Christ in our desolate places

"'I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.'
-- Isaiah 48:10

Comfort thyself, tried believer, with this thought: God saith, 'I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.' Does not the word come like a soft shower, assuaging the fury of the flame? Yea, is it not an asbestos armour, against which the heat hath no power? Let affliction come-God has chosen me. Poverty, thou mayst stride in at my door, but God is in the house already, and he has chosen me. Sickness, thou mayst intrude, but I have a balsam ready-God has chosen me. Whatever befalls me in this vale of tears, I know that he has "chosen" me. If, believer, thou requirest still greater comfort, remember that you have the Son of Man with you in the furnace. In that silent chamber of yours, there sitteth by your side One whom thou hast not seen, but whom thou lovest; and ofttimes when thou knowest it not, he makes all thy bed in thy affliction, and smooths thy pillow for thee. Thou art in poverty; but in that lovely house of thine the Lord of life and glory is a frequent visitor. He loves to come into these desolate places, that he may visit thee." ~excerpted from March 3, Morning & Evening, by Charles H. Spurgeon

"...and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." ~Matthew 28:20