Morning By Morning #43

Just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

2 Corinthians 1:5

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

We see a blessed balance in this verse. The Ruler of Providence holds scales in His hand, putting His people’s trials on one scale and placing their overflowing comfort on the other. When the scale of trials is light, the scale of comfort will be light as well, but when the scale of trials is full, the scale of comfort will be equally as heavy.

When clouds are their darkest, God’s light is more brightly revealed. When night comes and the storm is raging, the Heavenly Captain is always the very closest to His crew. What a blessing to know that when we are the most downcast, we are the most sustained by the comfort of the Spirit of God!

One reason for this is that trials actually make more room for comfort. Thus, great hearts can only be made great through great troubles. The shovel of trouble digs the reservoir for comfort deeper, making even more room for it. When God comes into our heart, finding it full, He begins to break our comforts away, and as our heart empties, there is more room for grace. The more humble a person’s life, the more comfort he will have because he will have a greater capacity to receive it.

Another reason why we are typically the happiest during times of trouble is because that is when we have our closest dealings with God. When our barns are full, we think we can live without God, and when our pockets are overflowing with gold, we tend to neglect our prayer life. But once our vine is taken away (see Jonah 4:6 – 11), we want God, and once the idols of our hearts are taken away, we are compelled to honor Jehovah.

“Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD” (Ps. 130:1). There is no cry as good as one that comes from the very foot of the mountain, and no prayer as earnest as the one coming from the very depths of the soul through deep trials and suffering. Difficulties bring us closer to God and we are happier, for closeness to God is happiness.

Come, troubled believer, don’t agonize over your heavy trials, for they are the messengers of God who announce and deliver His equally weighty blessings.

From the pen of Jim Reimann:

Corrie ten Boom, a Christian Holocaust survivor, shared a wonderful story of grace in her book The Hiding Place. As a small child she asked her father about sexual sin. Instead of answering, he asked Corrie to pick up his briefcase full of heavy watch parts from his repair shop. Tugging at it, she declared, “It’s too heavy.” Her father replied, “Yes, and some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you.”

When Corrie’s family was caught protecting Jews, they were sent to a concentration camp where all the members of Corrie’s family, except for her, died. We can only imagine the hard questions she asked the Lord, but she came to realize she had to entrust those answers to her heavenly Father’s keeping. And she learned God’s grace is always given in proportion to our need—never too little—never too much—and always on time!