Date: 10-07-14
Text: — Numbers 11:11 — So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You afflicted Your servant?…” [NKJV]
The Big Idea: True faith holds by the Lord’s faithfulness.
My Thoughts:
This morning’s Heartwork Devotion is on “Letting go of Guilt,” and I believe a cousin to this guilt is fear. Interestingly enough, I was also reading Charles Spurgeon’s Morning & Evening Devotion this morning and found it very fitting for me personally, and perhaps you will, too. The message this Sunday is from James 2:14-26 on having an active, ‘Shema’ Faith. I find that Spurgeon’s words, noted below, address both this Sunday’s message and this morning’s Heartwork devotion. Perhaps you will be encouraged as I am by this….
Spurgeon’s Thoughts:
“Our heavenly Father sends us frequent troubles to try our faith. If our faith be worth anything, it will stand the test. Gilt is afraid of fire, but gold is not: the paste gem dreads to be touched by the diamond, but the true jewel fears no test. It is a poor faith which can only trust God when friends are true, the body full of health, and the business profitable; but that is true faith which holds by the Lord’s faithfulness when friends are gone, when the body is sick, when spirits are depressed, and the light of our Father’s countenance is hidden. A faith which can say, in the direst trouble, ‘Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him,’ is heaven-born faith. The Lord afflicts His servants to glorify Himself, for He is greatly glorified in the graces of His people, which are His own handiwork. When ‘tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope,’ the Lord is honoured by these growing virtues.
“We should never know the music of the harp if the strings were left untouched; nor enjoy the juice of the grape if it were not trodden in the winepress; nor discover the sweet perfume of cinnamon if it were not pressed and beaten; nor feel the warmth of fire if the coals were not utterly consumed. The wisdom and power of the great Workman are discovered by the trials through which His vessels of mercy are permitted to pass.
“Present afflictions tend also to heighten future joy. There must be shades in the picture to bring out the beauty of the lights. Could we be so supremely blessed in heaven, if we had not known the curse of sin and the sorrow of earth? Will not peace be sweeter after conflict, and rest more welcome after toil? Will not the recollection of past sufferings enhance the bliss of the glorified? There are many other comfortable answers to the question with which we opened our brief meditation, let us muse upon it all day long.”
Scriptures to Renew Your Thoughts
Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.
— Psalms 116:7 (NIV84)
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls
— Matthew 11:28-29 (NIV84)
Heavenly Father, by the shed blood of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and through His power I ask You to remove the pain, shame and guilt from my Life, whether I deserve any or not. In Your Grace and Mercy blot out the stain of my transgressions and empower me by Your Spirit to walk in the ‘now’ in freedom and Love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Pastor Mike