“YE ARE MY WITNESSES, THAT I AM GOD”
By Ole Andres Olsen
The Lesson in Testing and Proving
It has fallen to our lot to live in the most important, the most responsible, and the most solemn period of this world's history,—the most important, because it witnesses the closing of the great controversy that has been going on for ages; the most responsible, because of the prominent part we are called upon to take in this closing work; the most solemn, because now the destiny of every soul is being decided for eternity. As God's peculiar people, we are His witnesses upon the earth. “I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour. I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange God among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God.” Men are rejecting God; they are setting His word at naught, and trampling upon His holy law. The cup of sin and iniquity is being filled to the brim; the whole world is submerged in wickedness. It is at such a time that we are to be living, active witnesses, revealing to the world the glorious character of God. Intensity has taken possession of every earthly power, and an intensity such as was never witnessed before is to take possession of God's people who are awake, and who sense the solemn responsibility of the hour. Then we shall hear the loud cry of the Third Angel's Message, and the world shall be enlightened with its glory. We are entering the time of temptation (Rev. 3:10), when God's people will be severely tried. “The Lord trieth the righteous.” Ps. 11:5. “He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” Mal. 3:3. The trial will reveal defects, if such there are. This is the very purpose of the trial; for otherwise there might be a leak, causing terrible disaster at the most critical moment. It is to insure against such fatal accidents that a most thorough test is now being made. How solemn the thought that you and I, my brother and my sister, are now in the crucible, undergoing a preliminary testing process, that we may be ready at the right time to witness before the whole world, to the glory and majesty of God. These tests and trials will come in every way, manner, and shape. We must be prepared to have them come from the most unexpected quarter, and be of the most unexpected character. They will often come in a way to make them the hardest to bear, and in such a form as to make it most difficult to see the hand of God in them. In many cases they will come, as it would seem, directly from the wrong and foolish course of our fellow men, and even of our brethren. They will not have the appearance of anything supernatural, but rather of real evil and wantonness, and on that account will be the harder to bear. The experience of the children of Israel furnishes us with an important lesson. Their trials came to them in the most unexpected manner, and only a few of the people could see God's guiding hand in them. The outcry of the multitude was against Moses and Aaron. They did not mean to chide God. From their view of things, the lack of food and water and the other difficulties were the result of the mismanagement of Moses and Aaron. It was not possible for them to realize that the unbelief in their own hearts was the real seat of the difficulty. Had their faith grasped the promises of God, had they trusted in the mighty arm of Jehovah for deliverance, their heaviest burdens would have been made light, and their worst troubles would not have been disastrous at all. Instead, the power and glory of the Lord would have been revealed through them. The same principle will always prove true. Trials do not of themselves prove disastrous to character; but they make manifest the defects that already exist. Oh that God's people might understand this! The divine purpose in permitting any trial to overtake us, whether it be as individuals or as a people, is to reveal flaws, that we may be led to seek more earnestly after the perfection of character to which the Lord would have us attain in this closing work. Viewed from this standpoint, the severest trials are seen to be great blessings. Instead of discouragements, they are stepping stones to greater joys, more glorious victories, and higher attainments in the Christian life. During the last year we have had an unexpected experience, for which we were unprepared. I refer to the financial disaster that has befallen our publishing house at Christiania, Norway. The announcement of this came as a terrible shock to our people all over the world. It came at a time, and under circumstances, that made it most difficult to bear. We had felt the responsibility of the great missionary field, both at home and in distant lands, and had made advancement even beyond our ready means, thus loading ourselves with as heavy a burden, it seemed, as we could possibly bear up under. Therefore, to have this additional burden laid upon us was indeed most trying. Yet God is leading this people still; He knows what we are able to bear, and we can leave it all with Him. We have always believed that none of the institutions established for carrying forward the work of the message could fail; because the work being the Lord's, and the whole denomination united in its support, God would not suffer such a disgrace upon His cause. But now we are brought to the test. Will we act on the true principle, and, arising as one man, in the strength of God meet this responsibility and every other demand for God's cause? I am glad we have decided to do so. In this way alone can we stand clear before God and the world; and going forward on this basis, we shall have the divine blessing. Thus we shall prove to the world the truthfulness of the saying that no institution standing as a representative of the last warning message can possibly fail. In the strength of God let us go forward. The day of final triumph is close at hand. “Courage in the Lord” should be our watchword.