Morning & Evening Devotional Reading

 January 2– Evening

by C. H. Spurgeon, Revised and Edited by W. C. Neff

“Let the people renew their strength.” 

—Isaiah 41:1

All things on earth need to be renewed. No created thing can sustain itself for long. The Psalmist says, “You renew the face of the year.” Even the trees, which do not wear themselves out with anxiety, nor shorten their lives with labor, must drink of the rain of heaven and draw life from the hidden treasures of the soil. The cedars of Lebanon, which God has planted, only live because day by day they are full of sap, freshly drawn from the earth. In the same way, man’s life cannot be sustained without renewal from God. Just as it is necessary to repair the body with frequent meals, so too we must repair the soul by feeding upon the Book of God, or by listening to the preached Word, or by partaking of the soul-fattening Table of the Lord.

How diminished are our graces when these means are neglected! What poor, starving specimens of saints we become when we live without the diligent use of God’s Word and secret prayer! If our piety can live without God, it is not of divine creating; it’s merely a dream; for if God had given it birth, it would wait upon him as the flowers wait upon the dew. Without constant restoration, we are not ready for the perpetual assaults of hell, or the stern afflictions of heaven, or even for the battles within our own hearts. When the whirlwind is loosed, woe to the tree that has not taken in fresh sap and twisted its roots around the rock. When tempests arise, woe to the mariners who have not strengthened their mast, nor cast their anchor, nor sought a haven.

If we allow the good to grow weaker, the evil will surely gather strength and become our master. So, let us draw near to the footstool of divine mercy, and we shall see the fulfillment of the promise, “They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.” [M&E]