atom, the things of nature obey the Creator’s will. And God cares for everything and sustains everything that He has created. He who upholds the unnumbered worlds throughout immensity, at the same time cares for the wants of the little brown sparrow that sings its humble song without fear. When men go forth to their daily toil, as when they engage in prayer; when they lie down at night, and when they rise in the morning; when the rich man feasts in his palace, or when the poor man gathers his children about the scanty board, each is tenderly watched by the heavenly Father. No tears are shed that God does not notice. There is no smile that He does not mark. SC 85.4
If we would but fully believe this, all undue anxieties would be dismissed. Our lives would not be so filled with disappointment as now; for everything, whether great or small, would be left in the hands of God, who is not perplexed by the multiplicity of cares, or overwhelmed by their weight. We should then enjoy a rest of soul to which many have long been strangers. SC 86.1
As I reflected on the counsel of God’s servant, Ellen G. White, I was reminded of David’s psalm in Psalm 19, where he beautifully describes how the heavens and the earth proclaim the glory of God. He suggests that if inanimate creation had a voice, it would joyfully declare the majesty of our Creator.
Recently, I’ve been studying more deeply the message of Righteousness by Faith. By God’s grace, I was led to Psalm 19, and verse 13 in particular spoke powerfully to me:
Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous [sins]; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
Psalm 19:13 KJV
The word “upright” here signifies righteousness — or to be direct, perfection. But this righteousness comes with a condition: it requires daily dependence on Jesus. As the Apostle Paul declared, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31), and John the Beloved reminded us, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
It is indeed possible to live a righteous life — this is God’s will for His people, even before Christ’s return. As Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4:3, “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification…”
Dear brothers and sisters, let us strive, by the enabling power of the Holy Spirit and through the grace of our merciful Redeemer, to live lives that reflect His holiness. I love you all dearly, and it is my earnest hope and prayer that our names will be found in the Book of Life when our sweet, sweet Christ returns to get us home.
