Hey Church!

“When we bless God for mercies, we usually prolong them. When we bless God for miseries, we usually end them. Praise is the honey of life which a devout heart extracts from every bloom of providence and grace.”
       – Charles Spurgeon*

I read that a dozen times and gained new insights with every pass. Take a moment, read and re-read that quote, and meditate on its meaning.

One of the more obvious scriptural parallels to Spurgeon’s quote is Psalm 34: “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” 

Thinking about how difficult it is to bless the Lord when His providence brings about sorrows and afflictions also reminded me of Jesus’ teaching about loving those who seek to do you harm, not only those who love you. 

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great…” (Luke 6:32-35a)

I’m not suggesting that God’s providence is your enemy (in the end, it is all for His glory and our good). But the idea of blessing one who afflicts you–even if it is the work of God for your own good–is a radically supernatural gift of faith, and not common to human nature. The “devout” will extract sweet praise from God’s works of providence and grace because it is as much the work of His Spirit within us as it is our choice to defy the human impulse to punish those who afflict us and only speak blessing to those who bless us. 

As we grow in that faith, we gradually lower our defenses and worry less about being bruised by the things God brings our way. With a lifetime of practice, and after seeing God prove His faithfulness “through many dangers, toils, and snares,” praise in trouble can become our instinct. Paul even goes so far as to say he boasts in his weakness–because in them, Christ is shown to be strong. 

In preparation for worship this Sunday, go before the Lord in prayer and simply ask, “Out of what hard thing in my life can I choose to extract praise?” Sit and listen for as long as it takes. And then intentionally name those “miseries” and “mercies” for which you seek to bless His name..