Nearing the end of 2021, I was looking for a devotional resource to use for 2022. (During 2021 I used Tim & Kathy Keller’s ‘Songs of Jesus’ devotional based on the Psalms, which was great).

Somehow in my browsing I stumbled across this updated version of Charles Spurgeon’s classic devotional ‘Morning and Evening’. Some of the language is updated a bit from the original 19th century vernacular, and most of the scriptures quoted have been updated from the KJV to the NIV or ESV, but the charm of the original is largely unscathed. So back in October I went ahead and purchased the hardcover version.

While I hadn’t consciously thought about it at the time of purchase, I’m convinced that this choice was driven by some divinely-orchestrated serendipity. Though I was given the grace of being really faithful with my morning devotional time in 2021, lately I was beginning to be convicted about the fact that by evening, my focus had nearly always shifted to a more self-centered, and often undisciplined, mindset. But ‘Morning and Evening’ has two devotions for each day, as the title implies.

I was so entrenched in that rut that yesterday, on the first day of January, I totally forgot that there was an evening devotion to read. (I read that one today around noon). I think this is one of the things the Lord wants me to focus on this year – book-ending each day with Him. I’m adapting the journaling process recommended for ‘Songs of Jesus’, and recording a short entry in a notebook for each morning and evening reading from Spurgeon.

I’m trusting that I will be afforded the grace to keep up with this during the upcoming year, and trusting that the dividends in my life will be a blessing to both me and others.