LESSON 7 *August 6–12
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Hab. 1:1–4, Job 38–41, Isa.
41:8–14, Jer. 29:1–10, Heb. 12:1–13.
Memory Text: “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love
of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was
given to us” (Romans 5:5, NKJV).
When in church surrounded by smiling people, how easy it is to
talk and sing about hope. But when we find ourselves within the
crucible, hope does not always seem so easy. As circumstances
press in around us, we begin to question everything, particularly the
wisdom of God.
In one of his books, C. S. Lewis writes about a make-believe lion.
Wanting to meet this lion, someone asks if the lion is safe. The person is
told that he’s not safe, “but he’s good.”
Even though we don’t always understand God and He seems to do
unpredictable things, that doesn’t mean that God is against us. It simply
means that we don’t have the full picture yet. But we struggle with the idea
that for us to have peace, confidence, and hope, God must be
understandable and predictable. He needs to be, in our thinking, “safe.” As
such, we set ourselves up for disappointment.
The Week at a Glance: How does our understanding of the
character of God help us maintain hope in the crucible?
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 13.
EGW Notes — SATURDAY ↓
Sabbath Afternoon, August 6
Lesson 7 - Indestructible Hope
When trials come, remember that they are sent for your good. . . .
When trials and tribulations come to you know that they are sent in order
that you may receive from the Lord of glory renewed strength and
increased humility, so that He may safely bless and support and uphold
you. In faith and with the hope that “maketh not ashamed,” lay hold of the
promises of God. . . .
The Lord designs that His people shall be happy, and He opens before
us one source of consolation after another, that we may be filled with joy
and peace in the midst of our present experience. We are not to wait until
we shall get into heaven for brightness and comfort and joy. We are to
have them right here in this life. . . . We miss very much because we do
not grasp the blessings that may be ours in our afflictions. All our
sufferings and sorrows, all our temptations and trials, all our sadness and
griefs, all our persecutions and privations, and in short all things, work
together for our good. All experiences and circumstances are God’s
workmen whereby good is brought to us. Let us look at the light behind
the cloud.—My Life Today, p. 185.
Now when you can no longer be active, and infirmities press upon you,
all that God requires of you is to trust Him. Commit the keeping of your
soul to Him as unto a faithful Creator. His mercies are sure, His covenant
is everlasting. Happy is the man whose hope is in the Lord his God, who
keepeth truth forever. Let your mind grasp the promises and hold to them.
If you cannot call to mind readily the rich assurance contained in the
precious promises, listen to them from the lips of another. What fullness,
what love and assurance are found in these words from the lips of God
Himself, proclaiming His love, His pity and interest in the children of His
care:
“The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and
abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving
iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6,
7).—Selected Messages, book 2, p. 231.
The Bible reveals Christ to us as the Good Shepherd, seeking with
unwearied feet for the lost sheep. By methods peculiarly His own He
helped all who were in need of help. With tender, courteous grace He
ministered to sin-sick souls, bringing healing and strength. . . .
The Saviour’s entire life was characterized by disinterested benevolence
and the beauty of holiness. He is our pattern of goodness. From the
beginning of His ministry, men began to comprehend more clearly the
character of God. He carried out His teachings in His own life. He showed
consistency without obstinacy, benevolence without weakness, tenderness
and sympathy without sentimentalism. He was highly social, yet He
possessed a reserve that discouraged any familiarity. His temperance
never led to bigotry or austerity. He was not conformed to the world, yet
He was attentive to the wants of the least among
men.—Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, pp. 261, 262.
SUNDAY August 7
The Big Picture
When we are hurting, it is very easy to presume that what happens
to us is the only thing that matters. But there is a slightly larger picture
than just “me” (see Rev. 12:7, Rom. 8:22).
Read Habakkuk 1:1–4. What did Habakkuk face?
* Your notes will not be saved!
You might expect that God would say something like, “That’s really
terrible, Habakkuk; let Me come and help you immediately.” But God’s
answer is the opposite. He tells Habakkuk that it is going to get worse. Read
this in Habakkuk 1:5–11.
