DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)
O Lord, our God, how excellent is your name in all the earth! Some of us have to thank you for many mercies bestowed. We thank you for them; for we feel that we are entirely in your hands in all respects. Others of us have been brought very low, bruised full sore, but having a little strength remaining, we desire to praise and bless the giver of every gift.
You are good when you give, and you are good when you take away. You are good when the night gathers heavy about us. You are good when the sun shines and gladdeneth our pathway. You are always good and always do good, and blessed be the name of the Lord from the rising of the sun to the going down of it, and through the night watches let his praise be still celebrated.
Amen.
VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)
Some of the rarest pearls have been found in the deepest waters, and some of the choicest utterances of believers have come when God’s waves and billows have been made to roll over them. The fire consumes nothing but the dross and leaves the gold all the purer. In Job’s case, with regard to his position before God, he had lost nothing by all his losses, for what could be purer and brighter gold than this that gleams before us from this text, revealing his triumphant patience, his complete resignation, and his cheerful acquiescence in the divine will?
We must learn the wisdom of never ascribing any earthly comfort to any earthly source. We must worship the giver and not the gift. And when we know that the Lord takes away our possessions, the knowledge that they are his effectually prevents us from complaining. From the first moment when the love of God is revealed to us, right on to the hour when we will be in the presence of the Father in glory, we may depend on it that there is infinite love in every act of God in taking from us, just as much as in giving to us.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE
A Bedtime Blessing for Children
Whether your children are afraid of the dark or not, we should always encourage our children to trust God at bedtime (and at all times!). Why Do We Say Good Night? by Champ Thornton is a great God-glorifying book for kids.
The book, packed full with simple rhymes, beautiful illustrations, and even more beautiful gospel-centered theology, tells the story of a little girl who is a little scared to be left alone at night. Her mother offers her the good news that our great God, the one who made the night, is near, in control, and good.
This book is one of the favorites of our family. There have been seasons when we’ve read it every night before bedtime, and my wife and I would even get it out again after bedtime to pour over the beautiful illustrations and think more about the incredible message it offers.