 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9)
There days you may feel like giving up and lament, “What’s the use?” Yet, the Christ in us will not allow us to stay there long. Spurgeon wrote, “Some believers bear their trial for a good while. They are not to be laughed out of their religion; they can take the criticism and persecution. But by and by the persecution has done its work, and it comes to a hand-to-hand fight; the struggle begins to be somewhat more difficult, and now we will see what they are made of. The enemy gets hold of them, and then they find that they are being touched in a tender part…Ah! brethren, these are often the trials that God sends, and it is by these that he separates the chaff from the wheat, and lets us see who are true soldiers.” We must go through. “God grant us grace to be found at last children of God that did not turn back in the day of battle.” We shall reap if we stay in the battle. GiGi❤️
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 “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?” (Hebrews 12:7)
Some, will bring foolish charges against his love. “How can he be a God of love if he permits me to suffer so?” You forget that word— “As many as I tenderly love” (for that is the Greek word), “I rebuke and chasten.” The more the Lord loves you, the more surely he will rebuke any and every evil that he sees in you. You are so precious to him, that he desires to make you perfect in every good work to do his will. (Charles Spurgeon) God is in control of our circumstances. Nothing goes unnoticed. We may be tried in the fire, tried on every hand, but if we keep our eyes on God we shall come out pure as gold. Our God loves us. GiGi❤️  “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
People are not our enemies, because we fight not against flesh and blood. If we could just take a pause and breathe before we react or respond, and before we pass judgment, we might remember this more often. “We fight not against the men, but against the things which we consider in God's sight to be wrong. Let us always make that distinction, otherwise the conflict with Christ's church will be degraded into a mere battle of brute force. We must hate error, we must abhor falsehood; but we must not hate men, for God's warfare is against sin. May God help us always to make that distinction.” Charles Spurgeon Yes, we will not internalize someone else’s behavior, or make it about us, but rather pray, “That he would grant us, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith; that we, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that we might be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19) GiGi❤️  “And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey.” (Mark 1:6)
If we live long enough, one thing we learn is that life can be both bitter and sweet. Life will bring us both joy and pain. A recent study indicated that “culturally, although more Americans view pain as a misfortune, many still perceive it as a sign of weakness.” John the Baptist understood the value of eating both honey and locust. He understood that pain was a necessary part of life. There was the sweetness of the honey, but the locust provided him with the necessary needed protein.. Life has its honey and life has its locusts. Yea, life has its sweetness, and life has its wounds…not wounds that weaken but wounds that strengthen.” (Maurice McCarthy) Lord, help us to be grateful for the locusts just as much as we are for the honey. GiGi❤️  “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15:7)
When we are abiding in Christ we do not need a lengthy prayer or a loud one. Prayer is about substance. Prayer is about communing with God. It is not a show of spiritual prowess but of faith. Every time we look around, prayer is needed. We should be praying without ceasing. We should never tire of it. Surely, our God never tires of hearing it. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.” (1John 5:14) “Note, that the fruit of our abiding is not only the exercise of prayer, and a sense of the necessity of prayer, but it includes liberty in prayer: ‘Ye shall ask what ye will.’ Some brethren pray by the yard; but true prayer is measured by weight, and not by length. A single groan before God may have more fullness of prayer in it than a prayer full of elaborate words and of great length.” Charles Spurgeon It is faith that moves God, not the size of our prayer. GiGi❤️  “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;.” (1 Timothy 2:1)
The best way to take our eyes off of ourselves is to place them on the needs of others. It is then, through the power of intercessory prayer that the Lord knows we have placed our confidence in him regarding our own affairs, enough so that we can freely stand in the gap for others. That freedom is not based on our needs having been met but in knowing and believing that, “my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) “’The Lord turned again the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends.’ Intercessory prayer was the omen of his returning greatness. It was the bow in the cloud, the dove bearing the olive branch, the voice of the turtle announcing the coming summer. When his soul began to expand itself in holy and loving prayer for his erring brethren, then the heart of God showed itself to him by returning to him his prosperity without, and cheering his soul within.” Praying instead of complaining. . GiGi❤️  “Casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].” (1 Peter 5:7)
