Union With God by Ellen G. White (1887)

We have the promise, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” This is a precious promise to me for the reason I believe it. I believe God will do just as he said he would. And while we comply with the conditions to draw nigh to God, it is our privilege to claim the promise. Christ has said, “Without me ye can do nothing.” It is useless to think that we can do anything unless Christ is abiding in our hearts.It is our privilege to have Jesus with us at all times and in all places. In order to have this mighty Helper by our side, we must empty the soul of everything that would corrupt or tarnish it. This is our work; it is to keep the eye fixed upon the glory of God, and be constantly seeking to yoke up with Christ as our companion and friend. And this is what the cause of Christ requires, that the heart should be stirred with Christ’s words and Christ’s wisdom. It is to have a close connection with Jesus. We must acquaint ourselves with God, which is identification with God. It is not enough to have a theoretical knowledge; we must have a living experience in the things of God. Our life can be and should be made radiant with God’s wisdom. We must be lifted up to a higher level. We must take in knowledge from God’s word, from God’s presence; take in light from heaven, reflect light, and let our hearts go out in gratitude to God for the light of truth he has given us, and then let this light shine to those around us in steady, bright rays. The law of God is to be brought into our life, and its principles are to be carried out in actions, just as the building needs the great cornerstones and the solid beams. The Lord sees how deficient we are, and he wants to put his Spirit into our hearts. He warns us to build on the solid foundation; then we can find access to the souls he came to save. It is our work to open this most glorious truth to them. Just as soon as we separate ourselves from God by sin, which is the transgression of his law, Satan takes control of our minds. We want to seek earnestly to draw near to God.What does the text mean which says, “Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded”?—It means that some have been serving God with a divided heart. They esteem God some, but themselves more. We must not esteem ourselves more highly than we ought. Let not Christ’s words and words of some finite being bear with equal weight upon your heart. Fill the whole heart with the words of God. They are the living water quenching your burning thirst. They are the living bread from heaven. We cannot have Christ’s words dwelling in us richly, and at the same time have our thoughts centered upon ourselves, and think that we can do a great work, and that we have ability to reach the hearts of the people; for we can do nothing only as we have strength from Jesus Christ. We want to come into a place where we will surrender our souls to God. And it is not enough merely to surrender, but we must cling to Jesus, bring him into our life, and work for him with all the powers of our being. And we want by living faith to grasp the promise, and say, God has said the blessing is mine; I must have it, and I believe I shall have it; and keeping the mind on Christ, holding firmly to him, and at the same time surrendering ourselves to him, we shall find that Christ will come in. We shall have his presence abiding with us. He will give us access to souls, and success will attend our efforts.Here in Europe we need much of the Spirit of God. There are a great many things that need a different mold, and we must be consecrated to God in order to do the work of reconstructing which he would have us do. We must be seeking to have Christ fashion us, and be molded as clay in the hands of the potter. Man may try to put his mold upon the work, but you will see that it is a perfect failure. Some have peculiar views and ideas, and none can approach them because of these peculiarities. They are not easily entreated. But what we want is for them to receive Christ’s mold; we do not want to run anything after man’s way; we want the fashioning hand of God to mold and direct us. And if the right hand is laid upon us to fashion us, we shall have a peculiar mold after the fashion of Christ, and shall pursue a course directed of Heaven.In this work we shall meet with perplexities, and trials, and difficulties that we do not meet in America; but we can go forth knowing that we have Jesus with us to impress our hearts and minds with good, so that everywhere we can present to individuals the truth that he has given us. God will help us. The strong barriers of prejudice that have been built up will just as surely come down as did the walls of Jericho before the armies of Israel. There must be continual faith and trust in the Captain of our salvation. We must obey his orders. The walls of Jericho came down as the result of obeying orders. Joshua challenged the angel of Israel by asking, ...