Please open your Bible and read: Psalm 46

Is there a trial that you have been facing for a long period of time? You may wonder if you can continue. During his lifetime, Charles Spurgeon suffered many trials. Depression was just one of the “thorns” that God allowed him to endure. However, some of the richest teaching we have today from him was written and preached during times of stress and pressure. Let the following words of Spurgeon reassure you that God is truly your keeper.

“Perhaps, O tired soul, the Lord is doing this to develop thy graces. There are some of thy graces which would never have been discovered if it were not for the trials. Dost thou not know that thy faith never looks so grand in summer weather as it does in winter?

“Hope itself is like a star – not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity. Afflictions are often the black folds in which God doth set the jewels of His children?s graces, to make them shine the better … God often sends us trials that our graces may be discovered, and that we may be certified of their existence.”

When facing adversity, ask God to show you what He wants you to learn from the situation. Submission to the trial does not equal defeat. In fact, it proves to be the opposite. God uses adversity to teach us more about Himself and then to lead us on to greater blessing.

Question: What adversity have you been facing recently? Where does God fit into these struggles?

About this Author: Charles Stanley (quoting Charles Spurgeon)

Endure is a powerful sounding word. As I looked it up in the dictionary and pondered how the definition correlated to God’s love for us, a phrase leaped out at me: “without flinching.”

God’s love endures our fickleness, persists through our unbelief, remains during our rebellion, continues endlessly, and it does all that without flinching.

The steadfast love of the Lord is something that we can rely on completely. It never comes to an end.

Psalm 136 is a litany of praise for God’s mighty acts and goodness. Each of its 26 verses end with the response, “His love endures forever”

Something happens in my heart when I read that Psalm. Each time “His love endures forever” chants in my brain, it goes a little deeper. It adds layers of strength to my belief that it is true, solidifying my resolve to live in the hope and confidence that God’s love brings.

Claim this truth for yourself. Cling to it during your dark struggle. Nothing can endure longer or stronger than God’s love for you.

O God, we join with the psalmist saying, “Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever. We give thanks to Him who alone does great wonders; His love endures forever. We give thanks to the One who remembered us in our low estate; His love endures forever. We give thanks to the One who freed us from our enemies; His love endures forever. We give thanks to the One who gives food to every creature; His love endures forever. We give thanks to the God of heaven; His love endures forever”(Psalm 136:3, 4, 23 – 26).

Questions: Why do we sometimes question God’s love? What can we do to remind ourselves again that “His love endures forever”?

About the Author Suzanne Benner

What about your struggles? Is there any chance, any possibility, that you have been selected to struggle for God’s glory? Have you “been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:29)?

Here is a clue. Do your prayers seem to be unanswered? What you request and what you receive aren’t matching up? Don’t think God is not listening. Indeed he is. He may have higher plans.

Here is another. Are people strengthened by your struggles? A friend of mine can answer yes. His cancer was consuming more than his body; it was eating away at his faith. Unanswered petitions perplexed him. Well-meaning Christians confused him. “If you have faith,” they said, “you will be healed.”

No healing came. Just more chemo, nausea, and questions. He assumed the fault was a small faith. I suggested another answer. “It’s not about you,” I told him. “Your hospital room is a showcase for your Maker. Your faith in the face of suffering cranks up the volume of God’s song.”

Oh, that you could have seen the relief on his face. To know that he hadn’t failed God and God hadn’t failed him—this made all the difference. Seeing his sickness in the scope of God’s sovereign plan gave his condition a sense of dignity. He accepted his cancer as an assignment from heaven: a missionary to the cancer ward.

A week later I saw him again. “I reflected God,” he said, smiling through a thin face, “to the nurse, the doctors, my friends. Who knows who needed to see God, but I did my best to make him seen.”

Bingo. His cancer paraded the power of Jesus down the Main Street of his world.

God will use whatever he wants to display his glory. Heavens and stars. History and nations. People and problems.

Rather than begrudge your problem, explore it. Ponder it. And most of all, use it. Use it to the glory of God.

Through your problems and mine, may God be seen.

From It’s Not About Me
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2007), Max Lucado
Used by permission

Question: What problems are you facing that God could use redeem for His glory in the world?

About this Author: Max Lucado

“And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today…  The Lord will fight for you and you shall hold your peace.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.” Exodus 14:13-15 (NJKV)

Some days it feels like there is no way out! Israel had a mountain on each side, the Red Sea in front, and an army coming up behind them. When attacks and blocks are coming at us from every direction we can get overwhelmed, desperate, and even panicky, but Moses’ word to them was “Stand still.” I believe his point was “Focus! Get your eyes off the circumstances and get them fixed back on God, what He has promised to you and called you to do, and then go forward!”