Israel had been taken into captivity by the Assyrians, but God promises
that worse is coming: The Babylonians will now carry away the people of
Judah. Habakkuk cries out again in verses 12–17 and then waits to see what
God is going to say.
How does God’s introduction to the promised destruction of Babylon
in Habakkuk 2:2, 3 bring hope?
Habakkuk 2 is God’s promise of the destruction of the Babylonians.
Hebrews 10:37 quotes Habakkuk 2:3, hinting of a Messianic application to
this promise in the future. With the same certainty that the destruction of
Babylon was promised, so we also have the certainty of the destruction of
“ ‘Babylon the Great’ ” (Rev. 18:2, NIV).
Habakkuk was trapped between the great evil surrounding him and
God’s promise of worse to come. Yet, this is precisely where we find
ourselves in salvation history. Great evil is around us, but the Bible predicts
that much worse is to come. The key to Habakkuk’s survival is that he is
brought to see the whole picture. Therefore, in chapter 3 he is able to pray
an incredible prayer of praise because of what God will do in the future.
Read Habakkuk 3:16–19. What does Habakkuk identify as his
reasons for hope? What is the hope of God’s people as we wait for the
last prophetic scenes to unfold? How can you make this hope your
own?
EGW Notes — SUNDAY ↓
Sunday, August 7
The Big Picture
Viewing the situation of the faithful in his day, [Habakkuk] expressed
the burden of his heart in the inquiry: “O Lord, how long shall I cry, and
Thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto Thee of violence, and Thou wilt not
save! Why dost Thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold
grievance? . . .” Habakkuk 1:2–4.
God answered the cry of His loyal children. Through His chosen
mouthpiece He revealed His determination to bring chastisement upon
the nation that had turned from Him to serve the gods of the heathen.
Within the lifetime of some who were even then making inquiry
regarding the future, He would miraculously shape the affairs of the ruling
nations of earth and bring the Babylonians into the ascendancy. . . . The
princes of Judah and the fairest of the people were to be carried captive to
Babylon; the Judean cities and villages and the cultivated fields were to be
laid waste; nothing was to be spared.
Confident that even in this terrible judgment the purpose of God for
His people would in some way be fulfilled, Habakkuk bowed in
submission to the revealed will of Jehovah. . . . And then, his faith
reaching out beyond the forbidding prospect of the immediate future, and
laying fast hold on the precious promises that reveal God’s love for His
trusting children, the prophet added, “We shall not die.” Verse 12. With
this declaration of faith he rested his case, and that of every believing
Israelite, in the hands of a compassionate
God.—Prophets and Kings, pp. 385, 386.
The faith that strengthened Habakkuk and all the holy and the just in
those days of deep trial was the same faith that sustains God’s people
today. In the darkest hours, under circumstances the most forbidding, the
Christian believer may keep his soul stayed upon the source of all light
and power. Day by day, through faith in God, his hope and courage may
be renewed. “The just shall live by his faith.” In the service of God there
need be no despondency, no wavering, no fear. The Lord will more than
fulfill the highest expectations of those who put their trust in Him. He will
give them the wisdom their varied necessities
demand.—Prophets and Kings, pp. 386, 387.
The time of waiting may seem long, the soul may be oppressed by
discouraging circumstances, many in whom confidence has been placed
may fall by the way; but with the prophet who endeavored to encourage
Judah in a time of unparalleled apostasy, let us confidently declare, “The
Lord is in His holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before Him.”
Habakkuk 2:20. Let us ever hold in remembrance the cheering message,
“The vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and
not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not
tarry.” Verse 3.—Prophets and Kings, pp. 387, 388.
MONDAY August 8
Who Our Father Is
Oswald Chambers writes, “Have you been asking God what He is going
to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do;
He reveals to you Who He is.”—My Utmost for His Highest (Uhrichsville,
OH: Barbour & Company, Inc., 1963), January 2.
What do you think Chambers means by this idea?
As we know, the book of Job begins with great personal tragedy for Job.
