REL GENRL Encouragement: Ultimate Hope & Encouragement for Hard Times by Charles Spurgeon

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There are so many members going through hard times right now. I wanted to post daily encouragement for 40 days.

Day 1 is laying out the gospel for the unsaved, since this is the most important.


Day 2 Casting all your worries upon Him; because He cares for you.-1 Peter 5: 7 It is a wonderful way to take away your sorrow, when you can truly feel these words inside: “He cares for me.” Dear Christian, do not dishonor your faith by always wearing a look of worry on your face—come, cast your burden upon your Lord. You are struggling beneath a weight that your Heavenly Father would not even feel—what feels like a crushing burden to you, would be to Him like no more than the smallest bit of dust weighed on the scale. Oh, suffering child, please be patient—God, in His all-providing wisdom and care, has not forgotten about or passed you over. He is the One who feeds the sparrows,[ 2] and He will also give you what you need. Do not sit down and give up in despair—always be ever hopeful. Take hold of the weapons of faith[ 3] against a sea of trouble, and fight back (spiritually) against your worry, and God will help you overcome it. There is One who cares for you. His eye is focused on you, His heart beats with pity for your sorrow, and his all-powerful hand will still bring you the help you need. The darkest cloud will be scattered in showers of mercy. The blackest gloom will turn into the light of morning. If you are one of His family, a Christian, He will bandage your wounds, and heal your broken heart. Don’t let your troubles cause you to doubt His grace; instead, believe that He loves you as much in seasons of sadness as in times of happiness. What a peaceful and quiet life you might lead if you would leave the burden of providing to the God of providence! With a little oil in the jug, and a handful of flour in the jar, Elijah survived the famine,[ 4] and you will do the same. If God cares for you, why must you care even to the point of sadness, too? If you trust Him to save your soul, why would you not also trust Him to care for your body and life? He has never refused to carry your burdens; He has never fainted under their weight. So then, come along, my friend—be finished with anxious worry, and leave all your concerns behind, placing them in the hand of a gracious God. Remember, nothing is so sweet as to “Lie quietly in God’s hands, And know no will but His.”

 

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Trust in the Lord, and use the brain He gave you by carrying a 1911.

 

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Day 3

I will help you, says the Lord.-Isaiah 41: 14

Today let us hear the Lord Jesus speak to each one of us: “I will help you.” “It is just a small thing for Me, your God, to help you. Think about what I have done already. Do you really believe that I will not help you? I bought you with My blood. How could I not help you? … I have died for you—the greatest thing of all—and if I’ve done that, wouldn’t I do smaller things for you also? … Help you? It’s the least I could do for you—I have done more, and will do even more still. Before the world began I chose you. I made the covenant for you. I laid aside My glory and became a man for you; I gave up My life for you; and if I did all this, I will surely help you now. By helping you, I am giving you what I have bought for you already. If you needed a thousand times more help, I would give it to you; you are asking for just a little bit, compared with what I am ready to give. It is much for you to need, but it is nothing for me to give. … Help you? Don’t be afraid! If there were an ant at the door of your house asking for help, it would not ruin you to give him a handful of your food; and so also you are like just a tiny insect at the door of My unlimited wealth, my all-sufficiency. I will help you!”[ 5] Oh my friend, isn’t this enough? Do you need more strength than the omnipotence, the all-powerfulness, of the Trinity?[ 6] Do you want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than is shown in the Son, or more power than can be seen in the workings of the Holy Spirit? Bring here your empty pitcher! Surely this fountain will fill it. Hurry, gather up your desires, and bring them here—your emptiness, your sadness, your needs. Look!—this river of God is full for your supply; what could you possibly want besides this? Go forward then, my friend, with this as your strength. The Eternal God is your helper![ 7] “Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed! I, I am your God, and will still give you aid.”[ 8]”

 

[Marie]

Thank You love Charles Spurgeon!

