I was really helped by Spurgeon’s Autobiography this morning. In Volume 2, Chapter 19, Spurgeon’s wife is recounting some of those early years, particularly one time when they were going through a hard season of ministry. Here’s her recounting:
It was in the garden of a house belonging to one of the deacons, in the suburbs of Croydon, whither my beloved had been taken in hope that the change and quiet would be beneficial, that the Lord was pleased to restore his mental equilibrium, and unloose the bars which had kept his spirit in darkness. We had been walking together, as usual;–he, restless and anguished; I, sorrowful and amazed, wondering what the end of these things would be;–when, at the foot of the steps which gave access to the house, he stopped suddenly, and turned to me, and with the old sweet light in his eyes, (ah! how grievous had been its absence!) he said, “Dearest, how foolish I have been! Why! what does it matter what becomes of me, if the Lord shall be glorified?” — and he repeated, with eagerness and intense emphasis, Philippians 2:9-11: “Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name which is above every name; that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” “If Christ be exalted,” he said, — and his face glowed with holy fervour, — “let Him do so as He pleases with me; my one prayer shall be, that I may die to self and live wholly for Him and His honour. Oh, wifey, I see it all now! Praise the Lord with me!” (p.192)
This is how we should face the hard times. Oh, for grace to honor God in such a manner!