He loses everything, except his life and his wife, and she suggests that he
“ ‘curse God and die!’ ” (Job 2:9, NIV). What follows is a discussion in
which his friends try to work out why it has all happened. Throughout all of
these discussions, God remains silent.
Then suddenly in Job 38, God appears and speaks: “ ‘Who is this that
obscures my plans with words without knowledge?’ ” (Job 38:2, NIV).
Without pausing, God asks Job some 60 jaw-dropping questions. Open your
Bible and scan through these in Job 38 and 39.
After the last question, Job replies, “ ‘I am unworthy—how can I reply
to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer
—twice, but I will say no more’ ” (Job 40:4, 5, NIV). But God is not
finished. He then begins again and asks another set of “big” questions in
succession.
Read Job’s final response in Job 42:1–6. What was God trying to tell
Job, and what was the effect on him?
God never answers any of the “why” questions of Job’s friends. But God
does paint a picture of His unparalleled greatness as revealed through the
astonishing works of Creation. After this, Job certainly does not need any
answers. The need for explanations has been eclipsed by an overwhelming
picture of the magnificence of God.
This story reveals a fascinating paradox. Hope and encouragement can
spring from the realization that we know so little. Instinctively, we try to
find comfort by knowing everything, and so we become discouraged when
we cannot know. But sometimes God highlights our ignorance so that we
may realize that human hope can find security only in a Being much greater
than ourselves.
Are things that you just can’t understand happening now? If so,
focus on the character of God. How can doing that give you the hope
that you need to persevere through what’s, for now,
incomprehensible?
EGW Notes — MONDAY ↓
Monday, August 8
Who Our Father Is
It was generally believed by the Jews that sin is punished in this life.
Every affliction was regarded as the penalty of some wrongdoing, either of
the sufferer himself or of his parents. It is true that all suffering results
from the transgression of God’s law, but this truth had become perverted.
Satan, the author of sin and all its results, had led men to look upon
disease and death as proceeding from God,—as punishment arbitrarily
inflicted on account of sin. Hence one upon whom some great affliction or
calamity had fallen had the additional burden of being regarded as a great
sinner. . . .
God had given a lesson designed to prevent this. The history of Job had
shown that suffering is inflicted by Satan, and is overruled by God for
purposes of mercy. But Israel did not understand the lesson. The same
error for which God had reproved the friends of Job was repeated by the
Jews in their rejection of Christ.
The belief of the Jews in regard to the relation of sin and suffering was
held by Christ’s disciples. While Jesus corrected their error, He did not
explain the cause of the man’s affliction, but told them what would be the
result. Because of it the works of God would be made
manifest.—The Desire of Ages, p. 471.
True holiness and humility are inseparable. The nearer the soul comes
to God, the more completely is it humbled and subdued. When Job heard
the voice of the Lord out of the whirlwind, he exclaimed, “I abhor myself,
and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6). It was when Isaiah saw the glory
of the Lord and heard the cherubim crying, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord
of hosts,” that he cried out, “Woe is me! for I am undone” (Isaiah 6:3, 5). . . .
He who catches a glimpse of the matchless love of Christ counts all
other things as loss, and looks upon Him as the chiefest among ten
thousand and as the one altogether lovely. As seraphim and cherubim look
upon Christ, they cover their faces with their wings. Their own perfection
and beauty are not displayed in the presence and glory of their Lord. Then
how improper it is for men to exalt themselves! Let them rather be clothed
with humility, cease all strife for supremacy, and learn what it means to be
meek and lowly of heart. He who contemplates God’s glory and infinite
love, will have humble views of himself, but by beholding the character of
God, he will be changed into His divine
image.—That I May Know Him, p. 175.
TUESDAY August 9
Our Father’s Presence
“ ‘For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you’ ”
(Isa. 41:13, NIV).
Someone once said, “When God seems far away, who is the one who has
moved?” When problems strike, we presume that God has deserted us. The
truth is that He hasn’t gone anywhere.
