Evening and Morning
By Charles Haddon Spurgeon
November 9
Morning
"So walk
ye in Him."—Colossians 2:6.
If we have received Christ
Himself in our inmost hearts, our new life will manifest its intimate
acquaintance with Him by a walk of faith in Him. Walking implies action.
Our religion is not to be confined to our closet; we must carry out into
practical effect that which we believe. If a man walks in Christ, then he so
acts as Christ would act; for Christ being in him, his hope, his love, his joy,
his life, he is the reflex of the image of Jesus; and men say of that man,
"He is like his Master; he lives like Jesus Christ." Walking
signifies progress. "So walk ye in Him";
proceed from grace to grace, run forward until you reach the uttermost degree of
knowledge that a man can attain concerning our Beloved. Walking implies continuance.
There must be a perpetual abiding in Christ. How many Christians think that in
the morning and evening they ought to come into the company of Jesus, and may
then give their hearts to the world all the day: but this is poor living; we
should always be with Him, treading in His steps and doing His will. Walking
also implies habit. When we speak of a man's walk and conversation, we
mean his habits, the constant tenour of his life.
Now, if we sometimes enjoy Christ, and then forget Him; sometimes call Him
ours, and anon lose our hold, that is not a habit; we do not walk in
Him. We must keep to Him, cling to Him, never let Him go, but live and have our
being in Him. "As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in
Him"; persevere in the same way in which ye have begun, and, as at the
first Christ Jesus was the trust of your faith, the source of your life, the
principle of your action, and the joy of your spirit, so let Him be the same
till life's end; the same when you walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, and enter into the joy and the rest which remain for the people of God.
O Holy Spirit, enable us to obey this heavenly precept.
Evening
"His
place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks:
bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure."—Isaiah 33:16.
Do you doubt, O Christian, do you doubt as to whether God will fulfil His promise? Shall the munitions of rock be carried
by storm? O Shall the storehouses of heaven fail? Do you think that your
heavenly Father, though He knoweth that you have need
of food and raiment, will yet forget you? When not a sparrow falls to the
ground without your Father, and the very hairs of your head are all numbered,
will you mistrust and doubt Him? Perhaps your affliction will continue upon you
till you dare to trust your God, and then it shall end. Full many there be who
have been tried and sore vexed till at last they have been driven in sheer desperation
to exercise faith in God, and the moment of their faith has been the instant of
their deliverance; they have seen whether God would keep His promise or not.
Oh, I pray you, doubt Him no longer! Please not Satan, and vex not yourself by
indulging any more those hard thoughts of God. Think it not a light matter to
doubt Jehovah. Remember, it is a sin; and not a little sin either, but
in the highest degree criminal. The angels never doubted Him, nor the devils
either: we alone, out of all the beings that God has fashioned, dishonour Him by unbelief, and tarnish His honour by mistrust. Shame upon us for this! Our God does
not deserve to be so basely suspected; in our past life we have proved Him to
be true and faithful to His word, and with so many instances of His love and of
His kindness as we have received, and are daily receiving, at His hands, it is
base and inexcusable that we suffer a doubt to sojourn within our heart. May we
henceforth wage constant war against doubts of our God—enemies to our peace
and to His honour; and with an unstaggering
faith believe that what He has promised He will also perform. "Lord, I
believe, help Thou mine unbelief."