I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are righteous,

that in faithfulness You have afflicted us.

Ps. 119:75

How much we owe to the hammer & the anvil & the file & the fire!

Thanks be to God for the little crosses of every day; yes,

and for the heavy crosses which He sends us at certain seasons.

He does not gather the twigs of His rod, on the ‘mountains of wrath’–

but He plucks them in the ‘garden of love’!

Though He sometimes makes blue marks upon us as He smites us heavily–

yet His strokes are fewer than our crimes & lighter than our guilt.

Love bathes all the wounds which it makes–Love kisses away the hurt.

Blessed be a chastening God! Set down Your chastenings among your choicest mercies!

“The Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives.”

Hebrews 12:6

From Spurgeons Gems

Many mighty men & women of God are forged on the anvil of trials, opposition & rejection.

Don’t squander each opportunity to grow in faith & vision.