God’s presence seemed very far away to the Jews in exile. Yet, through
Isaiah, God assures them of future deliverance. However, while the actual
return to Jerusalem was still many years in the future, God wanted His
people to know that He had not moved away from them and that there was
every reason for hope.
Read Isaiah 41:8–14. What reasons for hope can you identify for
people waiting eagerly for future deliverance? How does this promise
help us as we wait for our exile on earth to end?
One of the most powerful images in these verses is found in verse 13.
The sovereign God of the universe says that His people do not need to fear,
because He is the one who takes “ ‘hold of your right hand’ ” (NIV). It is
one thing to imagine God guiding events on earth from a big throne lightyears
away from our earth. But it is an altogether different picture to realize
that He is close enough to hold the hands of His dearly beloved people.
When we are busy, it can be hard to remember that God is so close to us.
But when we do remember that He is Immanuel, “God with us,” it makes
such a difference. When God’s presence is with us, so are His purposes, His
promises, and His transforming power.
Over the next few days, try an experiment. At every moment possible,
try to remind yourself that the God of the universe is close enough to
you to hold your hand and is personally promising you help. Keep a
record of how this changes the way you live. Be prepared to discuss
your experience in class on Sabbath.
EGW Notes — TUESDAY ↓
Tuesday, August 9
Our Father’s Presence
Many have confused ideas as to what constitutes faith, and they live
altogether below their privileges. They confuse feeling and faith, and are
continually distressed and perplexed in mind; for Satan takes all possible
advantage of their ignorance and inexperience. . . . We are to believe that
we are chosen of God, to be saved by the exercise of faith, through the
grace of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit; and we are to praise and
glorify God for such a marvelous manifestation of His unmerited favor. It
is the love of God that draws the soul to Christ, to be graciously received,
and presented to the Father. . . .
The Father sets His love upon His elect people who live in the midst of
men. These are the people whom Christ has redeemed by the price of His
own blood; and because they respond to the drawing of Christ, through
the sovereign mercy of God, they are elected to be saved as His obedient
children. Upon them is manifested the free grace of God, the love
wherewith He hath loved them. Everyone who will humble himself as a
little child, who will receive and obey the word of God with a child’s
simplicity, will be among the elect of
God.—Our High Calling, p. 77.
With the beloved John I call upon you to “behold, what manner of love
the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of
God.” What love, what matchless love, that, sinners and aliens as we are,
we may be brought back to God and adopted into His family! We may
address Him by the endearing name, “Our Father,” which is a sign of our
affection for Him and a pledge of His tender regard and relationship to us.
. . .
All the paternal love which has come down from generation to
generation through the channel of human hearts, all the springs of
tenderness which have opened in the souls of men, are but as a tiny rill to
the boundless ocean when compared with the infinite, exhaustless love of
God. Tongue cannot utter it; pen cannot portray it. You may meditate
upon it every day of your life; you may search the Scriptures diligently in
order to understand it; you may summon every power and capability that
God has given you, in the endeavor to comprehend the love and
compassion of the heavenly Father; and yet there is an infinity beyond.
You may study that love for ages; yet you can never fully comprehend the
length and the breadth, the depth and the height, of the love of God in
giving His Son to die for the world. Eternity itself can never fully reveal
it.—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, pp. 739, 740.
WEDNESDAY August 10
Our Father’s Plans for Us
Everyone is looking for hope. But where is it found? For some
people, hope is found in the smile of a friend. For others, hope grows
out of financial security or a stable marriage. Where do you normally
look for hope and courage?
In the book of Jeremiah, the prophet is writing to people who had lost
hope in their exile. “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we
remembered Zion” (Ps. 137:1, NIV). But even though they are heartbroken,
Jeremiah lays out reasons they should not give up hope.
What reasons for hope are given in Jeremiah 29:1–10?
In this passage, there are three important sources of hope worth
highlighting.
First, God tells His people that they should not give up hope, because
their situation is not the result of chance or unpredictable evil. For God
Himself says, “I carried [Judah] into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon” (Jer.
29:4, NIV). Though evil seems to surround them, Judah has never left the
center of God’s hands.
