“I know not a word which can express the surprise and wonder our souls ought to feel
at God’s goodness to us. Our hearts playing the harlot; our lives far from perfect;
our faith almost blown out; our unbelief often prevailing; our pride lifting up its
accursed head; our patience a poor sickly plant, almost nipped by one night’s frost;
our courage little better than cowardice; our love lukewarmness; our ardour but as
ice—oh, my dear brethren, if we will but think any one of us what a mass of sin we
are, if we will but reflect that we are after all, as one of the fathers writes, “walking
dunghills,” we should indeed be surprised that the sun of divine grace should
continue so perpetually to shine upon us, and that the abundance of heaven’s mercy
should be revealed in us.” (this quote totally sums up what I have been feeling…so ugly, and surprised to grateful tears that God is so good to me. He is!)
“Give me the doctrines of grace, and I am in clover.” (oh yum…..I can almost feel the warm air, and the sweet smell and taste of clover)
“An enlightened man is grateful to God for temporal blessings; but he is much more grateful to God for spiritual blessings, for temporal blessings do not last long; they are soon gone. Temporal blessings are not definite marks of divine favor, since God gives them to the unworthy, and to the wicked, as well as to the righteous.” (this quote reminds me to switch my thinking to the spiritual, it’s so easy for me to be caught up on the temporal…)
“Do not consider that adverse circumstances are a proof that you have missed your road; for they may even be an evidence that you are in the good old way, since the path of believers is seldom without trial.”
(I love that good old way!)
“Omniscience shall bow itself to instruct your ignorance. Infinite power shall stoop that you may lean upon its shoulder. Boundless love shall deign without any degradation to take you by the hand and pick your pathway for you, and infinite patience shall continue to direct every step of your course, till you are brought to your home at last.” (A quote to make me cry in thankfulness)
All quotes are by Charles Spurgeon
I make myself skirm…I am so uncomfortable with the evil thoughts I think, the bad choices I make, the hasty reactions. I want to crawl under the covers and hide. I want to shut my mouth and not open it for fear that I will say the wrong thing…again. Then I cry because I’m so self focused, stuck on myself…instead of focused on ah, yes, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Things are so topsy turvey sometimes. I look in the mirror and see my ugly self, I turn away from the mirror in shock not knowing how to fix myself….. but when I turn to the GOSPEL I find RELIEF because I see that I AM NOT PERFECT AND IT’S OKAY BECAUSE MY SAVIOR, who LOVES ME, HE IS PERFECT. He has grace for the sinner, mercy for the sinner, forgiveness. Satan’s whisperings in my ear are so loud but I’m holding on to Christ and He is everything I need –my Rock, my Salvation, the lover of my soul. I can’t fix myself but I know that Jesus can, and will, eventually. And someday, in Heaven, I’ll be free from the struggle between my flesh and my spirit.
Romans 7:14-24
(New American Standard Bible)
The Conflict of Two Natures
14For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.
15For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.
16But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.
17So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
18For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
19For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
20But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
21I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.
22For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,
23but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
24Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?
25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
“If they could but see that all their high joys do not exalt them, and all their low
despondencies do not really depress them in their Father’s sight, but that they stand
accepted in one who never alters, in one who is always the beloved of God, always
perfect, always without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, how much happier they
would be, and how much more they would honour the Saviour!” ~Spurgeon
Good to be Home 
Thank you for sharing this today. I have been too tired to even pray, to even try to focus on things of the Lord lately … just begging him to get me through this time, to bear with my weakness. Reading these beautiful quotes of grace, and your thoughts, are just the sort of refreshment my brain can take in … not too much at once, but nothing shallow or trite, either!
That was a lovely message
Spurgeon is such a great writer! I can relate to looking in the mirror and the feelings you described and then the hope found in Christ, you described it so well!Where was this last photo taken was it on your property? It is a powerful shot!
Wow. I like what you wrote about looking in the mirror, were you writing that for me?!? I like all the encouraging quotes. Thank you for sharing.
wow this was something that i definately needed to read.
Recently in a conversation about losing control and doing something awful, the lady with whom I was talking said, “Without God, we are out of control.” If that doesn’t make me cling to the Rock, I don’t know what will! Your thoughts are just what I needed to be reminded of this morning.
I really like that first quote. In a like yet don’t like sorta way, because it’s so true! The part that struck me was our heart that plays the harlot. Yikes! So painfully true.
Great quotes and verses. The last quote reminds me that God’s love for me is not based on what I do or don’t do. He doesn’t love me more or less in certain situations. I think this is hard to understand- how God’s love is unchanging and never failing- because I in my sinful flesh do not love that way. Thanks for sharing! You aren’t the only one who feels like hiding under the covers sometimes. Be encouraged and filled with God’s love today, dear friend!
good thoughts. so glad you shared them~why is looking into the mirrors of our heart usually so painfully insightful!yes. give me the clover of His grace. amen. love that
I seem to be in the same boat as you. I definitely don’t feel like I can do anything worthy of such a good God and maybe I should just bury my head in the sand and quit trying but then there’s the other side that says God’s put me here and I need to live my life pleasing Him and don’t quit
Very encouraging for me as well! Seeing more of God always allows me to see how black my heart is. I sometimes wallow in this instead of praising him that covers my sin!! Gina
These are some awesome words!
Wow what a great reminder of Who Christ is and what we aren’t. We truly have a wonderful, merciful Savior in Christ Jesus.
hi shanda…….great quotes and verses to ponder on and help keep our focus on what really matters. thanks for sharing.
@connie – Thanks Connie, I hope you have a Merry Christmas!