Aflicción y Pruebas

Dealing with Suffering

by John MacArthur

Consider this quotation, which opens one of the closing chapters of a contemporary book on how to
study the Bible:

Many Christians are like poor photographs—overexposed and

underdeveloped. They've had plenty of input from the Word of God, but
what difference has it made in their lives? Spiritual growth is a
conmmitment to change. And yet, the human heart resists nothing as
strongly as it resists change. We will do anything to avoid it (Howard G.
Hendricks and William D. Hendricks, Living by the Book [Chicago:
Moody, 1991], 292).

Those observations were made in reference to applying the truths of Scripture. Application is a logical,
final step in the BibIe study process, but it is often mishandled or omitted altogether. With a difficult
topic such as this one, it is especially important to ponder the issues that have an impact on your life.
The primary question you need to ask yourself as you think about the possibility of facing trials and
persecutions is "How will I react?" Either you will react with a positive attitude and enjoy positive
benefits, or you will react negatively and compound the trouble.

ATTITUDE CHECK:
DEALING WELL WITH SUFFERING

We hear a lot today in the slang of popular culture about attitudes, and much of it is negative. The mere
usage of the word attitude, as in "He really has an attitude," informs anyone who knows contemporary
speech that the person we're describing has a bad or even surly attitude. Similarly, if someone needs an
"attitude check," that means they need to exchange their negative demeanor for a positive attitude in the
midst of a challenging situation.

The Apostle Peter's first letter focuses on the theme of suffering, and in it he presents two of the four
elements that constitute a proper attitude in response to suffering:

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as
though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of
Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation. If
you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests
upon you (4:12-14).

DO NOT BE SURPRISED BY SUFFERING

The first attitudinal component that will help you through the tough ordeals is to expect them.
Inasmuch as we are born to trouble as fallen sinners in a fallen world of sinners, it is reasonable not to
be surprised when trouble shows up. In the context of this epistle, though Peter is referring more
precisely to persecution and its inevitability, it still makes the point—expect trials. Peter is echoing the
instruction regarding suffering by persecution that we find elsewhere in the New Testament (John 15-
16; 2 Tim. 3:12; 1 John 3:13). The words and actions of believers testify against an ungodly world.
That should be expected to result in a backlash of persecution from unappreciative and offended
unbelievers, although it doesn't always happen. But such a reaction toward us is part of the cost of
discipleship.

Though his focus is on the persecution that comes because of our faith in and identification with Jesus
Christ, Peter's use of the expression "fiery ordeal" in 1 Peter 4:12 could refer to any type of trouble. In
both the New Testament and the Greek Old Testament, the word translated "fiery" is used for a furnace.
In the Old Testament it referred to a smelting furnace in which metal was melted down to be purged of
foreign elements. Psalm 66:10 says, "For Thou hast tried us, 0 God; Thou hast refined us as silver is
refined." Here in 1 Peter, therefore, fiery ordeal is symbolic of the afffiction that God designs "for your
testing"—for your purification.

First Peter 4:12 concludes with the indication trials and persecutions are not "some strange that is out of
the ordinary. Paul says all trials are common to man" (1 Cor. 10:13). In essence Peter is saying we
should not be surprised by sufferings, as if they were happening to us merely by chance. Persecution,
affliction, and suffering are part of life to be anticipated and do not interfere with God's plan. They are
common to all, and especially to obedient and faithful believers.

REJOICE IN SUFFERING

The second positive element Peter wants us to have in our attitude toward sufferings is to rejoice in
them. This calls to mind the words of the Lord Jesus in the Beatitudes, "Blessed are you when men
revile you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely on account of Me. Rejoice,
and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great" (Matt. 5:11-12). This is one of most challenging
exhortations in Scripture. And Paul affirms that the words are right when he says to "keep on rejoicing"
(continuous action) in 1 Peter 4:13. also saw in chapter 3 that the Apostle Paul demonstrated joy in the
face of sufferings. This attitude is definetly present throughout Scripture and hard to avoid if we want
to be diligent to all that the Holy Spirit says. And it makes sense to be joyful because of God's gracious,
sovereign providence and purpose in our suffering. Even the worst suffering is working for our good
(Rom. 8:28).

The gifted expositor D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones helps us to distinguish carefully what is meant by the
concept of rejoicing in suffering:

Why is the Christian to rejoice like this [when facing persecution], and how is it possible for him to do
so? Here we come to the heart of the matter. Obviously the Christian is not to rejoice at the mere fact of
persecution. That is always something which is to be regretted. Yet you will find as you read Christian
biographies that certain saints have faced that temptation very definitely. They have rejoiced wrongly in
their persecution for its own sake. Now that, surely, was the spirit of the Pharisees, and is something
which we should never do. If we rejoice in the persecution in and of itself, If we say, "Ah, well; I
rejoice and am exceeding glad that I am so much better than those other people, and that is why they
are persecuting me," immediately we become Pharisees. Persecution is something that the Christian
should always regret; it should be to him a source of great grief that men and women, because of sin,
and because they are so dominated by Satan, should behave in such an inhuman and devilish manner.
The Christian is, in a sense, one who must feel his heart breaking at the effect of sin in others that
makes them do this. So he never rejoices in the fact of persecution as such (Studies in the Sermon on
the Mount, Vol. 1 of 2 vols. [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959], 142-43).

Therefore we must be clear that our text from 1 Peter is not saying (nor are other passages) that
believers should have an elitist or masochistic attitude regarding suffering.

Our rejoicing is not to be connected with the pain or difficulty itself, but with the ramifications of it.
Peter refers to some of those in 1 Peter 4:13.

The phrase "but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ" means that we are privileged,
when persecuted for righteousness, to enjoy the fellowship of our Lord's suffering. That does not mean
that we share the atoning sufferings of Christ. Rather, Peter is simply saying that believers can share in
the same kind of suffering that Jesus endured and for His sake—suffering for proclaiming His saving
Gospel. Paul was an example of one who suffered like that and he testified to it several times in his
letters (Gal. 6:17; Phil. 1:29- 30; 3:10; Col. 1:24). The other apostles learned quickly how to rejoice
after suffering for Jesus' sake. For them such suffering was a tremendous privilege (Acts 5:40- 41), and
it can be for us also, ff we approach it and receive it with the right attitude.

Peter continues in 4:13 to give us even more incentive to rejoice when suffering comes: "So that also at
the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation." "The revelation of His glory" is simply
another way of referring to Jesus' second coming (see Matt. 25:31; Luke 17:30). And "rejoice with
exultation' gives more intensity to Peter's earlier usage of rejoice. if Christians are faithful to accept
suffering and persecution as Christ did, then when He returns they will really rejoice, with an outburst
that surpasses all other joys (see also Luke 6:22-23).

There is one additional reason for us to respond with an attitude of joy when we face persecution: the
Holy Spirit rests upon us (1 Peter 4:14). At first glance that seems like such a simple statement of truth.
But Peter's words, inspired by the very same Spirit he is speaking of, are truly awesome and profound.
First, the Spirits presence is not related to some vague, subjective feeling of blessing, typified by such
exclamations as "This is such a blessing!" or "May the Lord bless you." Instead, His presence is
objective—we can be sure He is there when we suffer or are persecuted.

The people of God through history have been very much aware of this reality. Peter calls the Holy
Spirit "the Spirit of glory," which emphasizes that God, the third member of the Trinity, has glory as an
essential attribute, as was revealed in the Shekinah light appearing in the Old Testament. It signified the
presence of God, exemplified by the burning bush, the glow on the mountain, the pillar of fire that led
the Israelites in the desert, and the cloud that entered the tabernacle and temple.

