Your suffering

Believer, did you awake this morning with the weight of everyone under your influence on your shoulders?  What a heavy load to bear: sick loved ones, erring loved ones, lost loved ones, along with all your own trouble and heartache, sin and sorrow?  Perhaps the thought has crossed your mind, “How did it all come to this?” Thus saith the Lord your God, “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

A child of God can rejoice in the midst of our greatest suffering because, though the pain is pain and the sorrow is sorrow, we have Christ our Redeemer and are washed in his precious blood.  Accepted of God—what a reason to rejoice evermore!  And God instructs us to pray without ceasing.  Is this not the reason we suffer?  It is to draw us to the giver of all grace to ask for grace to help in time of need. (Heb 4: 16)  Christ knows exactly what we suffer—he has suffered it and knows the feeling of the infirmities of each of his blood-bought children.  As we pray, our great God reminds us, in everything to give thanks.  Why?  For this—this very suffering you suffer at this present moment—is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.  Oh, how this helps to ease the pain of our suffering.  If my Father, my faithful Father, my sovereign Father, my loving Father, my ever-present Father is ruling over all of this then it is for my good.  Anything that brings us to look away from ourselves and cast all our care into Christ’s hands is for our good.  Therefore, we thank God for it. May God help you now to see that this is not to make light of your suffering but it is to comfort you that this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Clay Curtis.

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