Morning    “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.”

Hebrews 5:8

We are told that the Captain of our salvation was made perfect through

suffering, therefore we who are sinful, and who are far from being perfect, must

not wonder if we are called to pass through suffering too. Shall the head be

crowned with thorns, and shall the other members of the body be rocked upon the

dainty lap of ease? Must Christ pass through seas of his own blood to win the

crown, and are we to walk to heaven dryshod in silver slippers? No, our Master’s

experience teaches us that suffering is necessary, and the true-born child of

God must not, would not, escape it if he might. But there is one very comforting

thought in the fact of Christ’s “being made perfect through

suffering”–it is, that he can have complete sympathy with us. “He is not an

high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” In this

sympathy of Christ we find a sustaining power. One of the early martyrs said, “I

can bear it all, for Jesus suffered, and he suffers in me now; he sympathizes

with me, and this makes me strong.” Believer, lay hold of this thought in all

times of agony. Let the thought of Jesus strengthen you as you follow in his

steps. Find a sweet support in his sympathy; and remember that, to suffer is an

honourable thing–to suffer for Christ is glory. The apostles rejoiced that they

were counted worthy to do this. Just so far as the Lord shall

give us grace to suffer for Christ, to suffer with Christ, just so far does he

honour us. The jewels of a Christian are his afflictions. The regalia of the

kings whom God hath anointed are their troubles, their sorrows, and their

griefs. Let us not, therefore, shun being honoured. Let us not turn aside from

being exalted. Griefs exalt us, and troubles lift us up. “If we suffer, we shall

also reign with him.”

 

Evening    “I called him, but he gave me no answer.”

Song of Solomon 5:6

Prayer sometimes tarrieth, like a petitioner at the gate, until the King cometh

forth to fill her bosom with the blessings which she seeketh. The Lord, when he

hath given great faith, has been known to try it by long delayings. He has

suffered his servants’ voices to echo in their ears as from a brazen sky. They

have knocked at the golden gate, but it has remained immovable, as though it

were rusted upon its hinges. Like Jeremiah, they have cried, “Thou hast covered

thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.” Thus have true

saints continued long in patient waiting without reply, not because their

prayers were not vehement, nor because they were unaccepted, but because it

so pleased him who is a Sovereign, and who gives according to his own pleasure.

If it pleases him to bid our patience exercise itself, shall he not do as he

wills with his own! Beggars must not be choosers either as to time, place, or

form. But we must be careful not to take delays in prayer for denials: God’s

long-dated bills will be punctually honoured; we must not suffer Satan to shake

our confidence in the God of truth by pointing to our unanswered prayers.

Unanswered petitions are not unheard. God keeps a file for our prayers–they are

not blown away by the wind, they are treasured in the King’s archives. This is a

registry in the court of heaven wherein every prayer is recorded.

Tried believer, thy Lord hath a tear-bottle in which the costly drops of sacred

grief are put away, and a book in which thy holy groanings are numbered. By and

by, thy suit shall prevail. Canst thou not be content to wait a little? Will not

thy Lord’s time be better than thy time? By and by he will comfortably appear,

to thy soul’s joy, and make thee put away the sackcloth and ashes of long

waiting, and put on the scarlet and fine linen of full fruition.