Second, God tells His people that they should not give up hope, because
He can work even within their present difficulties. “ ‘Also, seek the peace
and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the
LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper’ ” (Jer. 29:7, NIV).
Third, God tells His people that they should not give up hope, because
He is going to bring an end to their exile at a specific time: “This is what
the LORD says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will
come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place’ ”
(Jer. 29:10, NIV).
After God explains how He was in charge of their past, is in charge of
their present, and will be in charge of their future, He then beautifully
conveys His tender care for His people (see Jer. 29:11–14).
Read Jeremiah 29:11–14, saying your name after the word you, as if
God is making these promises to you personally. Apply these
promises for yourself in whatever your present struggles might be.
EGW Notes — WEDNESDAY ↓
Wednesday, August 10
Our Father’s Plans for Us
Let us be hopeful and courageous. . . . [God] knows our every necessity.
He has all power. He can bestow upon His servants the measure of
efficiency that their need demands. His infinite love and compassion never
weary. With the majesty of omnipotence He unites the gentleness and
care of a tender shepherd. We need have no fear that He will not fulfill His
promises. He is eternal truth. Never will He change the covenant that He
has made with those that love Him. His promises to His church stand fast
forever. He will make her an eternal excellence, a joy of many generations.
Study the forty-first chapter of Isaiah, and strive to understand it in all
its significance. . . .
He who has chosen Christ has joined himself to a power that no array
of human wisdom or strength can overthrow. “Fear thou not; for I am with
thee,” He declares; “be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen
thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of
My righteousness.” “I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying
unto thee Fear not; I will help thee.” Verses 10,
13.—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, pp. 38, 39.
God is Himself the source of all mercy. His name is “merciful and
gracious.” Exodus 34:6. He does not treat us according to our desert. He
does not ask if we are worthy of His love, but He pours upon us the riches
of His love, to make us worthy. He is not vindictive. He seeks not to
punish, but to redeem. Even the severity which He manifests through His
providences is manifested for the salvation of the wayward. He yearns
with intense desire to relieve the woes of men and to apply His balsam to
their wounds.—Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 22.
The purpose which God seeks to accomplish through His people today
is the same that He desired to accomplish through Israel when He brought
them forth out of Egypt. By beholding the goodness, the mercy, the
justice, and the love of God revealed in the church, the world is to have a
representation of His character. And when the law of God is thus
exemplified in the life, even the world will recognize the superiority of
those who love and fear and serve God above every other people on the
earth. The Lord has His eye upon every one of His people; He has His
plans concerning each. It is His purpose that those who practice His holy
precepts shall be a distinguished people. To the people of God today as
well as to ancient Israel belong the words written by Moses through the
Spirit of Inspiration: “Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the
Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above
all people that are upon the face of the earth.” Deuteronomy 7:6. . . .
Even these words fail of expressing the greatness and the glory of
God’s purpose to be accomplished through His people. Not to this world
only but to the universe are we to make manifest the principles of His
kingdom.—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, pp. 12, 13.
THURSDAY August 11
Our Father’s Discipline
Read Hebrews 12:5–13. What’s the message to us here, and how does
it fit in with what we have been studying this quarter?
In Hebrews 12:5–13, Paul describes trials in the context of discipline. In
the New International Version Bible translation of this passage, various
forms of the word “discipline” appear ten times. In the Greek world, this
word was the most basic word for “education.” So, to understand
“discipline” is to understand how God educates us in the school of faith that
Paul has been describing before in Hebrews 11.
Throughout Hebrews 11, Paul has been painting pictures of men and
women of faith. Their faith was what kept them going when they were
faced with all sorts of trying situations. As we enter chapter 12, Paul turns
to us, the readers, and says that since so many people before us have
persevered against incredible odds, we also can run and finish the life of
faith. The key is to fix our eyes upon Jesus (Heb. 12:2), that He may be an
Example when times are difficult (Heb. 12:3). Reading chapter 12 is like
being given a set of reading glasses. Without these glasses our vision or
understanding of hardship will always be fuzzy. But looking through these
glasses will correct the blurred explanation of suffering that our culture
presses upon us. Then we will be able to understand clearly and be able to
respond to trials intelligently.