Much of our striving and discontentment is related to not trusting our Lord for the provision. We don’t need a lot to have our needs met satisfactorily. It does not have to be gold plated or larger than life. When we seek the Lord for our provision, it is our relationship with Him that will cultivate our expectations. The heart that is after the things of God is oh so satisfied and trusts oh so readily. “ What a serene and quiet life might you lead if you would leave the task of providing to the God of providence! With a little oil in the cruse, and a handful of meal in the barrel, Elijah outlived the famine, and you will do the same. If God cares for you, why need you care too? Can you trust Him for your soul, and not for your body? He has never refused to bear your burdens, He has never fainted under their weight. Come, then, soul! Have done with fretful care, and leave all your concerns in the hand of a gracious God.” (Charles Spurgeon) Help us, dear Lord, to understand more and more that you are our provision. GiGi❤️  “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (Genesis 1:3)
Some people are comfortable with darkness. Once grace has been Introduced to us we are no longer comfortable with darkness. Darkness symbolizes the “fallen nature of man, ‘chaos and ‘without form and void,’ with darkness thick and sevenfold covering all. The Lord begins His work upon man by the visitation of the Spirit, who enters the soul mysteriously, and broods over it, even as of old He moved upon the face of the waters. He is the quickener of the dead soul…The Lord sends into the soul, as His first blessing, light. The Lord appeals to man's understanding and enlightens it by the gospel…light came into the world at first by the Word "God said, 'Let there be light.'" Charles Spurgeon And so it is when darkness presents itself and tries to entangle us again in chaos, we must remember that the Lord spoke light into existence on the first day. Spurgeon notes that our Lord spent a whole day on it because it symbolizes His power and His grace. Let us not take the light for granted. Not everything is of God, not everything is for us. Let us be careful to recognize darkness in people, places, and things for God does not dwell there. Sometimes you are facing that situation just because you dwell in the Light. Light and darkness cannot share together. GiGi❤️  "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."
Genesis 8:22 He will deal with men in longsuffering, tender mercy, and forbearance. He will not use the stern weapons of destruction, but will try the tender ministrations of patience and grace, that men may be led to repentance. There will come an end to this dispensation; but while the reign of forbearance lasts, nature shall keep her appointed marches, and we need not fear a disorderly rush or a destructive chaos. "Four seasons fill the measure of the year." In their mysterious round they come and go, and all combined display a moving harmony of wise design most glorifying to our God. Fear not in the day of tempest, for the rain shall not deluge the earth. The Lord setteth his bow in the cloud as the ensign of his covenant with mankind. Fear not in the black midnight: God will rekindle the lamp of day, and chase away the darkness. Charles Spurgeon GiGi❤️  "Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord."—Exodus 14:13
Life cannot always be smooth and we walk an even path all of the time. There will be seasons where we will endure hardships. Yet, rest assured, our God is with us. He will always show up. Perhaps, he will intervene when we want him to and not according to our expectations, but He is always right on time. “It is clear, then, that self must stand out of the way, that there may be room for God to be exalted; and this is the reason, the true secret, why God brings his people into straits and difficulties, that, being brought to their wits' end, and made conscious of their own folly and weakness, they may be able to behold the majesty of God when he comes forth to work their deliverance. A man whose life is one even and smooth path, will see little of the glory of God, for he has few occasions of self-emptying, and therefore, little fitness for being filled with the revelation of God. They who navigate little streams and shallow creeks, know little of the God of tempests; but they who "go down to the sea in ships, and do business in great waters, they will see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep." Charles Spurgeon And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. (1 Peter 5:10) GiGi❤️ |
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