Morning & Evening Devotional Reading– July 3– Evening

by Charles H. Spurgeon, Revised and Edited by William C. Neff

“If we suffer [with Christ], we will also reign with him.”

—2 Timothy 2:12

We must not imagine that we are suffering for Christ and with Christ if we are not in Christ. Dear friend, are you suffering because you are trusting in Jesus only? If not, then the suffering you endure on this earth is not “suffering with Christ,” and, therefore, you have no hope of reigning with him in heaven. Not all a Christian’s sufferings are sufferings with Christ. It is essential that one be called by God to suffer. If we are rash and unwise and this causes us to endure painful consequences, our suffering is the result of sinning against Jesus, not from communing with Him. If we let passion take the place of good judgment and self-will reigns instead of Scriptural authority, we fight the Lord’s battles with the devil’s weapons; and we should not be surprised if we cut our own fingers in the process. When Miriam spoke evil of Moses, and leprosy came to her body, she was not suffering for God, but incurring His judgment.

Suffering which God accepts must have God’s glory as its end. If I suffer to earn a name for myself or to win applause, I will get no other reward. We ought to love Jesus and His elect, and this should always be the driving force behind our patience. We must manifest the Spirit of Christ in meekness, gentleness, and forgiveness.

Let us search and see if we truly suffer with Jesus. And if we do suffer in this way, we can know that our suffering is but “light affliction” compared to reigning with him. Oh, how blessed one is to be in the furnace with Christ!  What an honor to be ridiculed with him!  Even if there were no future reward, we might count ourselves happy in the present honor. But there is an eternal reward and so much more than we can imagine; so, today, let us take up the cross quickly and go on our way rejoicing.” [M&E]