“The Lord has done great things for us;
— Psalm 126:3
which we are glad.”
Some Christians are sadly prone to look on the dark side of everything, and to dwell more upon what they have gone through than upon what God has done for them. Ask for their impression of the Christian life, and they will describe their continual conflicts, their deep afflictions, their sad adversities, and the sinfulness of their hearts, yet with scarcely any allusion to the mercy and help which God has vouchsafed them.
But a Christian whose soul is in a healthy state, will come forward joyously, and say, “I will speak, not about myself, but to the honor of my God. He hath brought me up out of an horrible pit, and out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings: and he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God.
The Lord hath done great things for me, whereof I am glad.” Such an abstract of experience as this is the very best that any child of God can present. It is true that we endure trials, but it is just as true that we are delivered out of them. It is true that we have our corruptions, and mournfully do we know this, but it is quite as true that we have an all-sufficient Saviour, who overcomes these corruptions, and delivers us from their dominion.
In looking back, it would be wrong to deny that we have been in the Slough of Despond, and have crept along the Valley of Humiliation, but it would be equally wicked to forget that we have been through them safely and profitably; we have not remained in them, thanks to our Almighty Helper and Leader, who has brought us “out into a wealthy place.”
The deeper our troubles, the louder our thanks to God, who has led us through all, and preserved us until now. Our griefs cannot mar the melody of our praise, we reckon them to be the bass part of our life’s song, “He hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.”
— Charles Spurgeon
The Scar, The Song, and the Shepherd
A Pondering Life Devotional
“The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.”
— Psalm 126:3
Charles Spurgeon observed that many Christians are prone to dwell more upon what they have endured than upon what God has done for them. Ask them about their faith journey and they quickly recount their struggles, failures, disappointments, and wounds. Yet the healthy believer speaks first and foremost of God’s faithfulness.
This does not mean denying reality.
The Christian life is full of paradox.
We have trials, yet we have deliverance.
We battle sin, yet we have a Savior.
We walk through valleys, yet we are guided by a Shepherd.
We grieve, yet we rejoice.
We are weak, yet Christ is strong.
We die, yet we live.
The Bible never asks us to ignore our struggles. It asks us to view them through the lens of God’s greater faithfulness.
The Scar Is Stronger
No one likes to be wounded.
No one volunteers for pain.
No one seeks hardship for its own sake.
Yet when a wound heals, the scar often becomes stronger than the surrounding tissue. The injury was real. The pain was real. But the healing produced something stronger than what existed before.
The same is often true spiritually.
Trials test us.
Struggles stretch us.
Suffering refines us.
Healing strengthens us.
The scars of life become testimonies of God’s sustaining grace.
The mature Christian does not celebrate the wound. He celebrates the Healer.
The Bass Notes of Life
One of Spurgeon’s most beautiful observations is that our griefs become the bass notes in the song of our lives.
A song without bass lacks depth.
A song made only of bass lacks beauty.
God composes both the high notes and the low notes into a greater symphony of grace.
The valleys are real.
The tears are real.
The disappointments are real.
But so is the God who walks beside us through every one of them.
Our griefs cannot silence our praise because they are not the whole song.
Godfidence
The world often says:
“What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”
There is some truth in that.
But the Christian can go even further:
What doesn’t kill me can strengthen me. What does kill me brings me closer to Christ.
That is not self-confidence.
That is not positive thinking.
That is not denial.
That is Godfidence.
Confidence rooted in God’s character.
Confidence rooted in God’s promises.
Confidence rooted in the finished work of Christ.
Confidence rooted in the empty tomb.
Paul understood this when he wrote:
“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Think about that.
If I live, I serve Christ.
If I suffer, Christ strengthens me.
If I overcome, Christ is glorified.
If I die, I go to be with Christ.
From an eternal perspective, the believer cannot ultimately lose.
Smile Because the Victory Is Won
One of the greatest witnesses a Christian can offer is not a life free from hardship, but a life filled with hope in the middle of hardship.
The world notices when believers carry joy despite difficulty.
Not because life is easy.
Not because circumstances are perfect.
Not because there are no tears.
But because we know the outcome.
Christ has conquered sin.
Christ has conquered death.
Christ has conquered the grave.
The final chapter has already been written.
The battle is real, but the victory is certain.
Pondering Life
A mature Christian remembers both the valley and the victory, but speaks most often of the Shepherd who brought him through.
Do not focus so much on the cut that you forget the healing.
Do not focus so much on the battle that you forget the victory.
Do not focus so much on the scar that you forget the Savior.
The Lord has done great things for us.
Whereof we are glad.
Prayer
Father, help me remember not only the wounds but Your healing, not only the valleys but Your guidance, not only the battles but Your victory. Teach me to live with joyful confidence in Your faithfulness. May my scars become testimonies, my trials become teachers, and my life become a song of praise to the Shepherd who has carried me this far and will carry me safely home. Amen.
Summary
- FLOW through adversity rather than stagnation in it.
- Complementary tension (suffering + joy, weakness + strength, death + life).
- Glass-half-full Christianity grounded in truth, not denial.
- Godfidence versus self-confidence.
- Scars as strength and evidence of God’s healing.
- Victory-focused living because Christ has already won.