 

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Day 4

He was very thirsty, and called on the Lord, and said, You have given this great deliverance into the hand of Your servant: and now will I die of thirst?-Judges 15: 18

Samson was thirsty and ready to die. The difficulty was totally different from anything that the hero had ever encountered before. Now, think about it—simply quenching your thirst is nothing compared to being saved from a thousand Philistines! But when the thirst was upon him, Samson felt like that little difficulty he was going through in that moment was worse than the great difficulty that God had so specially rescued him from in the past. And so it is with us—it is very common for God’s people, after they have enjoyed a great deliverance, to still find just a little bit of trouble to be too much for them. Samson kills a thousand Philistines, and piles them up in heaps, and then faints because he needs a little water! Jacob wrestles with God at Peniel, and managed to overcome his all-powerful opponent, and then goes “limping on his hip!”[ 9] How strange it is, that our strength seems to shrink right after we win the day—it’s as if the Lord must teach us our littleness, our nothingness, in order to remind us of our boundaries. Samson was telling the truth when he bragged, “I have killed a thousand [of God’s enemies].” But his prideful throat soon grew hoarse and raspy with thirst, causing him to humbly turn in prayer to God. God has many ways of humbling His people. Dear child of God, if you’ve hit a very low point after previously receiving a great mercy from God, your situation is not at all unusual. When David had finally taken the throne of Israel, he said, “I am weak today, even though I’ve been anointed as king.”[ 10] So also, you should expect to feel weakest when you are enjoying your greatest triumph. If God has brought about great deliverances for you in the past, your present difficulty is only like Samson’s thirst, and the Lord will not let you faint, nor will He allow the “Philistines” in your life to triumph over you. The road of sorrow is the road to heaven, but there are wells of refreshing water all along the route. So, you Brothers and Sisters going through trials, cheer your hearts with Samson’s words, and rest assured that God will deliver you before too long.

 

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Day 4

He was very thirsty, and called on the Lord, and said, You have given this great deliverance into the hand of Your servant: and now will I die of thirst?-Judges 15: 18

Samson was thirsty and ready to die. The difficulty was totally different from anything that the hero had ever encountered before. Now, think about it—simply quenching your thirst is nothing compared to being saved from a thousand Philistines! But when the thirst was upon him, Samson felt like that little difficulty he was going through in that moment was worse than the great difficulty that God had so specially rescued him from in the past. And so it is with us—it is very common for God’s people, after they have enjoyed a great deliverance, to still find just a little bit of trouble to be too much for them. Samson kills a thousand Philistines, and piles them up in heaps, and then faints because he needs a little water! Jacob wrestles with God at Peniel, and managed to overcome his all-powerful opponent, and then goes “limping on his hip!”[ 9] How strange it is, that our strength seems to shrink right after we win the day—it’s as if the Lord must teach us our littleness, our nothingness, in order to remind us of our boundaries. Samson was telling the truth when he bragged, “I have killed a thousand [of God’s enemies].” But his prideful throat soon grew hoarse and raspy with thirst, causing him to humbly turn in prayer to God. God has many ways of humbling His people. Dear child of God, if you’ve hit a very low point after previously receiving a great mercy from God, your situation is not at all unusual. When David had finally taken the throne of Israel, he said, “I am weak today, even though I’ve been anointed as king.”[ 10] So also, you should expect to feel weakest when you are enjoying your greatest triumph. If God has brought about great deliverances for you in the past, your present difficulty is only like Samson’s thirst, and the Lord will not let you faint, nor will He allow the “Philistines” in your life to triumph over you. The road of sorrow is the road to heaven, but there are wells of refreshing water all along the route. So, you Brothers and Sisters going through trials, cheer your hearts with Samson’s words, and rest assured that God will deliver you before too long.

Thank you, right on time.

Everybody should read Day 4 - truth for today, this moment.