Read through the “glasses” of Hebrews 12:1–13. Now concentrate on
verses 5–13 and answer these questions:
What is the source of discipline?
What is our response to discipline?
What is the goal of discipline?
Read through Hebrews 12:1–13 again. Make a list of all the reasons
you can identify with as grounds for hope. How have you experienced
this hope in your own times of spiritual “education”?
EGW Notes — THURSDAY ↓
Thursday, August 11
Our Father’s Discipline
There is a lesson for us in [the] experience of Paul, for it reveals God’s
way of working. The Lord can bring victory out of that which may seem
to us discomfiture and defeat. We are in danger of forgetting God, of
looking at the things which are seen, instead of beholding by the eye of
faith the things which are unseen. When misfortune or calamity comes,
we are ready to charge God with neglect or cruelty. If He sees fit to cut off
our usefulness in some line, we mourn, not stopping to think that thus
God may be working for our good. We need to learn that chastisement is a
part of His great plan and that under the rod of affliction the Christian
may sometimes do more for the Master than when engaged in active
service.—The Acts of the Apostles, p. 481.
Many who profess the name of Christ and claim to be looking for His
speedy coming, know not what it is to suffer for Christ’s sake. Their hearts
are not subdued by grace, and they are not dead to self, as is often shown
in various ways. At the same time they are talking of having trials. But the
principal cause of their trials is an unsubdued heart, which makes self so
sensitive that it is often crossed. If such could realize what it is to be a
humble follower of Christ, a true Christian, they would begin to work in
good earnest and begin right. They would first die to self, then be instant
in prayer, and check every passion of the heart. Give up your selfconfidence
and self-sufficiency, brethren, and follow the meek Pattern.
Ever keep Jesus in your mind that He is your example and you must tread
in His footsteps. Look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who
for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the
shame. He endured the contradiction of sinners against Himself. He for
our sins was once the meek, slain lamb, wounded, bruised, smitten, and
afflicted.
Let us, then, cheerfully suffer something for Jesus’ sake, crucify self
daily, and be partakers of Christ’s sufferings here, that we may be made
partakers with Him of His glory, and be crowned with glory, honor,
immortality, and eternal
life.—Early Writings, pp. 113, 114.
If we hope to wear the crown, we must expect to bear the cross. Our
greatest trials will come from those who profess godliness. It was so with
the world’s Redeemer; it will be so with His followers. . . . Those who are
in earnest to win the crown of eternal life need not be surprised or
disheartened because at every step toward the heavenly Canaan they meet
with obstacles and encounter trials. . . .
The Saviour knows what is best. Faith grows by conflict with doubt and
difficulty and trial. Virtue gathers strength by resistance to temptation. . . .
John in holy vision beholds the faithful souls that come up out of great
tribulation, surrounding the throne of God, clad in white robes, and
crowned with immortal glory. . . . Their faithfulness to God and to His
Word stands revealed, and Heaven’s high honors are awarded them as
conquerors.—Our High Calling, p. 361.
FRIDAY August 12
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The School of the
Hereafter,” pp. 301–309, in Education; “Help in Daily Living,” pp. 470,
471, in The Ministry of Healing.
“Into the experience of all there come times of keen disappointment and
utter discouragement—days when sorrow is the portion, and it is hard to
believe that God is still the kind benefactor of His earthborn children; days
when troubles harass the soul, till death seems preferable to life. It is then
that many lose their hold on God and are brought into the slavery of doubt,
the bondage of unbelief. Could we at such times discern with spiritual
insight the meaning of God’s providences we should see angels seeking to
save us from ourselves, striving to plant our feet upon a foundation more
firm than the everlasting hills, and new faith, new life, would spring into
being.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 162.
Discussion Questions:
-
1. Ellen G. White says that “all” of us experience times of “keen
disappointment and utter discouragement.” How well do we notice
each other as we go through such times? How can we better learn to
be agents of hope for each other when we experience such bitter
disappointments?