Although the Spirit does not display Himself in that way today, His glorious presence is nonetheless
real for a believer who is in the center of suffering and persecution. This must mean something more
than that which is normal for believers—namely, the indwelling of the Spirit. That is true of all
believers all the time (Rom. 8:9). This resting of the Spirit on the suffering Christian is a special grace
of ministry beyond the regular. As we studied in chapter 2, the Spirit of glory definitely rested on
Stephen at the time of his stoning. The Holy Spirit refreshed him by taking over and becoming the
dominant power to hft him above the agony (read again Acts 6-7).

The helpful truths of 1 Peter 4:13-14 provide vital reasons for us to engage attitudes of rejoicing in the
middle of persecution and suffering. Throughout the centuries of church history, many saints who
endured persecution and martyrdom have known the realities of the Apostle Peter's words. Thomas
Cranmer (1489-1556; first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury; author of the First and Second Prayer
Books and the Thirty- nine Articles of the Church of England) followed in the path of Stephen and
experienced the overcoming grace and strength of the Holy Spirit at the hour of his greatest crisis. He
was arrested by the Roman Catholic Queen Mary in 1553 and was eventually burned at the stake
because he would not renounce his Protestant beliefs. Here's how he dealt with his final suffering:

Soon an iron chain was brought, and put around Cranmer, fastening him to the stake.
Then when the fagots had been piled up the sheriff ordered fire to be brought. And
when the wood was kindled, and the fire began to bum near him, he was seen by all
who stood there, to stretch forth his right hand...and to hold it in the flames. There he
held it so unflinchingly that all the people saw it burned, before his body was touched
by the fire. So patient and steadfast was he in the midst of this extreme torment, that he
uttered no cry, and seemed to move no more than the stake to which he was bound.
His eyes were lifted up to heaven, and he often repeated, "This was the hand that wrote
it [a previous disavowal of Protestantism, an action he had since reversed],"—"this
unworthy right hand," so long as his voice would suffer him; and as often using the
words of the martyred St. Stephen, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" till the fury of the
flames putting him to silence, he gave up the ghost John Foxe, Foxe's Christian
Martyrs of the World [Chicago: Moody, n.d.], 506).

The only explanation we can give for Bishop Cranmer's amazing composure and fortitude in suffering
was that the Spirit of glory rested upon him and spiritually lifted him above the physical pain and
human fear. The same Spirit is abundantly available to us, allowing us to know the power of suffering
in any persecution, tribulation, or trial we may have to endure. He gives grace that is unique to the
requirements of our suffering.

EVALUATING SUFFERING

Two other necessary elements to a right attitude in dealing with suffering are found in 1 Peter 4:15-19.
Peter writes,

By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome

meddler; but ff anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name
let him glorify God. For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and
if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel
of God? And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the
godless man and the sinner? Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of
God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

The third feature we need in order to compose our response in dealing with suffering is to evaluate it.
Asking God for the discernment to understand the suffering's purpose and how it contributes to placing
us in the center of His will is something we ought not overlook.

Just to make sure no one is confused into thinking all suffering is God's will for believers, 1 Peter 4:15
mentions four evils for which we should never suffer. The first three—murder, theft, evildoing—are
quite obvious and straightforward. The fourth one, "troublesome meddler," while at first glance
appearing to be rather obvious, requires closer scrutiny to fully understand it in relation to our theme.
A troublesome meddler describes the person who is always interested in everyone's business but his
own. Paul refers to this type of activity several times in his letters and says we should shun such
intrusive behavior (1 Thes. 4:11; 2 Thes. 3:11; 1 Tim. 5:13). In those verses it is quite clear that
meddling is evil behavior. But we can also look at the term from another angle and clear away some
misconceptions regarding appropriate social action by Christians.

Some interpreters believe, and I agree, that 1 Peter 4:15 is referring to political agitation—revolutionary
activity that seeks to disrupt and interfere with the function and flow of the existing government. If
such an interpretation is accurate, then Peter is calling for Christians to live as good citizens in non-
Christian cultures. This is consistent with what he wrote in 1 Peter 2:11-19 and what Paul called for in
Romans 13:1-7 and Titus 3:1-4. They should do their jobs, live peaceable lives, share the Gospel, and
exalt Christ. He leaves no room for believers to become revolutionaries in attempting to overturn the
government or impose Christian standards on the culture or in the workplace. Being persecuted (or
prosecuted) by the government because of troublesome agitation, or receiving discipline by an
employer for disruptive activities, is not suffering for the right reason. It is not honorable as a Christian
to be in that position—it is disgraceful.

A relevant and current example of this kind of meddlesome activity that requires punishment, yet is
seen by some professing Christians as legitimate ministry, is the extreme protest strategy of some
antiabortion groups. What I am referring to are acts of civil disobedience (blocking driveways of
abortion clinics and refusing to comply with orders from the police), bombings of clinics, and killings
of clinic workers and doctors. The murders and attempted murders of abortion personnel are the most
heinous examples of such activism. Since early 1993, at least three such cases have been prominent in
the news. One resulted in the 1994 conviction of a former Presbyterian minister, who glibly told
reporters that he knew without a doubt that, should he be executed, he would go directly to heaven
afterward. Lest I be misunderstood, I want to affirm that I am unalterably opposed to the killing of
unborn children. The Bible is quite dear in many references that God is concerned for the sanctity of
life at all phases (Gen. 1:27; Ex. 21:22-25; Deut. 30:19; Job 10:8-12; 31:15; Pss. 100:3; 139:13-16;
Matt. 18:6,14; Gal. 1:15). I am also very aware that many dedicated and godly Christians are involved
in the pro-life movement, and they have done much good work in the last twenty years to educate
people on the importance of this cause. These pro-life workers have also helped provide beneficial
counseling and material assistance through a variety of crisis pregnancy service agencies.

Therefore, I am not criticizing the legitimate, valid, peaceful efforts of the pro-life, antiabortion
movement. I am merely pointing out that extremist actions, performed under the guise of Christianity,
are wrong. Even implicit support by believers "from the sidelines" for such actions is not biblical. Any
Christian involved in activities designed to promote what is right and redress what is unjust must use
scriptural discerrunent to decide what strategies to support. To do otherwise is to become a
"troublesome meddler," one who is not suffering for righteousness' sake.

The Apostle Peter presents one final reason for believers to evaluate suffering when it comes: "For it is
time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the
outcome for those who do not obey the Gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17) We must be prepared for
sufferings because God is chastening, testing, and purifying us as members of His church at the end of
the age. In verse 7 Peter indicates that we are now living in the end times: "The end of all things is at
hand." Christ appeared at the beginning of this last era to suffer, die, and judge our sins on the cross.
Our sufferings began at the cross and are part of God's unfolding plan that cuhninates with the Great
White Throne. ("Time" in v. 17 more precisely means "Season." It refers to the crucial moment or point
in the history of God's revelation when judgment begins.)
The "household of God" (the church) is always in the process of being purged and purified. That has
occurred throughout church history, from the first days of the church (Ananias and Sapphira; Acts 5), to
the time of Peter's writing (under Nero and other Roman emperors), to Reformation times, right down
to the twentieth century (in Eastern Europe and China). The process has not stopped, so we need to
evaluate our own persecutions within the larger context of God's refining and purifying work in His
church. There may be times when God needs to discipline us so that we may serve Him with greater
effectiveness (Heb. 12:5-13). Peter knew God's order of judgment in this age, that it begins with us and
eventually falls upon unbelievers in full and final fury (far different from the refining and chastening
that we experience). Peter uses that contrast to give us the right perspective on the whole process (1
Peter 4:17-18; see also 2 Thes. 1:4-7). Far better to endure some suffering as chastening for sin now
while the Lord purges the church than to endure in the future the eternal sufferings of the unsaved.