 

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Day 5

Does Job fear God for nothing?-Job 1: 9

This was the wicked question that Satan asked about that righteous man from so long ago, but there are many people today that this question could also be asked about—and rightly so, because they appear to love God in certain ways because He gives them prosperity; but if things went wrong, as they did for Job, these people would give up their show of faith in God. If they see that their lives have moved along comfortably since the time that they supposedly became Christians, then they will continue to love God in their poor, worldly way; but the moment they have to endure real hardship and adversity, they will rebel against the Lord. Their love is the love of the food on the table, not of the host who provides it; a love given to the plentiful refrigerator or kitchen pantry, not to the master of the house who fills it. As for the true Christian, he or she expects to have their reward in the next life, and to endure hardness in this world. The promise of the old covenant was prosperity, but the promise of the new covenant is adversity.[ 11] Remember Christ’s words—“ Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may produce more fruit.”[ 12] So, if you produce fruit, you will have to endure hardship. “Oh no!” you might say, “That is a terrible outlook!” But these hardships work out such precious results, that Christians who are going through them must learn to rejoice in these troubles, because as their troubles increase, so also are their comforts and consolations increased by Christ Jesus. Rest assured, if you are a child of God, you will be no stranger to discipline. Sooner or later every bar of gold must pass through the fire.[ 13] Do not be afraid, but instead rejoice and be happy that such fruitful times are in store for you, because in them you will be weaned from earth and made ready for heaven; you will be changed—saved from an attitude that clings to the things of earth today, and you’ll be made to desire those eternal things which are so soon to be revealed to you. In other words, if you may have felt at some point, even today, that you have been serving God for nothing, such difficulties will bring you to rejoicing in the infinite reward of the future.

 

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Day 6

Surely he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler.-Psalm 91: 3

God delivers, or saves, His people from the snare of the fowler[ 14] in two ways. The first way: “from.” And the second way: “out of.” First, He delivers them from the snare—He does not let them get caught in it at all; or secondly, if they should happen to get caught in it, He delivers them out of it. The first promise is the most precious to some; the second is the best to others. “He will deliver you from the snare.” How? Trouble is often the means, or the way, that God uses to deliver us—God knows that our backsliding and our laziness in spiritual things will soon end in our destruction, and so He mercifully sends the rod (in other words, the rod of discipline[ 15]). We may say, “Lord, why is this?” not knowing that our trouble has been the means of keeping us out of far greater evil. In this way, many have been saved from ruin by their own sorrows and the heavy crosses they’ve had to bear[ 16]—in this way, the Father’s discipline has frightened the birds from the danger of the net, trap, or snare. At other times, God keeps His people from the snare of the fowler by giving them great spiritual strength, so that when they are tempted to do evil they say, “How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”[ 17] But what a blessing to know that even if a believer, in a moment of weakness, gives in to temptation and becomes caught in the net, yet even then God will bring him or her out of it! Dear backslider—you may be cast down, at a low point in your life, but do not despair. Even though you have been a wanderer, hear what your Redeemer says: “Return, O backsliding children; I will have mercy upon you.”[ 18] But you may say that you can’t return, because you are a prisoner now. But then listen again to the promise: “Surely He will deliver you out of the snare of the fowler.” You will even still be brought out of all the evil that you’ve fallen into, and though you will never stop feeling sorrow over your sinful ways, even so He that has loved you will not send you away; He will receive you, and give you joy and gladness, so that the bones which He has broken may rejoice.[ 19] You can be sure, no “bird of paradise” will die in the fowler’s net.

 

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Adding footnotes


[1] Pastor Spurgeon is urging us to believe in the Gospel, which is the Good News of Jesus Christ. See Mark 1: 14-15: “Now after John [the Baptist] was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand: repent [of your sins], and believe the Gospel.’” “What does it mean to believe in the Gospel?” you may ask? Romans 10: 9 says “[ t] hat if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” See also Acts 16: 31, where the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas, “‘ What must I do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, and your house.’”

[2] Matthew 10: 29-31.

[3] The editors suggest prayer, and reading the Bible (the sword of the Spirit, Ephesians 6: 17-18) as two of these “weapons.”

[4] 1 Kings 17: 8-16.

