Susannah Spurgeon and her husband Charles had a close relationship. When Charles passed away in 1892, she was left a widow in deep grief. They were married 36 years. Charles had called her “the greatest of all earthly blessings.” Susannah herself said of their life together they were “two pilgrims treading this highway of life together, hand in hand,–heart linked to heart.”
Susannah knew grief. She also knew Jesus.
Susannah Spurgeon, from “A Basket of Summer Fruit” (written after the death of her beloved husband, C. H. Spurgeon)
As this is a “personal note”, I may be allowed to tell you that, in my deep and increasing loneliness, I still find sweetest comfort in praising God for His will concerning my beloved and myself, and have even been able to thank Him for taking His dear servant from this sorrowful land of sin and darkness—to the bliss and glory of His eternal presence. Fixing my heart on the blessed fact that what the Lord does is right and best, simply because He does it, I feel the anchor hold in the depths of His love—and no tempest is powerful enough to drive faith’s barque from these moorings. It can outride any storm with anchorage in such a haven. Many a time, when the weight of my dreadful loss seemed as if it must crush me, it has been lifted by the remembrance that, in Heaven, my dear one is now perfectly praising his Lord; and that, if I can sing, too, I shall even here on earth be joining him in holy service and acceptable worship.
How many of you, dear readers, will be “chief singers” unto our God, and resolve that, henceforth, His praise shall be continually in your mouth? Let us, each one, say to the Lord, with good Isaac Watts—
“Long as I live, I’ll bless Your Name, My King, my God of love; My work and joy shall be the same, In the bright world above.”
She acknowledged her grief and loneliness, but also acknowledged that God is good. Here, ‘Susie’ Spurgeon focused on God’s goodness, the firm foundation of her faith, and the fact that her beloved husband is now with his beloved savior, worshiping Him in perfect glory.
Losing someone you love is not easy. Without Christ it’s almost impossible. But God…He knows the grief and loss that batters the Christian heart. He wept at Lazarus’ tomb.
To the folks that have lost someone recently, please know that I grieve with you. The loss of a friend, husband, family member or child is mournful. It is especially sad when we are fairly sure the loved one was not saved. But God…in His inscrutable ways, gives love to those whom He gives life, and death to whom he gives death. It’s not a comfort in the moment of highest grief, perhaps, nor a comfort in the deep of night’s loneliness, but is it a fact. A good fact. Cling to it, and perhaps if you are suffering, it may make the suffering a molecule less painful…
Fellow Christians, as the Church Age draws to a close, the anger, mocking and scoffing grows. On internet chat boards, forums, blogs, and e-mails, the unsaved rail and rebel in unloving and unforgiving manner. In real life, they mock and sneer, scorning our beliefs. Oppression, ridicule and persecution grows. Marriages dry up. Children go prodigal. Even witnessing to family members can be heart-breaking, as the most polite response is usually simply a deafening silence or at worst, rifts grow.
All this can bring a Christian down. It can cause one to despair and stumble, as we wonder if the tears that Jesus wipes from our face will be falling in grief because our loved ones are absent in glory.
Remember, Jesus knows this would be the circumstance in the end of days. (The last days are the time between His ascension and His second coming, i.e. now). He inspired Jude to write these words, as comforting to the church then as to us now:
A call to persevere
But you, beloved, must remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, not having the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And on some, who are doubting, have mercy; and for others, save, snatching them out of the fire; and on others have mercy with fear, hating even the tunic polluted by the flesh.
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Jude 1:17-25)
The NKJV has these section titles, which I think is a good outline of Jude’s epistle. While we worry about everyone else and that is fine, we should at some point turn our attention to our own walk and Jude does partway down:
Greeting to the Called Contend for the Faith Old and New Apostates Apostates Depraved and Doomed Apostates Predicted Maintain Your Life with God Glory to God Amen.
Dear reader, witness in love, pray for the lost, and persevere. For He is able to keep us from falling, He is the most Worthy One to whom we shall be presented in due time and in great joy.
I saw this clip on Twitter. I laughed. I got to thinking about how we should respond to sin and satan. I was reminded of Jesus’ exhortation to Peter when Peter said no, Lord you won’t die, and Jesus said,
“Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s purposes, but men’s.” (Matthew 16:23).
It also reminded me of the scene in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress where Christian was met by two lions on a narrow path. The lions were chained, but Christian saw not the chains. Christian halted his way, and paused, thinking to turn back, but the Porter above at the House Beautiful said:
Fear not the lions, for they are chained, and are placed there for trial of faith where it is, and for discovery of those that have none: keep in the midst of the path, and no hurt shall come unto thee. Then I saw that he went on, trembling for fear of the lions, but taking good heed to the directions of the Porter; he heard them roar, but they did him no harm.
