Originally written by Charles H. Spurgeon, published in “Mornings & Evenings,” entry for May 11th, AM. Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer, 2009.

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

It is good that there is One who never changes, and who is always with us. It is good that there is one stable rock standing strong against the crashing waves of the sea of life.

My friend, in times of struggle, don’t trust rusting, moth-eaten, decaying treasures. Instead, set your heart on God, who is forever faithful to you. Don’t build your house on the moving quick sands of a deceitful world, but found your hopes on this rock, which, despite shifting sands, will stand immovably secure. Store up your treasure in the only secure cabinet. Store your jewels where you can never lose them. Put everything you own in Christ. Pour your affections on Him alone, all your hope in His merit, all your trust in His Holy blood, and all your joy in His presence. In doing so, you can laugh at loss, and defy destruction.

Remember that all the flowers in the world’s garden fade at the right time. Death’s black extinguisher will eventually put out your candle, ending your life in this world. How sweet it will be to have sunlight when the candle is gone! The dark flood must someday roll between you and all you have. So wed your heart to Him who will never leave you. Trust yourself with Him who will go with you through the black and surging current of death’s stream, and who will land you safely on the heavenly shore. Then you will sit with Him in heavenly places forever.

If you are experiencing sorrow, tell your troubles to the Friend who sticks closer than anyone else ever could. Trust all your cares to Him who never can be taken from you, who will never leave you, and who will never let you leave Him. Remember that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

“I am with you always” is enough for me to live on, and enough to sustain me even if all others forsake me.

Questions: In your time of struggle where do you place your trust?

About this Author Charles H. Spurgeon

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, The Consequences of Compromise, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

Have you ever had a really deep, dark struggle in your life? I have. It sent me to my knees to truly seek the Lord. Out of that time of struggle came the Lord’s peace and this piece, which I offer for the comfort of another. I pray the Lord will touch your heart in a positive way through my experience.

“He took him aside from the multitude” (Mark 7:33a NKJV).

Oh, from these bars of confinement that have shut me in, I cry out to God. From this darkness that surrounds me, it seems as though all is lost. Yet, I know all things are sifted through the loving fingers of my precious Lord. Wishing to commune with me, He allows this thing to touch my life right now.

As I feel the sting of heartache and loneliness, the restlessness of discontent and frustration, the anguish of defeat and helplessness, He withdraws me from the busyness of the world that I may be still before Him and wait.

Hidden from everyone’s view, tears quietly stream down my cheeks, but the Lord sees my aching heart, and with His nail-scarred hand, He wipes away my tears. “Nearly all God’s jewels are crystallized tears,” someone once said.

Too many voices clamor for my attention. My ears, wearied from the noise of the world, impatiently wait for the comforting sound of His voice. All things fall by the wayside when the indescribable Still Small Voice whispers ever so quietly to my listening soul.

The Lord “takes me aside from the crowd [privately]” into absolute aloneness with Him, that I may listen only to Him. His words of love and comfort speak thunderously in this solitude. It is from here that I must search for His loving purpose.

The Lord’s purpose in taking me aside is never immediately discerned. However, getting my attention and bringing me into a deeper relationship with Him is always His will in my blackest hours.

When the darkness and loneliness loom endlessly, they yet result in the richest and most rewarding of all spiritual experiences, for it is then that I see my darkness is but the overshadowing of the wings of the Lord. It is then I await the radiance of His glorious light to fall from heaven that I might behold my precious Savior.

As dew is quietly dispensed in the gloom of night, so the Holy Spirit comes to silently distill His peace and comfort. In waves of coolness, He breathes upon me like a refreshing wind.

Just as the countless grains of parched, desert sand crave rainfall, this dry and dusty mortal vessel yearns for those Living Waters provided only by the Lord. Then His peace pours forth as an endless river, rushing over me to cleanse away all that would obstruct my view of Him. As I go to the Well, I drink in His Life and I am revitalized.

When I sing of His wonders and tell of His glories, my walls of confinement fade into nothingness. The way opens before me. In the darkness, I see His brilliant, glistening footsteps on the path before me as if sprinkled with the glitter of heavenly dust, and only the light of praise brings them into focus.

Not all my questions are answered nor all my longings appeased, but His gracious mercy provides the path of recovery to soundness, to wholeness, to a larger place, to Himself.

Maybe out of my desert, rivers of blessings may be poured out to other parched souls. I pray that freedom for others may come out of my confinement, that light for blind eyes may come out of my darkness, and that comfort for the hurting may come out of my loneliness.

It is for this that I praise Him for “taking me aside.”

“And the Lord shall guide you continually and satisfy you in drought and in dry places and make strong your bones. And you shall be like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose waters fail not” (Isaiah 58:11 AMP).

Father God, Come to my parched heart with the water of Your Spirit. Amen.

Questions: What is your painful struggle? How are you facing your pain?  How can comfort come out of pain?

About the Author Lynn Mosher

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Hope in God, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

“Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure;
genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine.” 1 Peter 1:8

Two young women walked out of a meeting where they had listened to wise comments made by an older woman. “She is such a gem!” said one of the women. Her friend enthusiastically agreed.

Curious about what is included in the gem-making process, I did some research. Words such as cut, hammer, fracture, knock off, grind and drill were used to describe the means by which a rough stone is turned into a brilliant, light reflecting stone that can cost thousands of dollars.

I discovered that all gems are cut and polished by progressive abrasion using finer and finer grits of harder substances. After a stone has been sawed and hammered, ground and drilled, it is polished with further rubbing so that it will magnificently reflect light.

This description fits well with the process God uses in our lives to make us into “gems.” Lost jobs or promotions, illnesses, misunderstandings, broken relationships—all part of the sawing, hammering, grinding and drilling God allows in His loving determination to mold us into  reflections of Christ.

We wonder at the process—how can God be loving and yet allow such pain? It is exactly that love we depend upon, especially during crises. When we make it a holy habit to learn more of the nature of our God, we are more apt to simply cry out, “Yes, Father,” knowing that we are gems in the making.

Lord, I want to be reflective of Jesus to a world around me desperately needing a glimpse of such heavenly light. Help me be willing to be a gem in the making.

Questions: Think about one person who has shined as a gem in your life? What about that reflection would you like to see in your own life?

About this Author: Marilyn J. Ehle

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Let God’s Light Through, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog