Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. —Romans 5:3–4
Charles Spurgeon was a great servant of God, a preacher, an author, and founder of Christian organizations. Yet throughout his life, Spurgeon endured unbelievable suffering. He experienced physical pain from various health conditions. His wife was an invalid who rarely heard him preach. He was the object of public ridicule and slander. As a result, Spurgeon struggled with recurring, deep depression.
Spurgeon wouldn’t have chosen those painful afflictions, but he came to see them as gifts from a wise, good, and loving God. He said,
I am afraid that all the grace that I have got out of my comfortable and easy times and happy hours, might almost lie on a penny. But the good that I have received from my sorrows, and pains, and griefs, is altogether incalculable. . . . Affliction is the best bit of furniture in my house.9
God’s grace helps us to turn our thorns into something of value.
9 Charles Spurgeon, “The Trial of Your Faith,” The Spurgeon Center, accessed June 16, 2021, https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/ sermons/the-trial-of-your-faith/#flipbook/.
Make it Personal
Pray for God to take any suffering you’ve gone through (and any future suffering) and turn it into something of value.