Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–
October 5– Morning
by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff
“He arose, ate and drank, and lived on the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights.”
—1 Kings 19:8
All the strength supplied to us by our gracious God is meant for service, not for our own pleasure or boasting. When the prophet Elijah found the cake baked on the coals and the pitcher of water placed at his head, he was not the kind of person who gratified himself with pastries and stretched himself out for a long rest; on the contrary, he was commissioned to go forty days and forty nights in the strength of that food, journeying towards Horeb, the mountain of God.
The Master invited the disciples to “Come and dine” with him, but, after the feast was over, he said two things to Peter, “Feed my sheep,” and “Follow me.”
It’s the same way with us; we eat the bread of heaven so that we may expend our strength in the Master’s service. We come to the Passover and eat at the Lord’s table while being dressed for the journey with staff in hand so as to start off at once when we have satisfied our hunger.
Some Christians are for living on Christ but are not so anxious to live for Christ. Earth should be a preparation for heaven, and heaven is the place where saints feast most and work most. They sit down at the table of our Lord, and they serve him day and night in his temple. They eat of heavenly food and render perfect service. Dear believer, in the strength you daily gain from Christ, labor for him.
Some of us have a lot to learn about the Lord’s design for giving us his grace. We are not to retain the precious grains of truth like the Egyptian mummy who held the wheat in his hand for ages without giving it an opportunity to grow; we must sow it and water it. Why does the Lord send down the rain upon the thirsty earth and give it sunshine? Is it not that these may all help the fruits of the earth to yield food for man?
Even so the Lord feeds and refreshes our souls that we may afterwards use our renewed strength in the promotion of his glory. [M&E]
