Morning

Thou art my hope in the day of evil.

-Jeremiah xvii. 17

The path of the Christian is not always bright with sunshine; he has his seasons of darkness and of storm... At certain periods clouds cover the believers sun, and he walks in darkness and sees no light. There are many who have rejoiced in the presence of God for a season... they have walked along the "green pastures" by the side of the "still waters,"but suddenly... in the place of sweet waters, they find troubled streams, bitter to their taste, and they say, "Surely, if I were a child of God, this would not happen."

Oh! say not so, thou who art walking in darkness. The best of God's saints must drink the wormwood; the dearest of His children must bear the cross... We need winds and tempests to exercise  our faith, to tear off the rotten bough of self-dependence, and to root us more firmly in Christ. The day of evil reveals to us the value of our glorious hope.

-C.H. Spurgeon