October 5, Morning

C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling

"He arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights." — 1 Kings 19:8 · KJV

All the strength our gracious God supplies is meant for service, not for wantonness or boasting. When the prophet Elijah found the cake baked on the coals and the jar of water at his head, as he lay under the juniper tree, he was no gentleman to be indulged with dainty fare that he might stretch himself at ease; far otherwise — he was commissioned to go forty days and forty nights in the strength of it, journeying toward Horeb, the mount of God. When the Master invited the disciples to "Come and dine" with Him, at the end of the meal He said to Peter, "Feed My sheep," and added, "Follow Me." So it is with us: we eat the bread of heaven that we may spend our strength in the Master's service. We come to the Passover and eat of the paschal lamb with our loins girded and staff in hand, ready to start off at once when our hunger is satisfied. Some Christians are all for living on Christ, but not so eager to live for Christ. Earth should be a preparation for heaven; and heaven is the place where the saints feast most and work most — they sit at the table of our Lord, and they serve Him day and night in His temple; they eat of heavenly food and render perfect service. Believer, in the strength you daily gain from Christ, labor for Him. Some of us have much yet to learn about the Lord's design in giving us His grace. We are not to hoard the precious grains of truth as the Egyptian mummy held the wheat for ages, without giving it a chance to grow: we must sow it and water it. Why does the Lord send down rain on the thirsty earth, and give the kindly sunshine? Is it not that they may help the fruits of the earth yield food for man? Even so, the Lord feeds and refreshes our souls, that we may afterward use our renewed strength to promote His glory.