The Porter quoted Mark 4:40, And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
Faith includes trust. We must trust the Lord when good things happen and when (to us) bad things happen. We trust the promises of God.
What is promised to the believer
Salvation is the greatest promise. If you are saved, rest in this magnificent blessing. If someone you know is not saved, pray earnestly for their salvation.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written: “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS ONE WILL LIVE BY FAITH.” (Romans 1:16–17)
Are you weary?
Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary. (Isaiah 40:31).
Trust God to do what He said He will do in you:
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6).
HE HEARS US
He hears your night cries from your prayer closet! He hears your appeals from the hospital bedside! He hears your supplications through the sobs.
LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will make Your ear attentive. (Psalm 10:17).
HE GIVES US HIS COMPASSION
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
The LORD makes promises. He does not have to interact with the people He created, but He does. He doesn’t have to make promises to us, but He does.
“by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” (2 Peter 1:4)
I think this is remarkable. We have an incredible Father.
HE DELIVERS US
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)
For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. (Psalm 86:13)
HE SENDS THE SPIRIT
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: (John 15:26)
HE GIVES PEACE
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)
I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. (John 14:27)
HE SEES TO OUR NEEDS
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:35
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29)
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)
HE GIVES GRACE
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
HE GIVES LOVE
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him. (John 14:21)
HE GIVES TENDERNESS
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (Revelation 21:4)
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There are so many more promises, too, than can even be recorded here. He supplies all that His children need for a joyful, grace-filled, loving life here and forever in eternity. He delivers us, cleans us, makes us righteous, removes His wrath from our shoulders, fulfills our needs, grows us, sets an inheritance in heaven for us…through and because of His Son- the biggest gift and promise of all. (Genesis 3:15).
Because He is God, and there is no deceit in His mouth (1 Peter 2:22) every promise given to His children in the bible will come true.
Stand on His promises!
Put sin behind you, never mind the lions roaring at your feet. Move forward in joy and security, sister. Hold tight to His promises, lift your eyes above circumstances to see the glory that is above and will soon be ours in person to dwell with forever.
Tomorrow I’ll post a Thanksgiving blog and Friday I am starting the Thirty Days of Jesus, an advent series I post each year. May the Lord bless you today and every day.
I subscribe to Justin Peters Ministries because I like how Justin operates in truth and kindness, I like what he does (evangelism and his rebuttals against false doctrines like health/wealth or word-faith), and I like the encouraging things I read about what the Lord is doing through him.
His reports are uplifting. We need encouragement these days. I like Paul Washer’s mission updates, too. (HeartCry Missionary Society). We can get so caught up in our own spheres we might overlook the grace that is bestowed elsewhere.
Fellow Christians, as the Church Age draws to a close, the anger, mocking and scoffing grows. On internet chat boards, forums, blogs, and e-mails, the unsaved do rail and rebel in unloving and unforgiving manner. In real life, they mock and sneer, scorning our beliefs. Oppression, ridicule and persecution grows. Even witnessing to family members can be heart-breaking, as the most polite response is usually simply a deafening silence and at worst, rifts grow.
All this can bring a Christian down. It can cause one to despair and stumble, as we wonder if the tears that Jesus wipes from our face will be falling in grief because our loved ones are absent in glory.
Remember, Jesus knows this would be the circumstance in the end of days. He inspired Jude to write these words, as comforting to the church then as to us now:
A call to persevere
But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, in Jude 1:18-23, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.“
These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. Jude 1:18-23
Doxology To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Jude 1:17-25)
Witness in love, pray for the lost, and persevere dear Brother and Sister. For He is able to keep us from falling, He is the most Worthy One to whom we shall be presented in due time and in great joy. Until then, “to others show mercy.”
So many spheres of our lives feels like they are unraveling, undergoing pressure, or otherwise getting worse than it was even a few years ago. It sure feels like things are spinning out of control.
They’re not.
I was musing on God’s orderliness. Time and time again in the Bible He shows us just how much He is in control. Everything happens in His schedule, in His timetable, in His timing, for His reasons. Nothing escapes His notice. Nothing happens unless He causes it, allows it, or oversees it and then brings it all to the good for those who love Him.
Picture Peter and friends on the boat, in the middle of Lake Galilee.
Suddenly one of the men in the boat looked out and said, “Someone is walking on the water!” Sure enough, with robes flowing in the wind, here comes Jesus walking across the whitecaps.
Peter cried out, “Is that You, Lord?” The Lord answered, “It is I” Peter said, “Can I come?”
Christians I know are experiencing complex emotions these days. They are alternately angry, fearful, and mournful of the things coming upon the world. See, we know what is ahead for this last chapter of human experience. Though we have always known the fate of the lost and unsaved, sinking in their sin, but because the prophesies are nearing fulfillment at this time, we are starting to see it. And there is a difference between knowing and seeing. Romans 1 is being played out before our eyes.