[5] See Romans 8: 31-32.

[6] This is the Christian doctrine of God in three persons—the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. See Matthew 28: 19 for a reference to all three in a single verse.

[7] See also Deuteronomy 33: 26, Psalm 33: 20, and Psalm 155: 9-11.

[8] Isaiah 41: 10. See also Isaiah 43: 1-3.

[9] Genesis 32: 22-31.

[10] 2 Samuel 3: 39.

[11] In the Old Testament, God promised Israel that they would be prosperous if they obeyed His law. For example, see Deuteronomy 28. But on the other hand, Jesus never promised prosperity in this life if we follow Him (see Matthew 16: 24-26).

[12] John 15: 2.

[13] This is a reference to the method of refining gold by heating it with fire.

[14] A fowler is someone who hunts or traps wild birds for food.

[15] Proverbs 13: 24.

[16] Matthew 10: 38.

[17] Genesis 39: 9.

[18] See, for example, Jeremiah 3: 12-22.

[19] Psalm 51: 8.

 

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Day 7

I will mention the loving-kindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has given us.- Isaiah 63:7

Can’t you do this? Aren’t there any mercies which you have experienced? Even though things seem gloomy now, are you really able to forget that blessed hour when Jesus met you, and said, “Come unto me”? [20] Can’t you remember that completely joyful moment when He broke your shackles, and smashed your chains to pieces, and said, “I came to break your bonds and set you free”? [21]

Or, if that first love experienced at your salvation has somehow been forgotten, then still there must surely be some precious milestone along the road of life, not quite grown over with moss, where you can find a happy memory of His mercy towards you? What, did you never have a sickness like that you’re suffering now, and did He not heal you? Were you never poor before, and did He not supply your needs? Were you never in desperation before, and did He not get you out of trouble?—So get up, and go to the river of your experience, and pull up a few reeds from those memories, and weave them into a basket, in which your child-like faith may float safely on the stream. [22] Do not forget what your God has done for you; turn back through the pages of your book of memories, and think about those days from long ago in your life. Can’t you remember the hill at Mizar? Didn’t the Lord meet with you at Mount Hermon? [23] Have you never climbed the Delectable Mountains? [24] Have you never been helped in time of need? To the contrary—I know that you have. Go back, then, a little way to the precious mercies of yesterday; and even though everything may be dark now, light up the lamps of the past, and they will glitter through the darkness, and you will trust in the Lord til the day breaks and the shadows flee away. “Remember, O LORD, your tender mercies and your loving-kindnesses, fro they have been [with us from long ago]. [25]

[20] Matthew 11:28-30.
[21] See, for example, John 8:36, and John 10:10.
[22] This analogy is based on the baby Moses being placed in a basket on the River Nile. See Exodus 2:3.
[23] See Psalm 42:6. The Psalmist’s meaning is uncertain. It may mean that the psalmist will remember to praise God anywhere, from both lowly (Mizar) and grand (Hermon) places. Or, as Pastor Spurgeon seems to imply, this is a reference to a place and time in Israel’s history, which the psalmist is remembering in order to bring him out of his depression.
[24] This is a reference to the book, Pilgrim’s Progress. The Delectable Mountains were a place where the “Pilgrim”, Christian, was able “to behold the gardens and orchards, the vineyards and fountains of water; where also they drank and washed themselves, and did freely eat of the vineyards”—clearly, it was a time of God’s provision in his life.
[25] Psalm 25:6. See also Psalm 103:4-5.

