Helped (again) by Spurgeon

It has been a while since my last post and I must explain. It has been a different and difficult few weeks. As you know (from previous posts), I recently had knee surgery. Then on November 16, my wife, Suzanne also had surgery. She has been experiencing pretty major discomfort for quite a while and the doctors determined that her Gall Bladder must come out. So just as I was beginning to walk normally again, she had this procedure. Now I suppose that every person is different, but we did not have a completely accurate picture of what the recovery would be like. There were stories of those who had this surgery and attended a college basketball game that same night, stories of those who went back to work 2-3 days later, stories of those who traveled by car to visit family states away within a few days, and I could go on. The deal is, it was done with a less invasive arthroscope and the incisions were small, but IT WAS STILL SURGERY! This on top of months of feeling bad physically, having very little appetite, and the heavy emotional impact of these first two resulted in a difficult follow up week after her surgery. I am happy to say that she is getting better every day and is returning to "normal." (Her dad would say, "Why be normal?" Ha.) But God is teaching us that during difficult seasons like this, our obedience to His command to "Delight yourself in the Lord" (Psalm 37:4) takes greater effort to obey. It is what John Piper calls "the fight for joy" and it is how we make it through dark times. It seems that right now there are many around me that are going through great difficulty and I want to say, "Hang on to Him. He will lead you through!"

"But now, this is what the Lord says - He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, Israel; Do not fear for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;" - Isaiah 43:1-3a (TNIV)

It is in times like this that we must remember...remember what God has done in our lives up until now...remember what He has done in those around us...remember what He has done in the lives of people in the past. It is this backward glance at His past work and meditation on the promises of His word that produce faith in us that leads us through. So once again, God has used C. H. Spurgeon to speak encouragement and produce hope in my heart. I shared with the choir last night about his life and how he fought for joy through much adversity. Much of what I shared came through a biographical sermon from Desiring God. As you read of God's amazing work in this man, I pray that you find the joy that only comes in the presence of our overwhelming God.

Jon

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Biographies/1469_Charles_Spurgeon_Preaching_Through_Adversity/