TRUSTING GOD IN SUFFERING

The fourth and final element the Christian sufferer should embrace in his attitude is that of entrusting
himself to God. Peter writes: "Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust
their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right" (1 Peter 4:19).

The word "entrust" is a banking term that means "to deposit for safekeeping." Peter is exhorting any
believers who suffer to give their souls (lives) over to the care of God. Here Peter describes God as a
"faithful Creator," which reminds us that He created us and is completely capable and trustworthy in
taking care of all our needs.

The apostle is assuming that his audience, having just read the preceding verses (and many having
personally experienced persecution), had a basic grasp of what suffering entails. So he presents God not
only as the One who is faithful but also as the One who is sovereign. He has allowed suffering in their
lives according to His overall plan and purpose. Therefore it is only logical and reasonable that Peter's
readers be urged to trust God through trials and persecutions. It is only reasonable that we also should
maintain an attitude of trust as we endure suffering. That is similar in principle to Paul's well-known
exhortation in Romans 12:1, "I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your
bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual [or, rational] service of
worship." Paul's words remind us again of the close connection between discipleship and suffering. It is
so much easier to deal with suffering ff we have already purposed in our hearts to turn everything over
to the Lord. If we have an attitude of submission, obedience, and sacrificial service, we will not be
concerned about the trials and persecution He may allow.

Jerry Bridges offers this additional insight regarding the challenge of trusting in God during times of
suffering.

To trust God in times of adversity is admittedly a hard thing to do.... Trusting God is
a matter of faith, and faith is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Only the Holy
Spirit can make His Word come alive in our hearts and create faith, but we can
choose to look to Him to do that, or we can choose to be ruled by our feelings of
anxiety or resentment or grief.

John Newton, author of the hymn "Amazing Grace" watched cancer slowly and painfully kill his wife
over a period of many months. In recounting those days, John Newton said:
 I believe it was about two or three months before her death, when I was walking up and
down the room, offering disjointed prayers from a heart torn with distress, that a
thought suddenly struck me, with unusual force, to this effect—"The promises of God
must be true; surely the Lord will help me, if I am willing to be helped!" It occurred to
me, that we are often led... [from an undue regard of our feelings], to indulge that
unprofitable grief which both our duty and our peace require us to resist to the utmost
of our power. I instantly said aloud, "Lord, I am helpless indeed, in myself, but I hope I
am willing, without reserve, that thou shouldest help me." (Trusting God [Colorado
Springs: Navpress, 1988], 195-96. Newton quotation from John Newton, The Works of
John Newton [reprint; Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1985], 5:621-22; emphasis in
original.)

Geoffrey Bull is a modern example of one who entrusted his soul to God in severe suffering. Bull was
imprisoned for more than three years by the Chinese Communists and subjected to solitary
confinement, starvation, intimidation, and brainwashing. He wrote a poem in the midst of his ordeal,
which asked that the Lord not allow the memory of His Word to grow dim nor let him succumb to
doubt, loneliness, or fear. He further asked that God let him retain His peace and give him victory over
fatigue.

The closing two lines of the poem expressed Bull's trust in the ultimate outworking of God's plan and
purpose:

And Thy kingdom Gracious God,

Shall never pass away.
(cited by Paul S. Reese, Triumphant in Trouble [Westwood, N.J.: Revell,
1962], 119-20).

Taken from The Power of Suffering. Edited and condensed. © 1995 by John MacArthur, Jr. All rights
reserved. Used by permission.

Facing the Future Without Fear

by John MacArthur

While I have no way of knowing what will happen on January 1, 2000, I do know this: people have
always and will always fear the future. In fact, the growing response to the Y2K problem demonstrates
how delicately the world balances on the edge of panic—how driven we are by fear and uncertainty
about things to come.

Certainly, you don't need to be a computer expert to find reasons to fear the future. In fact, you don't
need to search at all—fear and uncertainty will find you. A bleak medical diagnosis. Company layoffs.
A stack of bills. Car trouble. Whether you're concerned about your health, your home, or your ability
to provide for your family, one thing is certain: fear and uncertainty about the future come from every
angle and wait around every corner.
Thankfully, in the face of so much uncertainty, God hasn't left us alone or without promises. When
fear of the future grips us, the encouragement we find on the pages of Scripture provides our best and
only defense. I can think of times when God's Word put to rest the doubts and fears of my family and
gave us peace in trying circumstances. I remember the drive to the hospital after learning of Patricia's
near-fatal car accident several years ago, not knowing whether she would live or die. More recently, I
was the one in the hospital, suffering from blood clots in my lungs. For several days my condition was
unstable as the doctors waited to see how I would respond to medication. In each case, God's promises
kept the fears at bay.

I'm sure you can think of times in your own life when fear and doubt would have overwhelmed you if
not for a verse or passage you remembered from God's Word—times when worry or panic gave way
to peace as you immersed yourself in Scripture.

But as heavily as you and I lean on God's Word to fend off our nagging fears about the future—as
carefully as we plumb its riches for encouragement--I believe we often overlook one of its most
precious treasures. There's a portion of Scripture most of us don't consider—at least not at first—yet it
probably contains more promises, offers more proof, and results in more praise than anywhere else in
the Bible.

Where is that treasure of biblical encouragement? It isn't contained in one chapter or book. It appears
in Genesis and culminates in Revelation. It weaves its way through the Psalms, the prophets, Jesus'
teachings, and even the epistles. The encouraging, yet often-overlooked portion of Scripture I'm
speaking of is prophecy.

Understanding Bible prophecy encourages in two unique ways. First, it serves as a reminder that God
controls history. When, you read from the pages of Scripture how He keeps His promises, your faith is
strengthened. God promised a son to Abraham and Sarah, and He provided Isaac. God promised to
bring His people into Canaan, and He did. God promised to judge Israel, and the Babylonians led the
nation into captivity. God promised a Messiah, and He sent His son. God promised to raise Him on the
third day, and He did. In each case, whether He promised to bless or to judge, God was faithful. By
reflecting on the fulfilled promises of the past, you can find great comfort as you look toward the
future.

Second, understanding God's promises for the future provides a solid foundation to which you can
anchor your hope—a sturdy shield with which you can deflect your doubts and fears about tomorrow.
Concerning your finances, God has promised to supply your needs. Concerning your health, God has
promised to give you a new body. Concerning the unexpected, God has promised to work all things for
your ultimate benefit. Concerning your salvation, God has promised to finish the work He began in
you. When you reflect on God's plans and promises for you and for the world, you can face the future
without fear.

Taken from a public letter

Hope: An Achor for the Future

 by John MacArthur

The brief article in the January 16th [1997] Los Angeles Daily News should have made the front page
of every newspaper in the world, considering its subject matter. The headline read:

"Universe May Die with a Whimper"

The article seemed more fitting to a science fiction magazine than a respected newspaper. In it, the
writer calmly describes how and when scientists believe the universe will come to an end.

According to experts, things on earth will stay the way they are now for another 100 trillion years.
After that, the future begins to go downhill, "downhill," meaning the stars burn out, all life on earth
dies, and black holes take over. "The universe," they claim, "will be cold, dark, lonely and
featureless." Hardly the ending spelled out in Scripture.

So if looking 100 trillion years into the future doesn't alarm you, an article from the January 27 [1997]
issue of The New Yorker magazine just might. The piece titled, "Is This the End?" addresses a topic
that is capturing media attention nationwide: asteroids, comets, and meteors. The conclusion, drawn
over eight pages, hit too close to home. Literally.