 

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Day 8

The love of the Lord.-Hosea 3:1

Dear Believer, look back through all your experience, and think of the way in which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness, and how He has fed and clothed you every day—how He has tolerated all of your ingratitude—how He has put up with all of your complaints, and all of your longings after the meat of Egypt—how He has opened the rock to supply you, and fed you with manna that came down from heaven. [26] Think of how His grace has been sufficient for you in all your troubles—how His blood has been a pardon to you for all your sins—how His rod and staff have comforted you. [27] Then, after you’ve looked back upon the love of the Lord, next let faith look forward to His love in the future—don’t forget that Christ’s covenant and blood have something more in them than just the past. He who has loved you and pardoned you up to this point, will never cease to love and pardon you. He is Alpha, and He will be Omega also: He is first, and He will be the last. [28] Therefore, think to yourself, whenever you pass through the valley of the shadow of death, you have no reason to fear evil, for He is with you. [29] Whenever you find yourself standing in the cold waters of the Jordan,[30] you don’t need to be afraid, because death cannot separate you from His love; and whenever you enter into the mysteries of eternity you won’t tremble in fear, “For I am persuaded, that neither death; nor life, nor angels [or demons], nor principalities [governments and rulers], nor powers, nor things present, nor things future, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”[31]

Now, Believer, isn’t your soul’s love refreshed? Doesn’t this make you love Jesus? If you soar through the unlimited vastness of this love, doesn’t this fuel your heart and encourage you all the more to find your joy in the Lord your God? Surely as we meditate on “the love of the Lord,” our hearts burn within us, [32] and we long to love Him more.

[26] See Exodus 16:3 and 17:5-7. These are all references to the Israelites’ grumbling in the desert—despite God’s gracious deliverance from slavery in Egypt, and the provision for them up to that point. They said that they would rather return to Egypt and eat well as slaves, than continue hungry any longer in the desert while on their way to the Promised Land.
[27] Psalm 23:4.
[28] See Revelation 1:8. Alpha is the first letter, and Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet.
[29] Psalm 23:4.
[30] The Jordan River has traditionally been used as a metaphor for death—just as the Israelites crossed the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land, so also Christians must pass through death before arriving at their “Promised Land.”
[31] Romans 8:38-39. The words in brackets have been included in numerous other translations of this verse.
[32] See, for example, Luke 24:32.

 

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Day 9

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds by Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:5
There is a blessed proportion—God, the Ruler of Providence, holds a pair of scales—in the one side He puts His people’s trials, and in the other He puts their consolations. When the scale of trial is nearly empty, you will always find the scale of consolation in nearly the same condition; and when the scale of trials is full, you will find the scale of consolation just as heavy. When the black clouds gather the most, the light is the more brightly revealed to us. When the darkness of night lowers, and the storm is coming on, the Heavenly Captain is always closest to His crew. It is a wonderful thing to remember, that when we are most cast down, then it is that we are most lifted up by the comforts and consolations of the Spirit. One reason is, because trials make more room for consolation—great hearts can only be made by great troubles. Trouble in a person’s life is like a shovel, which digs the reservoir of comfort deeper, and makes more room for consolation. God comes into our heart—He finds it full—He begins to break our comforts and to make it empty; then there is more room for grace. The humbler a man lies, the more comfort he will always have, because he will be more ready to receive it.



Another reason why we are often most happy in our troubles, is this—during troubles, we have the closest contact with God. When the barn is full, people can live without God; or, when the purse or wallet is bursting with gold, we try to get by without praying so much. But once our creature comforts are taken away, then we want our God; once the house is cleansed of idols, then we are compelled to honor Jehovah. “Out of the depths have I cried unto you, O LORD.” [33] There is no cry so good, so relieving, as that which comes from the deep valley between the mountains; no prayer half so strong as that which comes up from the depths of the soul, through deep trials and afflictions. And so, they bring us to God, and we are happier for it; because nearness to God is happiness. Come on, troubled Believer—do not worry over your heavy troubles, for they bring news of even greater mercies soon to come.

[33] Psalm 130:1.

 

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Another reason why we are often most happy in our troubles, is this—during troubles, we have the closest contact with God. When the barn is full, people can live without God; or, when the purse or wallet is bursting with gold, we try to get by without praying so much. But once our creature comforts are taken away, then we want our God; once the house is cleansed of idols, then we are compelled to honor Jehovah. “Out of the depths have I cried unto you, O LORD.” [33] There is no cry so good, so relieving, as that which comes from the deep valley between the mountains; no prayer half so strong as that which comes up from the depths of the soul, through deep trials and afflictions. And so, they bring us to God, and we are happier for it; because nearness to God is happiness. Come on, troubled Believer—do not worry over your heavy troubles, for they bring news of even greater mercies soon to come.

