{"id":3418,"date":"2020-08-31T08:30:10","date_gmt":"2020-08-31T16:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/randyalcorn\/?p=3418"},"modified":"2020-08-24T07:58:06","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T15:58:06","slug":"spurgeon-sowing-tears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/randyalcorn\/2020\/08\/spurgeon-sowing-tears\/","title":{"rendered":"Charles Spurgeon on Sowing in Tears, Reaping in Joy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/p>\n

I recently read these words from\u00a0one of Charles Spurgeon\u2019s sermons<\/a>, and found them both timely and encouraging:<\/p>\n

It will sometimes happen that where there is the most sorrow in the antecedents, there will be the most pleasure in the sequel. As the furious storm gives place to the clear sunshine, so the night of weeping precedes the morning of joy. Sorrow the harbinger; gladness the prince it ushers in.<\/p>\n

[William] Cowper says:\u00a0\u201cThe path of sorrow, and that path alone,<\/em>\u00a0Leads to the place where sorrow is unknown.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

To a great extent we find that we must sow in tears before we can reap in joy. Many of our works for Christ have cost us tears. Difficulties and disappointments have wrung our soul with anguish. Yet those projects that have cost us more than ordinary sorrow, have often turned out to be the most honorable of our undertakings. \u2026You may expect a blessing in serving God if you are enabled to persevere under many discouragements. The ship is often long coming home, because detained on the road by excess of cargo. Expect her freight to be the better when she reaches the port.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As\u00a0I\u2019ve shared before<\/a>, reading and discussing biographies of faithful believers can give both children and adults footprints to follow, especially through our suffering. So let me\u00a0recommend John Piper\u2019s excellent presentations on\u00a0the life of Charles Spurgeon<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0the life of William Cowper<\/a>\u00a0(whom Spurgeon quoted above).<\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to read more from Spurgeon, see my book\u00a0We Shall See God<\/em><\/a>. In writing that book, I became Spurgeon\u2019s coauthor, without his permission, drawing extensively from the best of his sermons about Heaven and the New Earth and adding my own thoughts, so it\u2019s about half and half. If the saying \u201cit\u2019s easier to get forgiveness than permission\u201d ever applied, I\u2019m confident it will when I meet Spurgeon and explain how he and I wrote a book together. :) It may help to tell him that all the royalties went to causes he would endorse!<\/p>\n

Photo by\u00a0chuttersnap<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Unsplash<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently read these words from\u00a0one of Charles Spurgeon\u2019s sermons, and found them both timely and encouraging: It will sometimes happen that where there is the most sorrow in the antecedents, there will be the most pleasure in the sequel. As the furious storm gives place to the clear sunshine, so the night of weeping […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2661,"featured_media":3419,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[179,2773,61,22,1274,2770,71],"class_list":["post-3418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-suffering-and-evil","tag-charles-spurgeon","tag-expect","tag-hope","tag-joy","tag-sorrow","tag-storm","tag-suffering"],"yoast_head":"\nCharles Spurgeon on Sowing in Tears, Reaping in Joy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Charles Spurgeon said, "As the furious storm gives place to the clear sunshine, so the night of weeping precedes the morning of joy. 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