We see the sin piling up, we see sinners sinking, drowning in their anger and pain. Being separated from God, they are crying out to their idols, voices wafting onto the wind, unheard.
We read of corruption and hate and shooting and evil and lying and false religions and it goes on and on. All we can do is stand on the lakeshore and tell the sinking, perishing ones the truth, that there is a helicopter above their head with a lifeline. Grab it! Grab it! we shout. Many won’t. It is excruciating to see so many refuse to listen. They will not look up at their redemption, and one by one, they strangle in their heavy sins and perish. We cry. Why?
What we are feeling these days is mourning. We are watching the death throes of our world, we are watching the perishing of many souls, we are watching the hardening of heart by God in real time. We sink to our knees in grief.
But God.
But God made a way for sinners to be redeemed, But God gave us the Holy Spirit so that we have ability to pursue righteousness, But God gave us opportunity to know Him, enjoy Him and give Him glory, But God sent His Son to die on the cross, be buried, resurrected and ascended to the right hand of the Father, But God adopted us into His family!
We Christians above all people in the world have so many blessings. We possess the knowledge of and even the indwelling of the Most High God. We are comforted by His promises.
But God in addition to His holiness, also has the aspect of Justice.
We tend to forget that John the Baptist the forerunner to Jesus came speaking not of love and joy and comfort and encouragement, “He first preached preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;” (Luke 3:3). He spoke of wrath and the coming of Jesus. (Luke 3:7, 16). The Gospel of Jesus Christ has two parts, and the second part is almost upon us: His Second Coming. He could come at any time. Or, death could come for you, any moment.
Are you ready to face the Holy God who created you? To defend your sins, to be tried and found guilty, and be thrown into the Lake of Fire in the end?
Of are you ready to face the Holy God who created you and fling yourself at the feet of Jesus begging for forgiveness? Who will then pursue holiness with the indwelling Spirit propelling you along until death, and then be ready to be ushered into heavenly glory? Are you ready to persevere, continue to do good in the face of darkness and hate? For there is LIGHT at the end.
I continually try to remind us all, me included, to have an eternal perspective. To keep looking up. Not to despair. To not grow weary in the doing good.
‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will also help you, I will also uphold you with My righteous right hand.’Isaiah 41:10
God doesn’t have to patch. He doesn’t have to regroup. He doesn’t have to do a workaround. He doesn’t have to circle back to this. There is no Plan B. He plans the end from the beginning.
Witness: Joseph. Thrown into the pit, his sale as a slave, the rising up to Potipher’s house, his throwing down again into jail, his appearance before Pharaoh, God giving Pharoah a dream, the famine, the long lost family coming to Joseph…all planned. All moved along in perfect timing God had ordained.
I mean, look at the genealogies. Each person married whom God wanted to marry right up until Joseph and Mary were betrothed. Each pairing throughout all time until the man God wanted to unite with Mary becoming pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Amazing
In turbulent times such as these, when we are unsettled, let us rest on the fact of God’s sovereignty. RC Sproul was amazing in explaining God’s kingly hand over all which happens:
Understand that when we talk about God’s ordaining things, there are different ways God ordains things to come to pass. This doesn’t necessarily mean that God jumps down onto the planet and makes something happen through a direct and immediate personal involvement on His part. But the trick in the statement has to do with the word “ordain.” All that statement means is that God is sovereign over anything that happens. Nothing in this world can happen apart from divine sovereignty.
We distinguish sometimes between God’s efficacious will and His permissive will. You’ve heard those kinds of distinctions, but let me state this in the easiest of all possible terms. If something happens in this world, whether by the power of men, the power of nature, the power of machines, etc., God always has the power and authority to at least prevent it from happening, does He not? And if He does not prevent it from happening, that means at least this much: He has chosen to let it happen.
That doesn’t mean that He applauds it. That doesn’t mean He’s in favor of it insofar as He gives His divine sanction to it. But He does allow it to happen (again, not always in the sense of approving) and, in so allowing, He is making a decision and making that decision sovereignly. He knows in advance what is going to happen, and if He decrees that it shall happen, He is retaining His sovereignty over it.
If things happen in this world outside the sovereignty of God, then that would simply mean God is not sovereign.
There is not one maverick molecule in the universe, Sproul said! All is sustained by Jesus. Nations war. Nations rise. Nations fall. God ordains all that happens, from the big things right down to each lungful of air we breathe and the places our blood course through our bodies, or doesn’t course.
We are fortunate we know Him as a good and gracious God. All that He does is for the good of those who love Him. Times may be scary, prices may be rising, but he will never let us beg bread or remain in fear. His word bathes our soul, cleanses our mind, dissolves the weeds of fear. Rely on God through His word, through His love, and through His promises–
God’s presence brings joy — Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
God will fill me to overflowing with hope — Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
God will strengthen and help me — Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
the-end-time.org 
