Is Your Faith Underwater?
Friday, December 29, 2023
“Lord, let me find my life in You, and not in the shifting sands of this world’s favor or gain.” – C.H. Spurgeon
Today’s quote is actually a prayer. Originally, it came at the end of a short treatise by Charles Spurgeon, the “Prince of Preachers,” that used reeds growing along the water’s edge as an illustration.
When the reed’s roots are submerged, it flourishes. However, when the summer sun causes the water to evaporate, thereby exposing the roots, the reed soon wilts and eventually dies.
Spurgeon used that example from nature to depict what all-too-commonly happens with professing Christians. They are full of praise for God and exude joy towards their fellow man when their physical and financial circumstances are ideal. But when sickness comes or financial setbacks are experienced, their shallow faith is exposed and wilts just like the aforementioned reed.
“Do I only serve God when I am in good company or when faith is profitable and respectable?” Spurgeon asks himself and his reader. “Do I love the Lord only when I am enjoying comforts from His hands?”
“If so, I am just a hypocrite,” he concludes, “and like the withering reed, I will perish when death deprives me of outward joys.”
In closing, Spurgeon adds the following…
“A godly man often grows best when his worldly circumstances are daunting. He who follows Christ for money is a Judas; those who follow for loaves and fishes are children of the devil; but those who stay close out of love to Himself are His own beloved ones.”
My friend, may our faith shape our circumstances… and not the other way around.
“I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances. I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. I am accustomed to any and every situation—to being filled and being hungry, to having plenty and having need.” Philippians 4:11-12 (BSB)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
