I was reading this morning on the life of Susannah Spurgeon, the wife of the great nineteenth-century preacher Charles Spurgeon. (Yes, I know, I'm reading about more dead people! But what an encouragement!) Susannah was, for all practical purposes, an invalid for most of her life--the result of complications from the birth of her twin sons and a couple of surgeries that may have done more harm than good. As a result of her condition, she struggled with anxiety, self-pity, and pain. At one point, when her struggles seemed to reach a climax, she came to a realization that was prompted by the crackling oak log burning in the fireplace. It reminded her of what the Bible teaches about our sufferings and was a source of tremendous spiritual peace for her. I wanted to share her words with you this morning:
"The fire was letting loose the imprisoned music from the old oak's inmost heart!...Ah, thought I, when the fire of affliction draws songs of praise from us, then indeed are we purified, and our God is glorified...Singing in the fire! Yes! God helping us, if that is the only way to get harmony out of these hard apathetic hearts, let the furnace be heated seven times hotter than before."
What a beautiful and Biblical truth:"when the fire of affliction draws the songs of praise from us, then indeed are we purified, and our God is glorified."
You might ask: "How can anyone in their right mind sing praise in the midst of the fire of affliction?" It's because they know who God is and what He has done for them. It's because they know that He is more delightful than whatever is being taken from them. Spouses, children, health, even possessions, as wonderful as they are, still pale into insignificance when compared with the grandeur and beauty and awesomeness and majesty of our God. We can rejoice in the midst of the fire, because we know that our Father has willed it and will use it for our good and for His glory. We can rejoice because our Father is good and is worthy of our praising Him.
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