Presence of Mind

Presence of Mind, March 31
Author: Charles H. Spurgeon From the book: Faith's Checkbook

"Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken." - Proverbs 3:25-26

When God is abroad in judgments, He would not have His people alarmed. He has not come forth to harm but to defend the righteous.

He would have them manifest courage. We who enjoy the presence of God ought to display presence of mind. Since the Lord Himself may suddenly come, we ought not to be surprised at anything sudden. Serenity under the rush and roar of unexpected evils is a precious gift of divine love.

The Lord would have His chosen display discrimination so that they may see that the desolation of the wicked is not a real calamity to the universe. Sin alone is evil; the punishment which follows thereupon is as a preserving salt to keep society from putrefying. We should be far more shocked at the sin which deserves hell than at the hell which comes out of sin.

So, too, should the Lord's people exhibit great quietness of spirit. Satan and his serpent seed are full of all subtlety; but those who walk with God shall not be taken in their deceitful snares. Go on, believer in Jesus, and let the Lord be thy confidence.

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"We should be far more shocked at the sin which deserves hell than at the hell which comes out of sin." This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. Seems kind of cheesy, but the other day I was watching E.R. There was a child who had been severely beaten and then there was another child who had been given illicit drugs. I sometimes get so flabbergasted at the thought of people who can hurt their children like that or abuse animals and whatnot. But what I'm doing is thinking of the effects of sin, the repercussions of this sin - the people on earth who are being hurt but what I should be thinking is wow, this person is totally dishonoring and spitting in the face of God. Look how putrid this sin is, Lord let this person see the depth of darkness they are living in.

I need to remember that we are all sinful, none are righteous, not one - without the Spirit of God living inside of them, and that NONE of us, in our natural state of mind and heart are beyond doing things that may seem unthinkable - because we already have. We sinned against the only man that was perfect, the one who gave His very life to allow us to live. How wretched are we, but how beautiful the Lord makes us! Let us find our confidence in the Lord. Grace&Peace.