Researchers are finding that chunks of rock, metal, ice—some the size of cities are—hurtling toward
earth at a surprising rate. One estimate claims nearly a half- million objects are on a possible collision
course with our planet. The impact of just one "small" piece could flatten hundreds of square miles. A
big one, whether landing at sea or on shore, could end human civilization as we know it. Seems
Chicken Little may have been right.

But perhaps the most intriguing question the article raised has nothing to do with asteroids, but with
human nature. What would people do if they realized life was only months away from crashing to an
end? How would they respond to such damning news about the future? Would nations be paralyzed by
fear? Would civilization crumble as people ran wild in the streets? Or would skeptics rule the day?
Would calm prevail, albeit a nervous calm?

People have always wrestled those kinds of questions—ones about the future and what it may bring.
For some, what waits around the corner is simply a matter of curiosity. Whom will I marry? What kind
of career will I have? Will I get the promotion I want? In recent years, countless companies have
sprung up eager to cash in on the curiosity. The psychic networks and hotlines are doing a booming
business selling peace of mind one minute at a time—at best a frivolous waste of money, at worst a
pack of Satanic lies.

Yet for most of the world, the future creates more than simple curiosity. It's a source of deep-seated
fear. And rightly so. While most aren't concerned about asteroids crashing to earth, they do face other
unknowns that foster anxiety and even panic. They ponder questions of a much more serious nature—
ultimate questions about the future that psychic hotlines can't answer.

Some fear what the future has in store for their money and possessions. What happens if I lose my
job? How will my family survive if I can no longer meet its needs? How long can Social Security and
our national economy hang on before they collapse, bringing my family down with them?
Others fear the direction society is headed. Will the family, already an endangered species, become
extinct during our lifetime? With our value system under attack and being torn apart, in what kind of
world will our children be forced to survive? What about their children?

Perhaps every troubling question we've ever asked ourselves about the future boils down to just one:

"Is there any real hope for the future?"

Unbelievers can't answer that with any measure of certainty or satisfaction. They have nothing to cling
to but a thin, frayed thread of optimism. Its brand of hope is nothing more than a wish, a mirage, a
fantasy. They live for today, not because God gave it to enjoy, but because tomorrow holds no
promise. They do not know God, His plans, His purposes, or His promises. Without that anchor, they
drift toward the future like a raft toward Niagara. That is where they paddle daily, and that is where we
would be if not for God's grace.

But even Christians have times when their hope seems less than sure. Perhaps you've asked yourself a
few of the questions unbelievers struggle with. While you might never admit aloud that you feel
hopeless, the thought may have crossed your mind. While your salvation is secure, your hope eternal,
your God all-powerful, your future bright, you may have lost sight of those facts when times got hard.

If that's the case, let me encourage you with two reminders. First, you are not abnormal. If it were
unusual for Christians to sometimes battle anxious thoughts about the future, God wouldn't have
devoted so much space in His Word to offering you help. On its pages, the future of the universe is
spelled out in vivid detail. Scripture addresses exactly where God is headed with you and explains why
you can rest in His promises. The Bible contains no appendix. What's written is written for a reason.

Second, you are not alone. I've met countless believers who have lost sight of the certainty of their
hope. They need an anchor. Something to cling to that's so certain, so strong, so unchanging, and so
permanent that even the stormiest seas seem calm, and the wildest waves fall harmless at their feet.
The anchor they are looking for is hope. And rock-solid hope is what they can—and you can—enjoy
each day.

Through Much Tribulation

by Tamra Lee

"We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." Acts 14:22b

We are tempted to think that when we come to Christ ours will be an easier road. For after all, doesn't
it say in the Proverbs, "The way of the transgressor is hard"? Yet it is in understanding the place of
difficulty and hardness that we find strength in Christ.

The way of the transgressor IS hard; though he be rich and famous, rarely have a care in the world, or
have everyone around him adoring his name. His way is hard because, whether he has few or many
cares in this world, they all lead down the same road: to hell.
Psalm 73 verifies this. Asaph was enduring great difficulty, struggling from day to day. As he
struggled, he noticed that the ungodly were prosperous! This hardly seemed fair: here he was barely
making a living from day to day, struggling with various trials, trying his best to serve God, and the
ungodly sat in wealth and contentment. Asaph at first grew envious of the rich. How could God be fair
in all of this? Then he realized as he went to the sanctuary of God: "Surely You set them in slippery
places: You cast them down into destruction ... So foolish was I, and ignorant... You shall guide me
with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory." (vs. 17-24)

Asaph realized true delight and true riches: "Whom have I in heaven but You? and there is none on the
earth I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fails: but God is the strength of my heart, and my
portion forever." (vs. 25-26)

Sometimes it seems a hard road God takes us down. Disappointment, illness, aloneness, trials of
various sorts; all while the ungodly live life to the fullest, and seem to have their dreams come true.
Yet it is not so. God sees the beginning from the end; and He sees the heart and what it needs to
become a Christ-honoring soul.

Very often it needs intermittent bouts of tribulation. Christian on the road to the Celestial City found
this out. It wasn't Appollyon he had to fight. No, he fell into the slough of despond; he foolishly
crossed lines he was told not to and wound up a prisoner to Giant Despair, of Doubting Castle. Others
came and mocked him for remaining on the road to the City; they urged him to take a shortcut, or
abandon his journey all together. Though he got confused, sinned and got off track at times, Christian
remained faithful, and was joyfully received into the Celestial City.

"Tribulation works patience" Paul instructs us in Romans 5:3. There is a purpose--a Divine purpose--
in the illness, the aloneness, the difficulties and troubles of the true believer in Jesus Christ! God is at
work through our difficulties: conforming us into the image of His Son. (Romans 8)

Take heart, downhearted Christian! Though our lives are not always easy, there is meaning and
purpose to everything that comes our way.

Cling to Christ, fainthearted! Find comfort in His Word, and you will have strength to go on until
YOU reach the Celestial City!

© 1999 by Tamra Lee. This article may be copied on these terms: 1. That it is copied completely,
verbatum, unless permission granted by author to do otherwise. 2. The author is credited. 3. No charge
be made for distribution of it. 4. All glory go to Jesus Christ; Author of all Truth.

The Divine Refuge

by Charles Spurgeon

The children of Israel, while they were in Egypt, and in the wilderness, were a type of God's visible
Church on earth. Moses was speaking primarily of them, but, secondarily, of all the chosen ones of
God in every age. Now, as God was the shelter of His ancient people Israel, so is He the refuge of His
saints through all time. And, first, He was eminently their shelter when they were under bondage and
the yoke was heavy. When they had to make bricks without straw, and the taskmasters oppressed them,
then the people cried unto the Lord, and God heard their cry, and sent unto them His servant Moses.
So also, there often comes to men a time when they begin to feel the oppression of Satan. I believe that
many ungodly men feel the slavery of their position. Even some of those who are never converted,
have sense enough to feel at times that the service of Satan is a hard one, yielding but little pleasure,
and involving awful risks. Some men cannot long go on making bricks without straw, without being
more or less conscious that they are in the house of bondage. These, who are not God's people, under
the pressure of mind consequent upon a partial discovery of their state, turn to some form of pleasure,
or self-righteousness, in order to forget their burden and yoke; but God's elect people, moved by a
higher power, are led to cry unto their God. It is one of the first signs of a chosen soul, that it seems to
know, as if by heavenly instinct, where its true refuge is.

