I Know

"I know that my Redeemer liveth, …"   Job 19:25

The marrow of Job’s comfort lies in the little word “My”—“My Redeemer,” and in the fact that the Redeemer lives. Oh! to get hold of a living Christ. We must get a property in him before we can enjoy him. What is gold mean to me while it is still in the mine? It is gold in my purse which will satisfy my necessities, by purchasing the things I need. So a Redeemer who does not redeem me, an avenger who will never stand up for my blood, what benefit is there in it? Do not rest  content until by faith you can say “Yes, I cast myself upon my living Lord; and he is mine.” You may hold him with a feeble hand; and your half think it presumption to say, “He lives as my Redeemer;” But remember, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, that little faith entitles you to say it. But there is also another word here, which is expressive of Job’s strong confidence, “I know.” To say, “I hope so, I trust so” is comfortable; and there are thousands in the fold of Jesus who hardly ever get much further. But to reach the essence of consolation you must say, “I know.” Ifs, buts, and perhapses, are sure murderers of peace and comfort. Doubts are dreary things in times of sorrow. Like wasps they sting the soul! If I have any suspicion that Christ is not mine, then there is vinegar mingled with the gall of death. But if I know that Jesus lives for me, then darkness is not dark, even the night is light about me. Surely if Job, in those ages before the coming and advent of Christ, could say, “I know,” we should not speak less positively. God forbid that our positiveness should be presumption. Let us make sure that our evidences are right, in case we build upon an ungrounded hope; and then let us not be satisfied with the mere foundation, for it is from the upper rooms that we get the widest prospect. A living Redeemer, truly mine, is unspeakable joy.

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Morning Devotions, C.H. Spurgeon