[33] Psalm 130:1.

This seems like a misnomer to me. When the barn is full, of course you have less to say. How many times can you thank God before it gets tiresome for EVERYBODY??

 

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Day 10

Behold, what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know Him. Beloved, now we are the sons of God... -1 John 3:1,2

“Behold, what manner of love the Father has given to us.” Think about who we were, and what we still feel ourselves to be, even now, when corruption is powerful in us—think about this, and you will be amazed at our adoption. We are called “the sons of God.” What an important relationship is that of a son or daughter, and what privileges it brings! What care and tenderness they expect from their father, and what love the father feels towards them! But all that, and more than that, we now have through Christ. As for the temporary drawback of suffering with Jesus, this we accept as an honor: “Therefore the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know Him.” We are content, happy, to be unknown with Him in His humiliation, because someday we will be exhalted and honored with Him. “Beloved, now we are the sons of God.” That is easy to read, but it is not easy to feel. How are things with your heart today? Are you in the lowest depths of sorrow? Does corruption, or sinful desire, rise within your spirit, and grace seems like a little, poor spark trampled down underfoot? Does your faith almost fail you? If so, don’t be afraid—you’re not supposed to base your life on how good you feel, or how great you perform day-to-day as a Christian; instead, you must live simply by faith in Christ. With all these things against us now, in the very depths of our sorrow, wherever we may be now, as much in the valley as on the mountain: “Beloved, now we are the sons of God.”

“Ah, but,” you say, “look at how poorly I am clothed!—my Christian life doesn’t seem bright; my righteousness doesn’t shine with any glory that I can see.” But then read the next: “It does not yet appear what we will be; but we know that, when He [Jesus Christ] will appear, we will be like Him.” The Holy Spirit will purify our minds, and divine power will make our bodies perfect, and then “we will see Him as He is.”[34]

[34] 1 John 3:2.

 

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Day 11

And his allowance was a continual allowance given to him by the king, a daily ration for every day, all the days of his life. 2 Kings 25:30

Jehoiachin was not sent away from the king’s palace with a stockpile to last him for months, but rather his provision was given to him in the form of a daily pension. In this situation, we can easily picture the happy position of all the Lord’s people. A daily portion is all that a person really wants. We do not need tomorrow’s supplies; that day has not yet dawned, and the things that we might want then haven’t even been born yet—the thirst that we may suffer in the month of June does not need to be quenched in February, for we do not feel it yet. Instead, if we have enough for each day as the days arrive, then we will never know what it feels like to want for things. Sufficient for the day is all that we can enjoy. We cannot eat or drink or wear more than the day’s supply of food and clothing; and to have extra will give us the burden of storing it, and the anxiety of protecting it against thieves. One walking stick helps a traveler, but a bundle of them becomes a heavy burden. “Enough” is not only as good as a feast, but it is all that even a glutton can truly enjoy. Enough for the day—this is all that we should expect; a craving for more than this is ungrateful. When our Father does not give us more, we should be content with His daily allowance. Jehoiachin’s case is ours—we have a sure portion, a portion given to us by the king, a gracious portion, and a perpetual portion. This is surely a good reason for thankfulness.
Beloved Christian reader, in matters of grace you also need a daily supply. You have no store or stockpile of strength. Day by day you must seek help from above, from God. It is a very sweet assurance that a daily portion is provided for you. In the Word, through the ministry, by meditation, in prayer, and waiting upon God you will receive renewed strength. In Jesus, everything that you need has been laid up, set aside for you as your daily portion, and you may always enjoy your continual allowance. Never go hungry while the daily bread of grace is on the table of mercy. [35]
[35] See also Matthew 6:11 and Luke 11:3.