Many of the barren, unworked fields must be entered by beginners. The brightness of the Saviour's view of the world will inspire confidence in many workers, who, if they begin in humility and put their hearts into the work, will be found to be the right men for the time and place. Christ sees all the misery and despair of the world, the sight of which would bow down some of our workers of large capabilities with a weight of discouragement so great that they would not know how even to begin the work of leading men and women to the first round of the ladder. Their precise methods are of little value. They would stand above the lower rounds of the ladder, saying, “Come up where we are.” But the poor souls do not know where to put their feet. GW 36.3 Christ's heart is cheered by the sight of those who are poor in every sense of the term; cheered by His view of the ill-used ones who are meek; cheered by the seemingly unsatisfied hungering after righteousness, by the inability of many to beg…
"I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase."
Both passages discuss different roles in spreading the message. EGW uses the metaphor of a ladder to illustrate meeting people where they are, while 1 Corinthians 3:6 uses the metaphor of planting and watering, but God giving the increase.
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
Both passages deal with the idea that God can bring good out of seemingly bad situations. Romans 8:28 states that all things work together for good, while the EGW passage speaks of finding God's wisdom even in failure.