You recollect that, although you know but little of Christ, though in doctrinal matters you were very
dark, though you did not understand, perhaps, even your own need, yet there was a something in you
that made you pray, and gave you to see that only at the mercy-seat could you find your refuge. Before
you were a Christian, before you could say—"Christ is mine," your bedside was the witness to many
flowing tears, when your aching heart poured itself out before God, perhaps in strains like these: "O
God, I want something; I do not know what it is I want, but I feel a heaviness of spirit; my mind is
burdened, and I feel that Thou only canst unburden me. I know that I am a sinner; oh, that Thou
wouldest forgive me! I hardly understand the plan of salvation, but one thing I know, that I want to be
saved; I would arise and go unto my Father: my heart panteth to make Thy bosom my refuge." Now, I
say that this is one of the first indications that such a soul is one of God's chosen, for it is true, just as it
was of Israel in Egypt, that God is the refuge of His people, even when they are under the yoke.

When captivity is led captive, the Eternal God becomes the refuge of His people from their sins. The
Israelites were brought out of Egypt; they were free; albeit they were marching they knew not whither,
yet their chains were snapped; they were emancipated, and needed not to call any man Master. But
see, Pharoah is wroth, and he pursues them; with his horses and his chariots he hastens after them. The
enemy said: "I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon
them." Thus also there is a period in the spiritual life, when sin labours to drag back the sinner who has
newly escaped from it. Like hosts ready for battle, all the poor sinner's past iniquities hurry after him,
and overtake him in a place where his way is hedged in. The poor fugitive would escape, but he
cannot; what, then, must he do? You remember that then Moses cried unto the Lord. When nothing
else could be found to afford shelter to the poor escaped slaves, when the Red Sea rolled before them,
and the mountains shut them in on either side, and an angry foe pursued them, there was one road
which was not stopped up, and that was the king's highway upward to the throne, the way to their God,
and therefore they began at once to travel that road, lifting up their hearts in humble prayer to God,
trusting that He would deliver them. You know the story too, how the uplifted rod divided the watery
deeps, how the people passed through the sea as a horse through the wilderness, and how the Lord
brought all the hosts of Egypt into the depths of the sea, that He might utterly destroy them, so that not
one of them was left, and those who had seen them one day saw them no more for ever. In this sense,
God is the refuge of His people still. Our sins which pursued us so hotly have been drowned in the
depths of the Saviour's blood. They sank to the bottom like stones, the depths have covered them, there
is not one, no, not one of them left, and we, standing upon the shore in safety, can shout in triumph
over our drowned sins, "Sing unto the Lord for He hath triumphed gloriously, and all our iniquities
hath He cast into the midst of the sea."
While God is thus the refuge of His people under the yoke, and when sin seeks to overcome them, He
is also their refuge in times of want. The children of Israel journeyed into the wilderness, but there was
nothing for them to feed upon there; the arid sand yielded them neither leeks, nor garlic, nor
cucumbers; and no brooks or rivers, like the Nile, were there to quench their thirst; they would have
famished, if they had been left to depend upon the natural productions of the soil. They came to
Marah, where there was a well, but the water was very bitter; at other stations there were no wells
whatever, and even bitter water was not to be had. What then? Why, the unfailing refuge of God's
people in the wilderness was prayer. Moses, their representative, always betook himself to the Most
High, at times falling upon his face in agony, and at other seasons climbing to the top of the hill, and
there pleading in solemn communion with God, that He would deliver the people; and you have heard
full often how men did eat angels' food in the desert; how Jehovah rained bread from heaven upon His
people in the howling wilderness, and how He smote the rock, and waters gushed forth. You have not
forgotten how the strong wind blew, and brought them flesh, so that they ate and were satisfied. Israel
had no need unsupplied; their garments waxed not old, and though they went through the wilderness,
their feet grew not sore. God supplied all their wants. We in our land must go to the baker, the butcher,
the clothier, and many others, in order to equip ourselves fully, but the men of Israel went to God for
everything. We have to store up our money and buy this in one place, and that in the other, but the
Eternal God was their refuge and their resort for everything, and in every time of want they had
nothing to do but to lift up their voice to Him. Now it is just so with us spiritually. Faith sees our
position to-day to be just that of the children of Israel then: whatever our wants are, the Eternal God is
our refuge. God has promised you that your bread shall be given and that your water shall be sure. He
who gives spirituals will not deny temporals; the Mighty Master will never suffer you to perish, while
He has it in His power to succour you. Go to Him, whatever may be the trouble which weighs you
down. Do not suppose your case too bad, for nothing is too hard for the Lord, and dream not that He
will refuse to undertake temporals as well as spirituals; He careth for you in all things. In everything
you are to give thanks, and surely in everything by prayer and supplication, you may make known
your wants unto God. In times when the cruse of oil is ready to fail, and the handful of meal is all but
spent, then go to the all-sufficient God, and you shall find that they who trust in Him shall not lack any
good thing.

Furthermore, our God is the refuge of His saints when their enemies rage. When the host was passing
through the wilderness they were suddenly attacked by the Amalekites. Unprovoked, these marauders
of the desert set upon them, and smote the hindermost of them, but what did Israel do? The people did
not ask to have a strong body of horsemen, hired out of the land of Egypt for their refuge, or even if
they did wish it, he who was their wiser self, Moses, looked to another arm than that of man, for he
cried unto God. How glorious is that picture of Moses, with uplifted hands, upon the top of the hill
giving victory to Joshua in the plain below. Those uplifted arms were worth ten thousand men to the
hosts of Israel; nay, twice ten thousand had not so easily gotten a victory, as did those two extended
arms, which brought down Omnipotence itself from heaven. This was Israel's master-weapon of war,
their confidence in God. Joshua shall go forth with men of war, but the Lord, Jehovah-nissi, is the
banner of the fight, and the giver of the victory. Thus the Eternal God is our refuge. When our foes
rage, we need not fear their fury. Let us not seek to be without enemies, but let us take our case and
spread it before God. We cannot be in such a position, that the weapons of our foes can hurt us, while
the promise stands good: "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and every tongue that
riseth against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn." Though earth and hell should unite in malice, the
Eternal God is our castle and stronghold, securing to us an everlasting refuge.
Taken from Words of Cheer for Daily Life

Suffering and Consolation

by Charles Spurgeon

As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so the consolations of Christ abound. Here is a blessed
proportion. God always keeps a pair of scales—in this side He puts His people's trials and in that He
puts their consolations. When the scale of trial is nearly empty, you will always find the scale of
consolation in nearly the same condition; and when the scale of trials is full, you will find the scale of
consolation just as heavy; for as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, even so shall consolation
abound by Christ. This is a matter of pure experience. Oh, it is mysterious that, when the black clouds
gather most, the light within us is always the brightest! When the night lowers and the tempest is
coming on, the heavenly captain is always closest to His crew. It is a blessed thing, when we are most
cast down, then it is that we are most lifted up by the consolations of Christ.

Trials make more room for consolation. There is nothing that makes a man have a big heart like a
great trial. I always find that little, miserable people, whose hearts are about the size of a grain of
mustard-seed, never have had much to try them. I have found that those people who have no sympathy
for their fellows—who never weep for the sorrows of others—very seldom have had any woes of their
own. Great hearts can only be made by great troubles. The spade of trouble digs the reservoir of
comfort deeper, and makes more room for consolation. God comes into our heart—He finds it full—
He begins to break our comforts and to make it empty; then there is more room for grace. The humbler
a man lies, the more comfort he will always have.

I recollect walking with a ploughman, one day, a man who was deeply taught, although he was a
ploughman—and really ploughmen would make a great deal better preachers than many college
gentlemen—and he said to me, "Depend upon it, if you or I ever get one inch above the ground, we
shall get just that inch too high." I believe it is true; for the lower we lie, the nearer to the ground we
are—the more our troubles humble us—the more fit we are to receive comfort; and God always gives
us comfort when we are most fit for it. That is one reason why consolations increase in the same ratio
as our trials.

