Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

November 12– Morning

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

“The trial of your faith.” 

—I Peter 1:7

Faith untried may be true faith, but it’s sure to be little faith. And it will remain small as long as it remains untested. Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her. Tempests are her trainers, and lightening strikes are her illuminators. When seas are calm, you can spread the sails as you wish, but the ship won’t move to its harbor. So, let the winds blow and the waves rise. Though the boat may rock and her mast may creak under the pressure of the full and swelling sail, it is then that she makes headway towards her desired haven.

No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those which grow at the foot of the frozen glacier; no stars gleam so brightly as those that glisten in the polar sky; no water tastes so sweet as that which springs from the desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity.

Tried faith brings experience. You couldn’t have known your own weakness if you hadn’t been forced to pass through the raging rivers. Faith increases in solidity, assurance, and intensity the more it is exercised with hardship. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious too.

However, don’t let this discourage those who are young in faith. You’ll get your fair share of trials in due time without seeking them. Meanwhile, thank God for what grace you have, and praise him for the degree of holy confidence you have already attained. Walk according to that rule, and you will have more and more of the blessing of God until your faith is able to remove mountains and conquer seeming impossibilities. [M&E]