-
2. As a class, go over your answers to Tuesday’s final question.
What difference did it make in your life as you kept the reality of
God’s nearness ever before you?
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3. In class, read aloud sections in Job 38–41. What kind of picture
of God does it present? What do you learn that gives you hope and
encouragement? How does the Sabbath fit into this picture? How
does it help keep before us the nature and character of God?
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4. Hope that transforms comes from heaven. This means that we
can pray for hope to be brought into each other’s lives. Spend some
time praying for those whose hope has been faltering recently, that
their hope may be renewed. More than that, what can you do for
others who are in a losing struggle to find hope?
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5. If someone is willing, ask that person to recount a time that
despair and trials caused him or her to lose hope and faith. What
turned that person around? What can we share with one another that
can help when we are in times of doubt and despair?
EGW Notes — FRIDAY ↓
Friday, August 12
For Further Reading
This Day With God, “Rejoice in the Lord,” p. 156;
Education, “The School of the Hereafter,” pp. 301–309.
INSIDE STORY
Part 7: Father Surrenders
By ANDREW MCCHESNEY
Four days after Junior’s baptism, evil spirits ordered Father to kill his
family. Otherwise, they warned, Junior and Mother would destroy him
because they were praying for him. For the first time, Father mustered up
the courage to talk back. “How?” he asked. “Aren’t our prayers more
powerful?”
The spirits backed down and told Father to leave his home in Manaus,
Brazil. They told him to take a boat to one of five cities where Candomblé
priests were waiting for him. But when Father sought to buy a boat ticket,
none was available to those cities. The only tickets were to Coari.
Remembering an uncle in Coari, Father decided to sail there.
Uncle Cesario Ferreira was thrilled to see Father, and he organized a
family reunion. Father didn’t know the relatives well, but he confided that a
spiritual conflict had erupted at home. Ninety-two-year-old Aunt Tereza
patted him on the shoulder. “Son, it’s time for you to give up,” she said.
“You have been serving evil spirits your whole life. Now it’s time to serve
God.”
Father looked shocked. “Are you a Protestant Christian?” he asked,
remembering that the evil spirits had told him to stay away from them.
Aunt Tereza smiled and motioned toward the other relatives, who also
were smiling. “Son, we’re all Protestant Christians!” she said.
The next day, Father worriedly called a temple priest for advice. Uncle
Cesario, who was preparing breakfast, overheard the conversation. After
Father hung up, he said, “Son, did you know that Jesus cast out evil
spirits?”
“How did He do that?” Father asked.
For the next three days, Uncle Cesario read Bible stories about how
Jesus cast out evil spirits. On the fourth day, he told about the man
possessed by a legion of evil spirits in Mark 5:1–19. Father was surprised
that the spirits told Jesus, “ ‘My name is Legion; for we are many’ ” (verse
9, NKJV).“That’s true!” he said. “When I went to the church for Junior’s
baptism, I went with a legion of evil spirits.”
The fifth day, Uncle Cesario didn’t tell any stories. Father was afraid to
ask why, and he went for a long walk. That evening, he became upset when
a temple priest called him to ask for help securing animals for sacrifices.
“Let the spirits be the sacrifice!” he blurted out. “They commanded me
to kill my own son. Solve your problems without me!”
Father, still upset, sat down at the table for supper. “Son,” Uncle Cesario
said, “did you know that the devil killed Job’s own son and other children?”
Father had never heard of Job, and he wept as he heard the story from the
Bible. At the end, Father said, “I’ve made a decision. I’ll leave Candomblé
and get to know the Adventists’ God. Please pray. The devil will try to kill
me.”
The next day, Father returned home and announced his decision to
Mother. “I’m willing to follow your God,” he said.
Your Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help open eight churches in the South American Division,
including four in Brazil, where Father (EDUARDO FERREIRA DOS SANTOS) and his family live.
Provided by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission, which uses Sabbath School
mission offerings to spread the gospel worldwide. Read new stories daily at
AdventistMission.org.