Then trouble exercises our graces, and the very exercise of our graces tends to make us more
comfortable and happy. Where showers fall most, there the grass is greenest. I suppose the fogs and
mists of Ireland make it "the Emerald Isle"; and wherever you find great fogs of trouble, and mists of
sorrow, you always find emerald green hearts: full of the beautiful verdure of the comfort and love of
God. O Christian, do not thou be saying, "Where are the swallows gone? They are gone: they are
dead." They are not dead; they have skimmed the purple sea, and gone to a far-off land; but they will
be back again by-and-by. Child of God, say not the flowers are dead; say not the winter has killed
them, and they are gone. Ah! no; though winter hath coated them with the ermine of its snow; they
will put up their heads again, and will be alive very soon. Say not, child of God, that the sun is
quenched, because the cloud hath hidden it. Ah! no; he is behind there, brewing summer for thee; for
when he cometh out again, he will have made the clouds fit to drop in April showers, all of them
mothers of the sweet May flowers. And oh! above all, when thy God hides His face, say not that He
has forgotten thee. He is but tarrying a little while to make thee love Him better; and when He cometh,
thou shalt have joy in the Lord, and shalt rejoice with joy unspeakable. Waiting exercises our grace;
waiting tries our faith; therefore, wait on in hope: for though the promise tarry, it can never come too
late.

Another reason why we are often most happy in our troubles is this—then we have the closest dealings
with God. I speak from heart knowledge and real experience. We never have such close dealings with
God, as when we are in tribulation. When the barn is full, man can live without God; when the purse is
bursting with gold, we somehow can do without so much prayer. But once take your gourds away, you
want your God; once cleanse away the idols out of the house, then you must go and honour Jehovah.

Some of you do not pray half as much as you ought. If you are the children of God, you will have the
whip; and when you have that whip, you will run to your Father. It is a fine day, and the child walks
before its father; but there is a lion in the road, now he comes and takes his father's hand. He could run
half-a-mile before him when all was fine and fair; but once bring the lion, and it is "father! father!" as
close as he can be. It is even so with the Christian. Let all be well, and he forgets God. Jeshurun waxes
fat, and he begins to kick against God; but take away his hopes, blast his joys, let the infant lie in the
coffin, let the crops be blasted, let the herd be cut off from the stall, let the husband's broad shoulder
lie in the grave, let the children be fatherless—then it is that God is a God indeed. Oh, strip me naked;
take from me all I have; make me poor, a beggar, penniless, helpless; dash that cistern in pieces; crush
that hope; quench the stars; put out the sun; shroud the moon in darkness, and place me all alone in
space, without a friend, without a helper; still, "Out of the depths will I cry unto thee, O God." There is
no cry so good as that which comes from the bottom of the mountains; no prayer half so hearty as that
which comes up from the depths of the soul, through deep trials and afflictions. Hence they bring us to
God, and we are happier; for that is the way to be happy—to live near God. So that while troubles
abound, they drive us to God, and then consolations abound.

Some people call troubles weights. Verily they are so. A ship that has large sails and a fair wind, needs
ballast. Troubles are the ballast of a believer. The eyes are the pumps which fetch out the bilge-water
of his soul, and keep him from sinking. But if trials be weights, I will tell you of a happy secret. There
is such a thing as making a weight lift you. If I have a weight chained to me, it keeps me down; but
give me pulleys and certain appliances, and I can make it lift me up. Yes, there is such a thing as
making troubles raise me towards heaven. A gentleman once asked a friend, concerning a beautiful
horse of his, feeding about in the pasture with a clog on its foot, "Why do you clog such a noble
animal?" "Sir," said he, "I would a great deal sooner clog him than lose him: he is given to leap
hedges." That is why God clogs His people. He would rather clog them than lose them; for if He did
not clog them, they would leap the hedges and be gone. They want a tether to prevent their straying,
and their God binds them with afflictions, to keep them near to Him, to preserve them, and have them
in His presence. Blessed fact—as our troubles abound, our consolations also abound.

Taken from Words of Cheer for Daily Life

Cure for Heart-Ache

by Charles Spurgeon
It is the easiest thing in the world in times of difficulty to let the heart be troubled; it is very natural to
us to give up and drift with the stream, to feel that it is of no use "taking arms against" such "a sea of
trouble," but that it is better to lie passive and to say, "If one must be ruined, so let it be." Despairing
idleness is easy enough, especially to evil, rebellious spirits, who are willing enough to get into further
mischief that they may have wherewithal to blame God the more, against whose providence they have
quarreled. Our Lord will not have us be so rebellious. He bids us pluck up heart and be of good
courage in the worst possible condition, and here is the wisdom of His advice, namely, that a troubled
heart will not help us in our difficulties or out of them. It has never been perceived in time of drought
that lamentations have brought showers of rain, or that in seasons of frost, doubtings, fears, and
discouragements, have produced a thaw. We have never hear of a man whose business was declining,
who managed to multiply the number of his customers by unbelief in God. I do not remember reading
of a person whose wife or child was sick, who discovered any miraculous healing power in rebellion
against the Most High. It is a dark night, but the darkness of your heart will not light a candle for you.
It is a terrible tempest, but to quench the fires of comfort and open the doors to admit the howling
winds into the chambers of your spirit will not stay the storm. No good comes out of fretful, petulant,
unbelieving heart-trouble. This lion yields no honey. If it would help you, you might reasonably sit
down and weep till the tears had washed away your woe. If it were really to some practical benefit to
be suspicious of God and distrustful of Providence, why then you might have a shadow of excuse; but
as this is a mine out of which no one ever digged any silver, as this is a fishery out of which the diver
never brought up a pearl, we would say, Renounce that which cannot be of service to you; for as it can
do no good, it is certain that it does much mischief. A doubting, fretful spirit takes from us the joys we
have. You have not all you could wish, but you have still more than you deserve. Your circumstances
are not what they might be, but still they are not even now so bad as the circumstances of some others.
Your unbelief makes you forget that still health remains to you if poverty oppresses you; or that if both
health and abundance have departed, you are a child of God, and your name is not blotted out from the
roll of the chosen.

There are flowers that bloom in winter, if we have but grace to see them. Never was there a night of
the soul so dark but what some lone star of hope might be discerned, and never a spiritual tempest so
tremendous but what there was a haven into which the soul could put if it had but enough confidence
in God to make a run for it. Rest assured that though you have fallen very low, you might have fallen
lower if it were not that underneath are the everlasting arms. A doubting, distrustful spirit will wither
the few blossoms which remain upon your bough, and if half the wells be frozen by affliction, unbelief
will freeze the other half by its despondency. You will win no good, but you may get incalculable
mischief by a troubled heart; it is a root which bears no fruit except wormwood. A troubled heart
makes that which is bad worse. It magnifies, aggravates, caricatures, misrepresents. If but an ordinary
foe is in your way, a troubled heart makes him swell into a giant. "We were in their sight but as
grasshoppers," said the ten evil spies, "yea, and we were but as grasshoppers in our own sight when we
saw them." But it was not so. No doubt the men were very tall, but they were not so big after all as to
make an ordinary six-foot man look like a grasshopper. Their fears made them grasshoppers by first
making them fools. If they had possessed but ordinary courage they would have been men, but being
cowardly, they subsided into grasshoppers. After all, what is an extra three, four, or five feet of flesh to
a man? Is not the bravest soul the tallest? If he be of shorter stature, be but nimble and courageous, he
will have the best of it; little David made short work of great Goliath. Yet so it is; unbelief makes out
our difficulties to be most gigantic, and then it leads us to suppose that never soul had such difficulties
before, and so we egotistically lament, "I am the man that hath seen affliction;" we claim to be peers in
the realm of misery, if not the emperors of the kingdom of grief.
Yet it is not so. Why? What ails you? The head-ache is excruciating! Well, it is bad enough, but what
wouldst thou say if thou hadst seven such aches at once, and cold and nakedness to back them! The
twitches of rheumatism are horrible! Right well can I endorse that statement! But what then? Why,
there have been men who have lived with such tortures thrice told all their lives, like Baxter, who
could tell all his bones because each one had made itself heard by its own peculiar pang. What is our
complaint compared with the diseases of Calvin, the man who preached at break of every day to the
students in the cathedral, and worked on till long past midnight, and was all the while a mass of
disease, a complicated agony? You are poor? ah yes! But you have your own room, scanty as it is, and
there are hundreds in the workhouse who find sorry comfort there. It is true you have to work hard!
ay! but think of the Huguenot galley slave in old times, who for the love of Christ was bound with
chains to the oar, and scarce knew rest day nor night. Think of the sufferings of the martyrs of
Smithfield, or of the saints who rotted in their prisons. Above all, let your eye turn to the great Apostle
and High Priest of your profession, and "consider Him who endured such contradiction of sinners
against Himself, lest you be weary and faint in your mind."