It can be like walking a tight wire — don’t look down, don’t look to the distractions on the right or the left, just concentrate and keep your eyes fixed on what you have been given to do.  God will shine His lamp on your path to lead you one step at a time, and one day at a time. Stay the course, the Lord will fight for you, subdue your enemies, and open up the way of escape.

I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let my foot slip, He who watches over me will not slumber. The Lord watches over me. The Lord is my shade at my right hand; The Lord will keep me from all harm, he will watch over my life; The Lord will watch over my coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalm 121:1-3,5,7,8 (NKJV)

Question: What helps you focus on God, and what draws you away?

About this Author: Emmie Stanley

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

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 quicksands 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.

Question: How does God sustain you in difficult times? Have you been spending regular time in prayer with Him?

About this Author: Charles Spurgeon

“He cares for them when times are hard; even in famine, they will have enough” Psalm 37:19

I recall that, in the early 1930’s during the time of the great depression in America, many people experienced hard times. It was not always easy to fully appreciate the fact I know now to be true: God always cares for His children.

“When times are hard” can refer not only to the material, but also to the physical and the spiritual. And during any of these times – whether in poverty, poor health or spiritual doldrums – our great God always cares for us.

In Bible times, God often proved the truth of the assertion that He cares for His people in periods of famine. And no doubt multitudes of sufferers around the world today would attest to that fact, in spite of their suffering.

When physical suffering is involved, it is not always easy to see the hand of God. But one sure way to increase faith is to exercise the sacrifice of praise – praise to our wonderful God for the positive fact that “all things do work together for our good if we love God and are called according to His purpose.”

When spiritual poverty is concerned, we need only retreat to that time and place in our lives where we wandered away from God, whatever degree of wandering that involves, whether large or small. “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Bible Reading: Psalm 37:16-22

Today’s Action Point: At all times of difficulty in my life – spiritual, material, physical – I will look for God’s hand of blessing in the joyful assurance that He cares for me.

About this Author: Bill Bright

“My grace is sufficient for you” 2 Corinthians 12:9

We live in the fitness age. For the body, we have gyms and diets. For the mind, we can choose from myriad how-to books as well as seminars about thinking positively and ridding ourselves of bad habits. The truth is we all have one, two, or more weaknesses to confront. In the Bible, we find wise counsel for how to handle these areas of our life.

If you look honestly at yourself, you can identify what you think is your weakness. It could be physical disability you were born with or developed, or it could be emotional, mental, or spiritual. Whatever it is, Paul’s words apply to you. The first thing to do is acknowledge the presence of the weakness. Secondly, it is important that you recognize the purpose of frailty. Paul says his thorn in the flesh was given to keep him from exalting himself. His weakness was preventive maintenance on the part of God, who knew that dependence kept Paul’s pride in check.

We should consider what our weakness says about us. For example, if a person struggles with dishonesty, a close analysis of his thinking might reveal that the real problem is a fear of rejection. To protect himself, he will lie his way out of threatening situations. But by giving in to his weakness, the dishonest man reacts improperly. Other wrong responses to weakness are ignoring it, denying it, or excusing it. The only right response is to remember the promise of God, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9). His words to the apostle Paul are meant as an encouragement for every believer.

Question: What is one of your weaknesses that God may actually use for His own great purposes?

About this Author: Charles Stanley

Originally written by Charles H. Spurgeon, published in “Mornings & Evenings,” entry for March 8th, AM.
Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer, 2008.

“We must go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God” Acts 14:22

God’s people will encounter many hardships. It was never God’s intention when He chose His people that they would be untested. They were never chosen just to experience worldly peace and earthly joy. Freedom from sickness and the pains of being mortal was never promised them. But when their Lord wrote the charter of privileges, He included discipline among the things which they would inherit.

Hardships are a part of our allotment. They were predestined for us. As surely as the stars are fashioned by His hands and their orbits fixed by Him, so surely are our hardships allotted to us: He has predestined their season and their place, their intensity, and their effect on us.

So-called “good” people must never expect to escape troubles. If they do, they will be disappointed, because none of their mothers and fathers in faith have been without troubles. Remember the patience of Job! Remember also Abraham, for he had his share of difficulties, but by his faith through them he became the “Father of the faithful.” And you’ll find that as you read the biographies of all the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, not one of those who God made a vessel of mercy didn’t also have to pass through the fire of adversity. God declared that the cross of trouble should be engraved on every vessel of mercy, as the King’s distinguishing royal mark.

But although hardship is the path of God’s children, they have the comfort of knowing that their Master has walked it before them. They have His presence and sympathy to encourage them, His grace to support them, and His example to teach them how to endure. When we reach the Kingdom, we are assured that it will more than make amends for the “many hardships” through which we passed through to enter it.

Question: Which hardships are you going through now, and how can you see God being glorified through them?

About this Author: Charles Spurgeon