April 29, Morning

C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling

"Thou art my hope in the day of evil." — Jeremiah 17:17 · KJV

The Christian's road is not always bright with sunshine; there are seasons of darkness and storm. It is true that God's Word says, "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace," and it is a great truth that faith is designed to give a person happiness here as well as blessedness above. But experience tells us that even if the path of the righteous is "as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day," that light is sometimes eclipsed. At certain times clouds cover the believer's sun, and he walks in darkness and sees no light. Many have rejoiced in the presence of God for a while; they basked in the sunshine in the early stages of their Christian life, walking through green pastures beside the still waters. Then suddenly they find that glorious sky clouded over. Instead of a fertile land they have to cross a sandy desert; in place of sweet water they find troubled streams, bitter to the taste, and they say, "Surely, if I were a child of God, this would not be happening to me." Oh, do not say that, you who are walking in the dark. The best of God's saints must drink the bitter cup; His dearest children must carry the cross. No Christian has ever enjoyed unbroken prosperity; no believer can always keep his harp off the willow branches. Perhaps the Lord gave you a smooth and cloudless path at first because you were weak and easily frightened. He softened the wind for a newly shorn lamb; but now that you are stronger in the spiritual life, you must move on to the riper and rougher experience of God's grown children. We need winds and storms to exercise our faith, to tear off the rotten branch of self-reliance, and to root us more firmly in Christ. The evil day is what shows us the worth of our glorious hope.