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Morning and Evening

May 18, Evening

C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling

"Afterward." — Hebrews 12:11 · KJV

How happy tried Christians are, afterward! No calm is deeper than the one that follows a storm. Who has not rejoiced in the clear shining after rain? Victory banquets are spread for well-exercised soldiers. After killing the lion we eat the honey; after climbing the Hill of Difficulty we sit down in the shelter to rest; after crossing the Valley of Humiliation and fighting the enemy of our souls, the shining one appears with a healing branch from the tree of life. Our sorrows are like the wakes of ships upon the sea: they leave a silver line of holy light behind them "afterward." What follows the dreadful turmoil that once reigned in our guilty, tormented souls is peace, sweet and deep. See, then, how happy a Christian's condition is! He has his best things last, and so in this world he receives his worst things first. Yet even his worst things turn out "afterward" to be good things, hard plowing that yields a joyful harvest. Even now he grows rich by his losses, he rises by his falls, he lives by dying, and he is filled by being emptied. If his painful afflictions already yield him so much peaceful fruit in this life, what will the full vintage of joy be "afterward" in heaven? If his dark nights are as bright as the world's days, what will his days be? If even his starlight outshines the sun, what must his sunlight be? If he can sing in a dungeon, how sweetly will he sing in heaven! If he can praise the Lord in the fire, how will he exalt Him before the eternal throne! If hardship is good to him now, what will the overflowing goodness of God be to him then? O blessed "afterward"! Who would not be a Christian? Who would not carry the present cross for the crown that comes afterward? But here is work for patience, because the rest is not for today and the triumph is not for the present, but "afterward." Wait, O soul, and let patience finish its perfect work.