Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

August 14– Evening

by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff

“I [God] know [Israel’s] sorrows.'”

—Exodus 3:7

A child is comforted to know that his parents know his needs and how to care for him. In the same way, are we comforted that our Father knows us and cares for our souls?

God is our wise and knowing Physician. If the doctor knows everything about us, there is no need for the patient to know. Our fluttering hearts can be at peace; we can stop prying, peeping, and suspecting! The patient does not need to know all the medicines or review all the symptoms. This is the Physician’s work! It is my business to trust, and his to prescribe. If he writes his prescription in unreadable characters, I won’t be uneasy. I will rely on his unfailing skill to make everything clear in the end, no matter how mysterious it may seem to me right now.

God is also our knowing Master. His knowledge serves us better than our own. We are to obey and not to judge. “The servant doesn’t know what his master is doing.” Can the architect explain his plans to every construction worker on the job? If he knows his own intent, is it not enough? The clay on the wheel doesn’t know to what pattern it is being conformed; if the potter understands his art, does it matter if the clay doesn’t know? So, why do I question my Lord so often in my ignorance?

And, lastly, God is our all-knowing Head. In our bodies, the head is the center of knowing. How much thinking does the arm or foot do? All the power to know lies in the head. Should each member of the body have its own brain? Of course not! The head fulfills that function for the whole body. In times of sickness, the believer must be comforted, not that he himself can see the end, but that Jesus knows all. Sweet Lord, be our Physician, Master, and Head, and let us be content to trust in you.” [M&E]