Comfort in Affliction

page l 1 l 2 l 3 l
- 1 -

 

Sensing the Limits of Life

 

Why is it better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting?

 

“It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.” Ecclesiastes 7:2.  

 

What did the psalmist ask God to teach him?

 

“Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.” Psalm 39:4. (See also Psalm 90:12.) 

 

Sorrow’s Possibilities

 

Why is sorrow better than laughter?

 

“Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.”

Ecclesiastes 7:3.

 

Note – “Many of the loveliest songs of peace and trust and hope which God’s children sing in this world have been taught in the hushed and darkened chambers of sorrow…. Afflictions, sanctified, soften the asperities of life. They tame the wildness of nature. They temper human ambitions. They burn out the dross of selfishness and worldliness. They humble pride. They quell fierce passions. They reveal to men their own hearts, their own weaknesses, faults, blemishes, and perils. They teach patience and submission. They discipline unruly spirits. They deepen and enrich our experiences.” –J.R. Miller, Week-day Religion, pp. 90, 91.

 

Are the righteous freed from afflictions in this world?

 

“A righteous man may have troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.”

Psalm 34: 19.   

 

Does God delight to afflict any?

 

“For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.” Lamentations 3:31-33.

 

Does He afflict to leave the one chastened in despair?

 

“Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injuries, but his hands also heal.” Job 5:17,18.

 

In what language is the same truth again expressed?

 

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has appointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted. To proclaim freedom fro the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” Isaiah 61:1-3.   (See also Hosea 6:1.)

 

Whom does God discipline?

 

“Because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”

Hebrews 12:6.

 

In this, for the time being, a source of pleasure?

 

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Verse 11.

 

Note – “Many of the sweetest joys of Christian hearts are songs which have been learned in the bitterness of trial.” “Many a cold, icy nature is made warm and tender by the grief that crushes it.” –J.R. Miller, Week-Day Religion, pp. 89, 91.

 

What, aside from sin, causes more sorrow than all else?

 

Death, or the loss of a loved ones.

 

Does death bring to Christians distressing sorrow?    

 

“Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who have fallen asleep, or grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13. 

 

Note – The loss of loved ones is sometimes the means of conversion and the severing of ties that bind to earth. Persecution; sickness; the loss of sight, hearing, or limb; the loss of property; or other calamities may likewise be instrumental in drawing us nearer to God. (See Psalm 119:71; Isaiah 26:9.)

 

Who is the author of disease and death?

 

“Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

Luke 13:16.  “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.” 2 Corinthians 12:7. “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil.” Hebrews 2:14.  

 

Note – It should be remembered that suffering and death come from Satan, the one who “sowed tares among the wheat.” (Matthew 13:25.) But God overrules the devices of the enemy for the good of those who put their trust in Him. He works all things for the good to them that love Him.” (Romans 8:28.)

 

What do our transient afflictions do for us?

 

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an external glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Corinthians 4:17. (See Romans 8:28.)  

 

God and Affliction

 

Are God’s people free from affliction?

 

“A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.”

Psalm 34:19.

page l 1 l 2 l 3 l
- 1 -

[TOP]