Morning & Evening Devotional Reading– May 31– Morning

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

“King David himself also passed over the brook of Kidron.”

—2 Samuel 15:23

David passed that gloomy brook when fleeing with his discouraged friends from his traitor son. The man after God’s own heart was not exempt from trouble; in fact, his life was full of it. He was both the Lord’s Anointed, and the Lord’s Afflicted. Why then should we expect to escape? At sorrow’s gates even the noblest among us have waited with ashes on their heads; why, then, should we complain as though some strange thing has happened to us?

The King of kings himself was not favored with an easier road. He passed over the filthy ditch of Kidron through which the filth of Jerusalem flowed. God had one Son without sin, but not a single child without affliction. It is a great comfort to know that Jesus has been tempted in all points like we are.

So, let me ask you, “What is your Kidron this morning? Is it a faithless friend, a sad loss of a loved one, a slanderous enemy, a dark depression? Our Great King has passed over all these. Is it bodily pain, poverty, persecution, or contempt? Over each of these Kidrons the King has gone before us. We must get rid of the idea that our trials are strange things, for our Master knows by experience the grief that we think is so peculiar.

Eventually, David returned in triumph to his city, and David’s Lord arose victorious from the grave. Let us, then, be encouraged! The King himself triumphed after going over Kidron, and so will you. [M&E]