Hope Thou in God by C. M. S.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Jan 12, 1911

Hope Thou in God

By C. M. S.

THERE is no purpose of our Maker that can not be fulfilled in us to-day. We have only to let him take the helm, and he will steer our bark out of every storm that rages around us. “Without me,” said he, “ye can do nothing.” But men to-day are saying in their hearts and by their acts, “I can do all things through my own self;” and when the storm comes down, the source of their power, the fountain of their dependence, is shaken and shattered, storm-tossed, engulfed; and with that gone, their all is gone. Like the ships upon the sea, their only dependence is in themselves, and the storm is stronger than the ship.

There is a better source of strength and protection than self,—a source which no storm can shake, no power of earth destroy,—and it is open to every voyager upon the sea of life. “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: 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.” Isa. 41:10.

There is no necessity for the wrecks that strew the shores of the sea of life. There has been ample provision made for the safe voyage of every soul that has set out upon that sea. God can not save the soul that flees from his power and protection, and binds its hope to the flimsy fabric of its own protection. Such a soul must go down; for the powers that wrestle for its ruin are greater than the powers to which it looks for succor.

There is a chart and compass for every voyager, and a light to dispel every fog, and shine through the darkest night that shuts its curtains down upon the sea. That chart and compass are found in the Word of God, the Bible. But in the confidence of self, men have chosen to trust to the will-o'-the-wisp of their own reason, have set their course into the fog-bank of doubt, and so crashed upon the rocks of eternal ruin. These are the saddest wrecks that strew the sea of life to-day, and they outnumber a hundred to one the wrecks that stud the bottom of the sea.

The shipwrecks of the sea are sad events. But how much more sorrowful than the wreck of a ship, how much more terrible, is that life, loaded with a perfect wealth of possibilities, that lies mangled upon the rocks of unbelief, or lies loaded with the seaweed of miscarried purposes on the shore of life's sea—all because unbelief was at the helm and self upon the bridge, and God and his great purpose were shut out of the mind and heart.

There is hope for every voyager upon life's sea; but that hope is not in self. God must be the pilot; God the protector; God the helper and refuge in every stress of trial, the comforter in every sorrow, the power that wafts the vessel onward and homeward, and his Word the light to dispel every cloud of gloom and every fog that would enshroud the ship. He will do all that for you; his Word will be all that to you. Take him, then, for all that he has promised to be, and let his purpose be wrought out in your life, and your destiny be wrought out in his hand. There can be no sad wreck in such a life; but the light of God's blessing will shine out through the windows of the soul, and his glorious purpose concerning man will be worked out before the world in you.

C. M. S.