Over the past couple weeks, there have been many reports of human suffering on a large scale...the cyclone in Myanmar and the earthquake in China, it is indeed such a reminder of how we truly are as "grass". Here one day, then gone another and have nothing we can fully rely on, except the LORD God. No, you do not have to travel to a foreign country to find those suffering (albeit so many things we experience pale in comparison) whether through physical affliction, painful circumstances, addictions or emotional/spiritual depression. I know my own heart is burdened for those I know, who are hurting and facing torrential "storms" in some form. It causes me to pause and consider how little I have really had to "suffer". Yes, I have gone without and experienced pain (haven't we all?), but it's barely a blurp on the radar.
In the past however, when I have felt pain, I have not always been assured of the compassion of my Saviour. I have often fallen into the mindset that I just need to pull myself up by my bootstraps, be dutiful and that because God may be displeased with me, for whatever reason, he lacks compassion or empathy towards me. That is so untrue! The scriptures declare over and over that not only is our God holy but he is COMPASSIONATE, FULL of MERCY and hears the cries of his children! These proclamations are especially found in the Psalms.
Psalm 34:18 "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 56:8 "You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your record?"
And in Luke it reads: "but even the hairs of your head are all counted"
These verses are just a few, of the many, which describe the intimate way in which God is acquainted with his people. What comfort, to know, that He is not indifferent to our sufferings and ultimately, his grace IS sufficient.
The apostle Paul states in 2 Corinthians 12: 9,10 "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, most gladly, I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
D. Martin Lloyd Jones concisely states the following, based upon the Apostle Paul's suffering and what he came to learn as a result of his own "thorn in the flesh":
1. Conditions are always changing, therefore I must obviously not be dependent upon conditions.
2. What matters supremely and vitally is my soul and my relationship to God--that is the first thing.
3. God is concerned about me as my Father, and nothing happens to me apart from God. Even the very hairs on my head are all numbered. I must never forget that.
4. God's will and God's ways are a great mystery, but I know that whatever He wills or permits is of necessity for my good.
5. Every situation in life is the unfolding of some manifestation of God's love and goodness. Therefore my business is to look for this peculiar manifestation of God's goodness and kindness and to be prepared for surprises and blessing because 'His ways are not my ways, neither His thoughts my thoughts'. What, for example, is the great lesson that Paul learned in the matter of the thorn in the flesh? It is that: 'When I am weak, then am I strong'. Paul was taught through physical weakness this manifestation of God's grace.
6. I must regard circumstances and conditions, not in and of themselves therefore, but as a part of God's dealings with me in the work of perfecting my soul and bringing my to final perfection.
7. Whatever my conditions may be at this present moment they are only temporary, they are only passing and they can NEVER rob me of the joy and the glory that ultimately await me with Christ.
All that to say... Our dependence must be in Christ alone, and it is in Him that we can rejoice even in the midst of our pain, suffering, and difficulties etc. It is not enough just to know about Him, but necessary to know Him. Mere knowledge will not sustain you through the storm, but He must be your all in all. That is my desire, although I so often settle for bread crumbs:)
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Cor 4:16-18
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment