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Morning and Evening

February 12, Morning

C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling

"For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ." — 2 Corinthians 1:5 · KJV

There is a blessed proportion here. The Ruler of Providence holds a pair of scales — in one He puts His people's trials, and in the other their consolations. When the scale of trial is nearly empty, you will always find the scale of consolation in nearly the same state; and when the scale of trial is full, you will find the scale of consolation just as heavy. When the black clouds gather thickest, the light is revealed to us most brightly. When the night lowers and the tempest draws near, the Heavenly Captain is always closest to His crew. It is a blessed thing that when we are most cast down, then we are most lifted up by the consolations of the Spirit. One reason is that trials make more room for consolation. Great hearts are made only by great troubles; the spade of trouble digs the reservoir of comfort deeper and makes more room for consolation. God comes into our heart and finds it full; He begins to break our comforts and empty it, and then there is more room for grace. The humbler a man lies, the more comfort he will have, because he is the fitter to receive it. Another reason we are often happiest in our troubles is that then we have the closest dealings with God. When the barn is full, man can live without God; when the purse is bursting with gold, we try to do without much prayer. But once take our gourds away, and we want our God; once cleanse the idols out of the house, and we are compelled to honor Yahweh. "Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord." There is no cry so good as the one that comes from the bottom of the mountains, no prayer half so hearty as the one that rises from the depths of the soul through deep trials and afflictions. So they bring us to God, and we are the happier, for nearness to God is happiness. Come, troubled believer, do not fret over your heavy troubles, for they are the heralds of weighty mercies.