"His way was much rougher and darker than mine,

Did Jesus thus suffer, and shall I repine?"

Yet this is the habit of unbelief to draw our picture in the blackest possible colours, to tell us that the
road is unusually rough and utterly impassable, that the storm is such a tornado as never blew before,
and that our name will be down in the wreck register, and that it is impossible that we should ever
reach the haven.

Be of good cheer, soldier, the battle must soon end; and that blood-stained banner, when it shall wave
so high, and that shout of triumph, when it shall thrill from so many thousand lips, and that grand
assembly of heroes, all of them made more than conquerors, and the sight of the King in His beauty,
riding in the chariot of His triumph, paved with love for the daughters of Jerusalem, and the
acclamations of spirits glorified, and the shouts and paens of cherubims and seraphims—all these shall
make up for all the fightings of to-day,—

"And they who, with their Master,

Have conquer'd in the fight,
For ever and for ever
Are clad in robes of light."

Taken from Words of Cheer for Daily Life.

Joy in Life's Hard Times

by Charles Spurgeon

"At evening time it shall be light."

I shall not notice the particular occassion upon which these words were uttered, or try to discover the
time to which they more especially refer; I shall rather take the sentence as a rule of the kingdom, as
one of the great laws of God's dispensation of grace, that "at evening time it shall be light." Whenever
philosophers wish to establish a general law, they think it necessary to collect a considerable number
of individual instances; these being put together, they then infer from them a general rule. Happily,
this need not be done with regard to God. We have no need, when we look abroad in providence, to
collect a great number of incidents, and then from them infer the truth; for since God is immutable,
one act of His grace is enough to teach us the rule of His conduct. Now, I find, in one place, it is
recorded that, on a certain occasion, during a certain adverse condition of a nation, God promised that
at evening time it should be light. If I found that in any human writing, I should suppose that the thing
might have occurred once, that a blessing was conferred in emergency on a certain occasion, but I
could not from it deduce a rule; but when I find this written in the Book of God, that on a certain
occasion when it was evening time with His people God was pleased to give them light, I feel myself
more than justified in deducing from it the rule, that always to His people at evening time there shall
be light.

The Church at large has had many evening times. If I might derive a figure to describe her history
from anything in this lower world, I should describe her as being like the sea. At times the abundance
of grace has been gloriously manifest. Wave upon wave has triumphantly rolled in upon the land,
covering the mire of sin, and claiming the earth for the Lord of Host. So rapid has been its progress
that its course could scarce be obstructed by the rocks of sin and vice. Complete conquest seemed to
be foretold by the continual spread of the truth. The happy Church thought that the day of her ultimate
triumph had certainly arrived, so potent was her Word by her ministers, so glorious was the Lord in
the midst of her armies, that nothing could stand against her. She was "fair as the moon, clear as the
sun, and terrible as an army with banners." Heresies and schisms were swept away, false gods and
idols lost their thrones; Jehovah Omnipotent was in the midst of His church, and He upon the white
horse rode forth conquering and to conquer. Before long, however, you find it always has happened
that there came an ebb-tide. Again the stream of grace seemed to recede, the poor Church was driven
back either by persecution or by internal decay; instead of gaining upon man's corruptions it seemed as
if man's corruptions gained on her; and where once there had been righteousness like the waves of the
sea, there was the black mud and mire of the filthiness of mankind. Mournful tunes the Church had to
sing, when by the rivers of Babylon she sat down and wept, remembering her former glories, and
weeping her present desolation. So has it always been—progressing, retrograding, standing still a
while, and then progressing once more, and falling back again. The whole history of the Church has
been a history of onward marches, and then of quick retreats—a history which, I believe, is, on the
whole, a history of advance and growth, but which, read chapter by chapter, is a mixture of success
and repulse, conquest and discouragement. And so I think it will be, even to the last. We shall have our
sunrises, our meridian noon, and then the sinking in the west; we shall have our sweet dawnings of
better days, our Reformations, our Luthers and our Calvins; we shall have our bright full noon-tide,
when the gospel is fully preached, and the power of God is known; we shall have our sunset of
ecclesiastical weakness and decay. But just as sure as the evening-tide seems to be drawing over the
Church, "at evening time it shall be light."

We may expect to see darker evening times than have ever been beheld. Let us not imagine that our
civilization shall be more enduring than any other that has gone before it, unless the Lord shall
preserve it. It may be that the suggestion will be realized which has often been laughed at as folly, that
one day men should sit upon the arches of London Bridge, and marvel at the civilization that has
departed, just as men walk over the mounds of Nimrod, and marvel at cities buried there. It is just
possible that all the civilization of this country may die out in blackest night; it may be that God will
repeat again the great story which has been so often told: "I looked, and low, in the vision I saw a
terrible beast, and it ruled the nations, but lo, it passed away and was not." But if ever such things
should be—if the world should ever have to return to barbarism and darkness—if instead of what we
sometimes hope for, a constant progress to the brightest day, all our hopes should be blasted, let us rest
quite satisfied that "at evening time there shall be light," that the end of the world's history shall be an
end of glory. However red with blood, however black with sin the world may yet be, she shall one day
be as pure and perfect as when she was created. The day shall come when this poor planet shall find
herself unrobed of those swaddling bands of darkness that have kept her lustre from breaking forth.
God shall yet cause His name to be known from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof,

"And the shout of jubilee

Loud as mighty thunders roar,
Or the fulness of the sea,
When it breaks upon the shore,
Shall yet be heard the wide world o'er."

"At evening time it shall be light."

We know that in nature the very same law that rules the atom, governs also the starry orbs.

"The very law that moulds a tear,

And bids it trickle from its source,
That law preserves the earth a sphere,
And guides the planets in their course."

