Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

September 15– Morning

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

“[The righteous] will not be afraid of bad news.” 

—Psalm 112:7

If you’re a Christian, then you shouldn’t fear the arrival of bad news nor be distressed by it like other men who don’t have your God to fly to and haven’t proved his faithfulness as you have. It’s no wonder that they are filled with alarm, cowering with fear, but you profess to be of another spirit. If you are distracted like others, then what value is the grace you profess to have received? Where is the dignity of that new nature you claim to possess?

If you should be filled with alarm like others, then you would no doubt be led into the sins that are common to those in trying circumstances. The ungodly, when overtaken by bad news, rebel against God; they murmur and think that God deals harshly with them. Will you fall into that same sin? Will you provoke the Lord as they do? Consider how unconverted men often try improper means to help them escape their difficulties, and you will do the same if your mind yields to the present pressure.

Trust in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Your best course of action is to do what Moses did at the Red Sea, “Stand still and see the salvation of God.” Instead of fearing the trouble, meet it with the calm composure that emboldens you for duty and sustains you in adversity. How can you glorify God if you play the coward? Saints have often sung God’s high praises in the fires, but will your doubting and desponding (as if you had no one to help you) magnify the Most High? Then take courage and rely in sure confidence upon the faithfulness of your covenant God.

“Don’t let your heart be troubled; Don’t let it be afraid.” [M&E]