Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Philippians 2:12, 13.
Talk of God's blessings. Let us ... bring all the pleasantness possible into our lives. When others begin to question and criticize, let us be determined, either by silence or by turning the conversation into another channel, to cut off the words which would not be spoken in wisdom. We are to continue to wait upon the Lord by humble prayer and supplication, making every effort to keep the door of our lips, so that we shall not utter one foolish word savoring of unbelief.
We are to talk faith, practicing the very things we have asked the Lord to give us grace to do. Thus we work out our own salvation, trying to help and save those in trouble by faithful words and kind deeds. It is God which worketh in us, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. The finite and the infinite are to unite in accomplishing the work that needs to be done. God has pledged himself to supply us with strength, cheerfulness, pleasantness, and joyfulness in our Saviour. [When we are] abiding in Him, the word that would cast a shadow over others is left unspoken.
Let us remember that everyone has some dark spot in his experience. Let us do all we can to bring cheerfulness and hope into the lives of others. What a blessing this will be to them. In their turn they will speak words of good cheer to others to bring sunshine into their hearts. As we do this work, we shall be in a position to realize that the Lord hears our prayers, because we work in harmony with them, fulfilling all the duty we owe to God and to ourselves. We shall go about our work in a thankful, prayerful frame of mind, but by faith we claim the promise, “Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find.”
Yes, we shall find the answer to our prayers; for God will do exceedingly abundantly above our highest expectation. What precious witness we shall then bear for God. What an honor we shall be to the truth of His word. We shall be able to say, “I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord. Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies” (Psalm 40:1-4).—Letter 87, June 20, 1900, to Edson and Emma White.
From The Upward Look - Page 185
The Upward Look