To every matter there is a bright as well as a dark side
To every matter there is a bright as well as a dark side. Rachel was overwhelmed with the sorrow of her own travail and death; Jacob, though weeping the motherâs loss, could see the mercy of the childâs birth. It is well for us if, while the flesh mourns over trials, our faith triumphs in divine faithfulness. Samsonâs lion yielded honey, and so will our adversities, if rightly considered. The stormy sea feeds multitudes with its fishes; the wild wood blooms with beauteous florets; the stormy wind sweeps away the pestilence, and the biting frost loosens the soil. Dark clouds distil bright drops, and black earth grows gay flowers. A vein of good is to be found in every mine of evil. Sad hearts have peculiar skill in discovering the most disadvantageous point of view from which to gaze upon a trial; if there were only one slough in the world, they would soon be up to their necks in it, and if there were only one lion in the desert they would hear it roar. About us all there is a tinge of this wretched folly, and we are apt, at times, like Jacob, to cry, âAll these things are against me.â Faithâs way of walking is to cast all care upon the Lord, and then to anticipate good results from the worst calamities. Like Gideonâs men, she does not fret over the broken pitcher, but rejoices that the lamp blazes forth the more. Out of the rough oyster-shell of difficulty she extracts the rare pearl of honour, and from the deep ocean-caves of distress she uplifts the priceless coral of experience. When her flood of prosperity ebbs, she finds treasures hid in the sands; and when her sun of delight goes down, she turns her telescope of hope to the starry promises of heaven. When death itself appears, faith points to the light of resurrection beyond the grave, thus making our dying Benoni to be our living Benjamin.
âShe called his name Benoni (son of sorrow), but his father called him Benjamin (son of my right hand).â ~Genesis 35:18
Charles Spurgeon
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This evening devotional that I read yesterday night, struck me as being particularly apt. There has been too much talk of sadness and bitterness in people's lives. Too much striving and little contentment gained, too much hurt, too much anguish that has resulted in a spreading cynicism. What is it with second-guessing flawed human motives? Why should tainted beauty no longer be as precious? Why allow darkness to suffocate light? No one knows all the answers unfortunately.
But, to whoever is feeling oppressed by the incomprehensibility of the world and mankind, maybe it is not for you to understand, you are no wiser for agonising over what you do not know, only to shut out what you can know in simple faith.
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