Today's encouragement comes from Psalm 66:12b, where we read these words:
"We went through fire and through water; but You brought us out to rich ful-fillment."Only those—in Jesus alone—who persevere through the trials of life, get to enjoy the benefit of "rich fulfillment" at the end of them. When testings and temptations are endured (in Christ), they give way to rest and satisfaction later. Even our Lord Jesus had solacing angels minister to Him, *after* He weathered Satan’s temptations, (in Matt. 4:11).
The spoils of Christ's victory for His church do *not* go to "primadonna" spirits. Instead, they are the sole possession of those brave souls who are willing, by grace, to take up the cross everyday (Lk. 9:23)—and through it de-feat the flesh, the world, and the devil, (via living faith in the Redeemer).
[Puritan quote of the day: "True religion in a state is as a main pillar of a house and the post of a tent that upholds all.” —Richard Sibbes, in, "The Bruised Reed"]
