…what shall I say? "Father, save Me from this
hour"? But for this purpose I came to this hour. "Father, glorify
Your name." —John 12:27-28
{CHAMBERS} “As a
saint of God, my attitude toward sorrow and difficulty should not be to ask
that they be prevented, but to ask that God protect me so that I may remain
what He created me to be, in spite of all my fires of sorrow. Our Lord received
Himself, accepting His position and realizing His purpose, in the midst of the
fire of sorrow. He was saved not from the hour, but out of the hour. We say
that there ought to be no sorrow, but there is sorrow, and we have to accept
and receive ourselves in its fires. […] Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in
life, and there is no use in saying it should not be. Sin, sorrow, and
suffering are, and it is not for us to say that God has made a mistake in
allowing them.[…] You can always recognize who has been through the fires of
sorrow and received himself, and you know that you can go to him in your moment
of trouble and find that he has plenty of time for you. […] If you will receive
yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other
people.”
{ELGIN} I do not
find it strange but marvelous that I can have a discussion or some event will
occur in my life and the very next morning the devotion addresses what happened
only yesterday. My wife and I had a lengthy discussion about sorrow, how people
respond to it, and what, if any, good can come from it. For the most part, people focus on the here
and now – their mortal lives and put everything that happens in that context. Their natural life had primacy over any and
all other considerations. What happens
to them, or doesn’t, shapes their attitude toward others and their confidence
in themselves.
The thing is … that is not the right view of life. For those who are not “born again by the
Spirit” they have no choice really.
There is nothing or no One that they can turn to for answers, for relief.
They must trust in mere mortals for help.
But, for those who have been “born again” there is another road to be
taken.
So there are really two aspects to sorrow in this life. First – what you should do when it happens to
you. Second – what you should do when it
happens to others. When it happens to you - The Apostle Paul wrote -
(Philippians 4:4-7)
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The
Lord is near. Do not be anxious about
anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God. And the
peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Rejoicing always – not being anxious – experiencing a peace
that transcends human understanding – peace in the midst of turmoil – that has
a supernatural root – born out faith and experienced by the power of the Spirit
that rest in the heart of every Christian.
It is God’s intent that we, as Christians, would have these abilities –
that the fruit – the result of living a life submitted to the Spirit of God –
would be evidenced in our lives no matter what happens in our lives. What is out of the reach for the natural man
is fully within the grasp of the “super-natural” man. The man or woman who is saved by the sacrifice
of Jesus through faith and trusts in the Lord as a way of life – their new
life.
So what do you do with all of that pain – hurt that life
brings your way? Pastor Rick Warren said “God never wastes a hurt”
Paul also wrote – (2
Corinthians 1:3-5) “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our
affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction,
with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we
share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly
in comfort too.”
Just as God provided strength to endure and overcome, He
expects us, and has equipped us, to embrace the comfort we found in Him and use
it to encourage others. Not to “fix”
them, but to love them. Experiencing
hardship increases my compassion for others.
I don’t seek hardships and disappointments out .. they will surely find
me. But I don’t have to let them break
me. Not with God on my side. And neither
do you my friend.
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