Daily Devotions May 9th

Faith’s Check Book

By Charles H. Spurgeon

 

TRUST MEANS JOY

 

"For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name" Psalms 33:21

 

The root of faith produces the flower of heart-joy. We may not at the first rejoice, but it comes in due time. We trust the Lord when we are sad, and in due season He so answers our confidence that our faith turns to fruition and we rejoice in the Lord. Doubt breeds distress, but trust means joy in the long run.

 

The assurance expressed by the Psalmist in this verse is really a promise held out in the hands of holy confidence. Oh for grace to appropriate it. If we do not rejoice at this moment, yet we shall do so, as surely as David’s God is our God.

 

Let us meditate upon the Lord’s holy name, that we may trust Him the better and rejoice the more readily. He is in character holy, just, true, gracious, faithful and unchanging. Is not such a God to be trusted? He is all-wise, almighty, and everywhere present; can we not cheerfully rely upon Him? Yes, we will do so at once, and do so without reserve. Jehovah-Jireh will provide, Jehovah-Shalom will send peace, Jehovah-Tsidkenu will justify, Jehovah-Shammah will be for ever near, and in Jehovah-Nissi we will conquer every foe. They that know thy name will trust thee; and they that trust thee will rejoice in thee, O Lord.

 

 

Thought’s for the Quiet Hour

Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth

Hebrews 12:6

It has been well said that “earthly cares are a heavenly discipline,” but they are even something better than discipline; they are God’s chariots, sent to take the soul to its high places of triumph. In the Canticles we are told of “a chariot paved with love.” We cannot always see the love lining to our own particular chariot—it often looks very unlovely; but every chariot sent by God must necessarily be paved with love, since God is love. It is His love, indeed, that sends the chariot.

Look upon your chastenings, then, no matter how grievous they may be for the present, as God’s chariots, sent to carry your souls into the “high places” of spiritual achievement and uplifting, and you will find that they are, after all, “paved with love.”

Smith