A Turning Point

[Jesus] humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross. —Philippians 2:8

Philippians 2 isn’t one of those comforting passages of Scripture we usually turn to on dark days. But it became a bastion of hope for one of Christianity’s most beloved figures— Charles Spurgeon.

Spurgeon tottered on the verge of depression for most of his young adult life. One day as he preached to thousands, pranksters yelled “fire” and panic broke loose. As the audience frantically tried to exit, seven people died and twenty-eight suffered severe injuries. Spurgeon’s mind was never the same again.

One day when the pit of depression was deep, Spurgeon and his wife were meditating on Philippians 2:4–11 together, when he had a significant breakthrough. He saw his own role to empty himself to be obedient (as Jesus had), and if necessary to the point of death. This depression was his emptying; it was his death. More importantly, he took his eyes off his own pain, and he put them onto the pain of his Savior. That was when he began to walk in victory.