Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

 January 21– Evening

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

“(Samson) was very thirsty and asked the Lord, ‘After sparing my life, will I now die of thirst?’” 

—Judges 15:18

Samson was so thirsty he thought he was going to die. The difficulty was totally different from any which the hero had met before. To satisfy one’s thirst is nothing in comparison to fighting a thousand Philistines! But when thirst came upon him, Samson felt that little difficulty as more weighty than the great past difficulty out of which he had so specially been delivered.

It is very usual for God’s people, when they have enjoyed a great deliverance, to find a little trouble too much for them. Samson slays a thousand Philistines and piles them up in heaps and then faints for a cup of water! Jacob wrestles with God at Peniel and overcomes angelic power but then goes away limping. Isn’t it strange that we notice our soreness the day after we’ve won the battle? It’s as if the Lord must teach us further about our littleness– our nothingness– in order to keep us humble. Samson boasted loudly when he said, “I have slain a thousand men.” But his boastful throat soon grew hoarse with thirst, and he began to pray. God has many ways of humbling his people.

Dear child of God, if after great mercy and success you are laid very low, your case is not unusual. When David had mounted the throne of Israel, he said, “Today I am weak, though I am anointed king.” You must expect to feel weakest when you are enjoying your greatest triumph. If God has given you great deliverances in the past, your present difficulty is only like Samson’s thirst. The Lord will not let you faint, nor will he allow your enemies to triumph over you.

The road of sorrow is the road to heaven, but, thank God, there are wells of refreshing water all along the way. So, dear brother, if you feel thirsty and sore today, cheer your heart with Samson’s words, and rest assured that God will deliver you before long. [M&E]