Thinking about these things…
Thankful that my suffering is an opportunity to be closer to Jesus. This may not seem to be the case when in the depths of suffering, walking the valley of the shadow of death. For a time, it may seem as though the lights have gone completely out. And so we cry, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
But even there, or perhaps mostly there better than anywhere else, we find Jesus. The suffering servant, acquainted with deepest grief. Friend of all who feel forsaken by God. He is with us. It is enough.
And if we can accept it, He will turn our greatest suffering into great purpose, just as the darkness of the cross gave way to the great purpose of resurrection. But we will all, at some point, find ourselves living in those three days between blackest death and glorious resurrection. All may seem lost. In the sludge, in the fire, in the valley, we might have to die a hundred different deaths. The locusts may devour all things.
But look! Your faith is being revealed, of more value than gold! For you will find that you are not holding onto Him, but He is holding onto you, and with a grip that will not let go. Here your faith has a resting place, and somehow you can suffer while also resting in His arms.
And so you dig in a stake and you dig it in deeply, contending to believe that all is in fact not meaningless, but filled with the purposes of God. You must fight to believe this, because the enemy swiftly comes to steal and kill and destroy all things, including your faith, if possible.
Lay your personal suffering, then, on the altar, and surrender it to the God who brings good out of what was intended for evil. Only with Him are we saved from the sweeping cascade of despair; only with Him can victory shine out of sorrow. So give it all to him and trust that all will be made well in time; if not in this life, then in the next.
It is well with my soul!
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