Because the LORD loved you (Deuteronomy 7:8).
Doubts and questions often cloud our joy by covering up the rays of clarity. Doubts may come from outside (the world and Satan) but more often they well up inside of us, especially those of us who are prone to timidity and/or depression. Susie felt such doubts and questions, yet she had a “weapon of war against them.”
“Why does God send you affliction, and sorrow, and suffering, when those who fear not His Name have continual quietness and abounding prosperity?” When that seemingly impenetrable question is launched against us, we have a ready weapon with which we can fight back and defend ourselves. It is a simple, and yet profound tool of war. Susie writes: “If thou canst boldly answer, ‘It is because the Lord loves me,’ thou wilt have given him such a sword-thrust as will free thee, for a time, at least, from his cunning devices and fierce onslaughts.”
God’s love for us helps us to understand the, otherwise, unanswerables of life. Though we see the general cause for all of our afflictions (sin/the Fall), we often do not know the specific reasons for our troubles other than God is working for His glory and our good through our trials (Rom. 8:28).
Are you heavy-hearted? Does your life seem dark right now? Do you feel ensnared by fear of what you imagine to be an impossible situation? Just as Christian in The Pilgrim’s Progress had only to remember the key of God’s promises, stored away in his pocket, in order to be set free from his dungeon, so we also have a key that removes the lock of doubt and lifts us from the prison of despair.
Susie declares:
“Because the Lord loved you” is a master-key which fits the wards of the hardest questions, and opens the mysteries of the deepest problem. It is a talisman of wondrous efficacy, and very believer in the Lord Jesus Christ may not only rejoice in its possession, but use it constantly to obtain all the desire of his heart in spiritual things.”
What challenges have spun a web of doubt around your heart? Have you received bad news from your doctor? Is it the death of a friend, the loss of financial peace, or a rebellious child that so grieves your soul? Whatever your challenge, “if thou hast grace and faith enough to say, ‘This is because the Lord loves me,’ I dare to promise thee that all the bitterness of the affliction will melt away, and the peace of God will fill thee with a sweet content which passeth understanding.”
Susie continues: “If all that happens to thee can be traced directly or indirectly to the hand of thy loving Lord, how glad shouldest thou bear life’s burdens, and how perfect might be the rest in which heart and mind should dwell!”
Susie did not write from a bed of ease but as one who had experienced much grief, affliction, and bereavement. She saw her challenges as “shadows” which seemed “for a time to blot out all the brightness” of hope. Yet, beyond the shadows, by faith, she was able to see that “the sun has never ceased shining and darkness as well as day has proclaimed the immutability of Thy love.”
Susie prayed: “When the ears of my soul are attuned to catch the soft whisper of Thy voice, I hear Thee saying, ‘All this, My child, was because the Lord loved you. Left to thyself, thou wouldst have destroyed thyself; but in Me was thou help found, and the tribulations thou hast endured were but My servants to whom I entrusted the necessary discipline of thy earthly life.”
Quotes from “A Cluster of Camphire” by Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon.
Ray Rhodes is a conference speaker, pastor, and the author of numerous books. His latest work is Susie: The Life and Legacy of Susannah Spurgeon from Moody Publishers. Visit www.susiespurgeon.com for a listing of places where Susie is sold. Also visit the website to schedule Ray to speak for your next event.