Our Flaws and God's Grace
Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.
Phillips Brooks
He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity. Heaven prepares good men with crosses.
Ben Johnson The name Charles Haddon Spurgeon is often invoked by those in the ministry with a sense of awe and admiration, and with good reason. He was one of the giants of the modern church era, a powerful preacher from the pulpit of London's Metropolitan Tabernacle, the author of some two hundred books, including the masterful Treasury of David. Spurgeon was truly a man to be respected, loved, and emulated. Based on his enormous reputation and accomplishments, many people assume Spurgeon must have experienced great peace, contentment, and prosperity. After all, his dedication to God and the power with which God anointed his life and ministry were obvious. Surely his was a life of satisfaction and fulfillment. The facts, however, are vastly different. Spurgeon carried a heavy burden throughout his years of ministry. Wrote Richard Day, one of his biographers, "There was one aspect of Spurgeon's life, glossed over by most of his biographers, that we must now view with utter frankness: he was frequently in the grip of terrific depression." Further, he was often ill, spending weeks at a time in bed, so many that he told the leaders of his church they ought to replace him. (They wisely chose not to.) He frequently worried over his personal financial situation. Spurgeon once told this story about himself: "During a very serious illness, I had an unaccountable fit of anxiety about money matters. One of the brethren, after trying to comfort me, went straight home, and came back to me bringing ...
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