“And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people…for I know their sorrows.” Exodus 3:7. God is fully aware of our troubles and actually enters into our suffering with us. Writing about the Lord’s compassionate interest in the sorrows of His people, the prophet Isaiah declared, “In all their affliction He […]
“…but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation brings patience.” Romans 5:3. God’s reason for allowing adversity to come into our lives is not always obvious. It takes a long-range view to realize that difficulty is one of the best ways of weaving Christ’s likeness into the fabric of our character. Our response to trial […]
“My grace is sufficient for you; for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” II Corinthians 12:9. The apostle Paul tells us that he had to live with an annoying “thorn in the flesh.” There has been much speculation about the nature of his illness. In any case, Paul prayed for healing, but it did […]
“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to test you.” I Peter 4:12. If we could plan our lives, we would tend to choose the easy way without trial. But God often leads His own through the fire of testing so that the beauty of Christ-like character will be perfected in us. […]
“Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering.” Isaiah 52:4. On the cross Jesus willingly bore our sin and guilt. No one ever suffered more than our Lord did for us. He knew what it would cost to save us from our sin and, in love, He willingly paid it. Because of Jesus’ […]