From the Spurgeon devotional, Morning & Evening for March 8 [I divided the text into smaller paragraphs for ease of reading; emboldening is mine]:
Morning
“We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” — Acts 14:22
God’s people have their trials. It was never designed by God, when he chose his people, that they should be an untried people. They were chosen in the furnace of affliction; they were never chosen to worldly peace and earthly joy. Freedom from sickness and the pains of mortality was never promised them; but when their Lord drew up the charter of privileges, he included chastisements amongst the things to which they should inevitably be heirs. Trials are a part of our lot; they were predestinated for us in Christ’s last legacy.
So surely as the stars are fashioned by his hands, and their orbits fixed by him, so surely are our trials allotted to us: he has ordained their season and their place, their intensity and the effect they shall have upon us.
Good men must never expect to escape troubles; if they do, they will be disappointed, for none of their predecessors have been without them.
Mark the patience of Job; remember Abraham, for he had his trials, and by his faith under them, he became the “Father of the faithful.” Note well the biographies of all the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and you shall discover none of those whom God made vessels of mercy, who were not made to pass through the fire of affliction.
It is ordained of old that the cross of trouble should be engraved on every vessel of mercy, as the royal mark whereby the King’s vessels of honour are distinguished. But although tribulation is thus the path of God’s children, they have the comfort of knowing that their Master has traversed it before them; they have his presence and sympathy to cheer them, his grace to support them, and his example to teach them how to endure; and when they reach “the kingdom,” it will more than make amends for the “much tribulation” through which they passed to enter it.
End of Spurgeon’s devotional
A few of my thoughts about the above:
- Much of the church, in the 20th and 21st centuries has no understanding of the above biblical concepts, because they are busy making up their own, socially-acceptable way of worshiping God. In many cases, they seek ‘power’ from God instead of humility… as in the beatitudes
- God only accepts worship as prescribed by His word (one read through the Bible will make that clear to you)
- It is human to want a life of ease, status among one’s peers… and therefore to find a way to escape, to avoid affliction. The Holy Spirit’s work in my life via illuminating God’s word has shown me many things I do to escape afflictions, trials… a few of those are as follows
- Seeking some pleasurable experience when I am going through difficulty – this culture holds out many escapes, diversions, distractions that will carry one far from his current unpleasant situation; however, simultaneously, one is slowing his own progress as a Christian because Christian growth entails being conformed to the image of Christ via suffering
- It is so easy to reject our ‘lot’ in life and whine, complain, murmur (like the Israelites in the wilderness – in my first read through the Bible, that was one thing that stood out very clearly)
- When we murmur, we are actually rejecting God’s providence to us and at the same time acting like we know better than He does, what we require to make us look like Christ…
- I am now finding, that even though I know the above, putting it into practice, standing in the face of trials, temptations, afflictions… is not possible unless I am walking in the Spirit (abiding in the word and prayer, submitting…); that is, I am still failing frequently: praise God for His merciful forgiveness in Christ!
If you would like to read other posts on affliction, see CATEGORIES, AFFLICTION.