God
has chosen me
"I have chosen thee in the
furnace of affliction" (Isa. 48:10)
Does not the Word come like a soft shower,
assuaging the fury of the flame? Yes, is it not an asbestos
armor, against which the heat has no power? Let the affliction
come--God has chosen me. Poverty, thou mayest stride in
at my door; but God is in the house already, and He has
chosen me. Sickness, thou mayest intrude; but I have a
balsam ready--God has chosen me. Whatever befall me in
this vale of tears, I know that He has chosen me.
Fear not, Christian; Jesus is with thee. In all thy fiery
trials, His presence is both thy comfort and safety. He will
never leave one whom He has chosen for His own. "Fear not,
for I am with thee," is His sure word of promise to His
chosen ones in "the furnace of affliction."
- C. H. Spurgeon,
Streams in the Desert, July 9
