DISAPPOINTMENTS by Joseph Clarke

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · April 29, 1880

FromAdvent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 55, No. 18

DISAPPOINTMENTS

By Joseph Clarke

BY JOSEPH CLARKE.

We should never yield to discouragement because of disappointments. Man may err, and disappointment may follow as a consequence; but the only true way is to persevere in a good cause, however many disappointments occur. Ambition in a good cause is laudable and noble, if prompted by good motives. Often we see men of the world push forward their schemes, in the face of difficulty, danger, and loss, because they see an object ahead worthy of great labor and expense.

Columbus, in his zeal to explore the western ocean, was not daunted by continued disappointment and contempt; his project was ridiculed, and he treated almost as if he had been a monomaniac; but he pressed on, regardless of opposition, and the result is known to all.

Washington, at the head of his half-clad and half-fed troops, often defeated, often pursued, almost frozen out of his winter quarters or drenched by summer rains, fainted not, nor thought of giving up, even when Congress thought the cause a lost one, and so informed him. He passed their message almost unnoticed, and pressed on to victory. The result of his noble ambition is before the world.

Moses, the man of God, stood almost alone at times, while his people seemed doomed to destruction, but his courage never failed him; he still stood true to God and true to his people. The results of his victory are infinite.

The greatest instance of perseverance is that of Christ our Lord, who for six thousand years has patiently cared for his erring people here. Isaiah says of him (chap. 42:4) that “he shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth.” He has cared for each one, and with patience waited for the character of each to fully develop; he has scanned carefully each life record; he has borne our sins on the cross; he has been an inhabitant of our earth, subject to the trials incident to man, tempted, neglected, betrayed, scourged, buffeted, insulted, vilified, crucified; and still misrepresented by his professed friends and slandered by his foes; yet he is not moved from his purpose; the work of redemption goes on from day to day; he continues to plead for man; as our High Priest he offers his own blood.

With such an example of benevolence and disinterested love, can we falter or be discouraged? No, we will press on to victory, even though the way may seem rough and toilsome. Other men have labored, and this generation reaps the benefit. Others have laid the foundation in sorrow, pain, and loss, and in the expectation of a martyr’s fate; we labor under the protection of a free government, with every convenience that an enlightened age can afford. Our lives, our rights, are protected. Shall we talk of discouragement? Who has closed the doors of papal inquisitions, and who has quenched the fires of persecution? And why is it thus? Is it that we may become rich, and great, and selfish? or is it that we may prepare for the great day of God?