It is even so with the laws of grace. "At evening time it shall be light" to the Church.... Christian let us
descend to lowly things. Thou hast had thy bright days in temporal matters: thou hast sometimes been
greatly blessed: thou canst remember the day when the calf was in the stall, when the olive yielded its
fruit, and the fig-tree did not deny its harvest; thou canst recollect the years when the barn was almost
bursting with the corn, and when the vat overflowed with the oil; thou rememberest when the stream
of thy life was deep, and thy ship floated softly on, without one disturbing billow of trouble to molest
it. Thou saidst in those days, "I shall see no sorrow; God hath hedged me about; He hath preserved me;
He hath kept me; I am the darling of His providence; I know that all things work together for my good,
for I can see it is plainly so. "

Well, Christian, thou hast after that had a sunset; the sun which shone so brightly, began to cast his
rays in a more oblique manner every moment, until at last the shadows were long, for the sun was
setting, and the clouds began to gather; and though the light of God's countenance tinged those clouds
with glory, yet it was waxing dark. Then troubles lowered o'er thee; thy family sickened, thy wife was
dead, thy crops were meagre, and thy daily income was diminished, thy cupboard was no more full,
thou wast wondering for thy daily bread; thou didst not know what should become of thee, mayhap
thou wast brought very low; the keel of thy vessel did grate upon the rocks; there was not enough
bounty to float thy ship above the rocks of poverty. You used both industry and economy, and you
added thereunto perseverance; but all in vain. It was in vain that you rose up early, and sat up late, and
ate the bread of carefulness; nothing could you do to deliver yourself, for all attempts failed. You were
ready to die in despair. You thought the night of your life had gathered with eternal blackness. You
would not live always, but had rather depart from this vale of tears. Was it not light with thee at
evening time? The time of thine extremity was just the moment of God's opportunity. When the tide
had run out to its very furthest, then it began to turn; thine ebb had its flow; thy winter had its summer;
thy sunset had its sunrise; "at evening time it was light." On a sudden by some strange work of God as
thou didst think then, thou was completely delivered. He brought out thy righteousness like the light,
and thy glory as the noonday. The Lord appeared for thee in the days of old; He stretched out His hand
from above; He drew thee out of deep waters; He set thee upon a rock and established thy goings.

Taken from Words of Cheer for Daily Life

Liberty from the Fear of Death

by Charles Spurgeon

The true-born child of God serves his Master more than ever he did. As old Erskine says:

"Slight now His loving presence if they can;

No, no; His conquering kindness leads the van
When everlasting love exerts the sway,
They judge themselves most kindly bound to obey;
Bound by redeeming love in stricter sense,
Than ever Adam was in innocence."

"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" from the Fear of Death. O death! how many a sweet
cup hast thou made bitter. O death! how many a revel hast hou broken up. O death! how many a
gluttonous banquet hast thou spoiled! O death! how many a sinful pleasure hast thou turned into pain.
Take ye the telescope and look through the vista of a few years, and what see you? Grim death in the
distance grasping his scythe. He is coming, coming, coming; and what is behind him? Ay, that
depends upon your own character. If ye are the sons of God, there is the palm-branch; if ye are not, ye
know what followeth death—hell follows him. O death! thy spectre hath haunted many a house where
sin otherwise would have rioted. O death! thy chill hand hath touched many a heart that was big with
lust, and made it start affrighted from its crime. Oh, how many men are slaves to the fear of death!

Half the people in the world are afraid to die. There are some madmen who can march up to the
cannon's mouth; there are some fools who rush with bloody hands before their Maker's tribunal; but
most men fear to die. Who is the man that does not fear to die? I will tell you. The man that is a
believer. Fear to die! Thank God, I do not. The cholera may come again. I pray God it may not; but if
it does, it matters not to me: I will toil and visit the sick by night and by day, until I drop; and if it
takes me, sudden death is sudden glory. And so with the weakest saint; the prospect of dissolution
does not make you tremble. Sometimes you fear, but oftener you rejoice. You sit down and calmly
think of dying. What is death? It is a low porch through which you stoop to enter heaven. What is life?
It is a narrow screen that separates us from glory, and death kindly removes it!

I recollect a saying of a good old woman, who said, "Afraid to die, sir?" I have dipped my foot in
Jordan every morning before breakfast for the last fifty years, and do you think I am afraid to die
now?" Die? why, we die hundreds of times; we "die daily;" we die every morning; we die each night
when we sleep; by faith we die; and so dying will be old work when we come to it. We shall say, "Ah
death! you and I have been old acquaintances; I have had thee in my bedroom every night; I have
talked with thee each day; I have had the skull upon my dressing table; and I have ofttimes thought of
thee. Death! thou art come at last, but thou art a welcome guest; thou art an angel of light, and the best
friend I have had." Why, then, dread death; since there is no fear of God's leaving you when you come
to die? Here I must tell you that anecdote of the good Welsh lady, who, when she lay a-dying, was
visited by her minister. He said to her, "Sister, are you sinking?" She answered him not a word, but
looked at him with an incredulous eye. He repeated the question, "Sister, are you sinking?" She looked
at him again, as if she could not believe that he would ask such a question. At last, rising a little in the
bed, she said,"Sinking! Sinking! Did you ever know a sinner sink through a rock? If I had been
standing on the sand, I might sink; but, thank God, I am on the Rock of Ages, and there is no sinking
there." How glorious to die! Oh, angels come! Oh, cohorts of the Lord of host, stretch, stretch your
broad wings and lift us up from earth; O, winged seraphs, bear us far above the reach of these inferior
things; but, till ye come, I'll sing,—

"Since Jesus is mine, I'll not fear undressing—

But gladly put off these garments of clay,
To die in the Lord is a covenant blessing;
Since Jesus to glory, through death led the way."

But there are two sides to such questions as this. There are some glorious things that we are free to.
Not only are we freed from sin in every sense from the law, and from the fear of death; but we are free
to do something. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty;" and that liberty gives us certain
rights and privileges.

We are free to heavens charter. There is heaven's charter—the Magna Charta—the Bible; and you are
free to it. There is a choice passage: "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and
through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee;" thou art free to that. Here is another: "Mountains
shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart;" You are free to that."Where
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." Here is a chapter touching election: you are free to that if you
are elect. Here is another, speaking of the non-condemnation of the righteous, and their justification;
you are free to that. You are free to all the that is in the Bible. Here is a never-failing treasure, filled
with boundless stores of grace. It is the bank of heaven: you may draw from it as much as you please
without let or hindrance. Bring nothing with you, except faith. Bring as much faith as you can get, and
you are welcome to all that is in the Bible. There is not a promise, not a word in it, that is not yours. In
the depths of tribulation, let it comfort you. Mid waves of distress let it cheer you. When sorrows
surround thee, let it be thy helper. This is thy Father's love-token: let it never be shut up and covered
with dust. Thou art free to it—use, then, thy freedom.

Next, recollect that thou art free to the throne of grace. It is the privilege of Englishmen, that they can
always send a petition to Parliament; and it is the privilege of a believer, that he can always send a
petition to the throne of God. I am free to God's throne. If I want to talk to God tomorrow morning, I
can. If to-night I wish to have a conversation with my Master, I can go to Him. I have a right to go to
His throne. It matters not how much I have sinned. I go and ask for pardon. It signifies nothing how
poor I am—I go and plead His promise that He will provide all things needful. I have a right to go to
His throne at all time—in midnight's darkest hour, or in noontide's heat. Where'er I am; if fate
commands me to the utmost verge of the wide earth, I have still constant admission to His throne. Use
that right, beloved—use that right. There is not one of you that lives up to his privilege. Many a
gentleman will live beyond his income, spending more than he has coming in; but there is not a
Christian that does that—I mean that lives up to his spiritual income. Oh, no! you have an infinite
income—an income of promises—an income of grace; and no Christian ever lived up to his income.
Some people say, "If I had more money, I should have a larger house, and horses, and a carriage, and
so on." Very well and good; but I wish Christians would do the same. I wish they would set up a larger
house, and do greater things for God; look more happy, and take those tears away from their eyes.

With such stores in the bank, and so much in hand, that God gives you, you have not right to be poor.
Up, rejoice! rejoice! The Christian ought to live up to his income, and not below it.

"Turn, then, my soul unto thy rest,

The ransom of thy great High Priest
hath set the captive free.
Trust to His efficacious blood,
Nor fear thy banishment from God,
Since Jesus died for thee."

Taken from Words of Cheer for Daily Life