Gospel.com Blog

This mornings devotional comes from Charles Spurgeon’s classic devotional Morning and Evening. Spurgeon writes about Job’s burning desire to find God in the midst of his pain. It consumed his very being:

Finding God by Charles Haddon Spurgeon
“O that I knew where I might find Him!”

–Job 23:3

In Job’s uttermost extremity he cried after the Lord. The longing desire of an afflicted child of God is once more to see his Father’s face. His first prayer is not “O that I might be healed of the disease which now festers in every part of my body!” nor even “O that I might see my children restored from the jaws of the grave, and my property once more brought from the hand of the spoiler!” but the first and uppermost cry is, “O that I knew where I might find HIM, who is my God! that I might come even to His seat!” God’s children run home when the storm comes on. It is the heaven-born instinct of a gracious soul to seek shelter from all ills beneath the wings of Jehovah. “He that hath made his refuge God,” might serve as the title of a true believer. A hypocrite, when afflicted by God, resents the infliction, and, like a slave, would run from the Master who has scourged him; but not so the true heir of heaven, he kisses the hand which smote him, and seeks shelter from the rod in the bosom of the God who frowned upon him.

Job’s desire to commune with God was intensified by the failure of all other sources of consolation. The patriarch turned away from his sorry friends, and looked up to the celestial throne, just as a traveller turns from his empty skin bottle, and betakes himself with all speed to the well. He bids farewell to earth-born hopes, and cries, “O that I knew where I might find my God!” Nothing teaches us so much the preciousness of the Creator, as when we learn the emptiness of all besides. Turning away with bitter scorn from earth’s hives, where we find no honey, but many sharp stings, we rejoice in Him whose faithful word is sweeter than honey or the honeycomb. In every trouble we should first seek to realize God’s presence with us. Only let us enjoy His smile, and we can bear our daily cross with a willing heart for His dear sake.
This is a public domain version of Morning and Evening.

Have you ever been in an inconsolable place in which you had nothing but God? How did it feel?

There are thousands of different topics here at Gospel.com, but one of the things people seem most interested in is the vast collection of devotionals—short, easy-to-read reflections on the Christian faith to help us start the day on the right foot. Here’s a review of some of our favorites:

• The classics: few devotionals have stood the test of time as well as those by Oswald Chambers, A.W. Tozer, and Charles Spurgeon. If you’re interested in trying a new devotional, why not start with one of the classics?
• On a more modern note, three of the most enduringly popular daily devotionals at Gospel.com are Our Daily Bread, Daily Wisdom, and Daily Encounter. Back to the Bible’s collection of devotionals is noteworthy too.
• If you want to listen to your daily devotional (via podcast or an online stream), take a look through our list of audio devotionals.
• Some people prefer to just read Scripture as their daily devotional. If you’re such a person, you’re in luck: there are a lot of different Bible reading plans to help you work your way slowly but surely through the Bible (or parts thereof).

All of these and more are listed at the Devotionals page—so have fun exploring around until you find the devotional that’s just right for you.

Looking for a way to start out each day on the right foot? Sports Spectrum has a devotional that will help you keep grounded—it’s called Training Table (formerly Power Up), and it provides a short devotional message by a different author each day, each with a sports-focused theme. You can download the September edition (PDF) at the Sports Spectrum website.

In addition to Training Table, Sports Spectrum has a number of changes and new additions coming up later this month, when their magazine switches to a quarterly format. A more interactive The Daily blog and an online version of their magazine are among the promised features—so check their site on September 15 to see all the improvements!