Greatest Earthly Blessing

I bear witness that the worst days I have ever had, have turned out to be my best days. In the same way, when God has seemed to be the unkindest to me, He has then been the most kind. If there is anything in this world for which I would thank Him more than for all else, it is for pain and affliction. I am sure that in these things, His richest and tenderest love has been most manifested towards me. I am certain that I have never grown in grace, one-half so much anywhere else, as I have upon the bed of pain. I have learned to kiss the wave, that throws me against the Rock of Ages.

Affliction is the best piece of furniture in my house. It is the best book in a minister's library. Those who dive in the sea of affliction, bring up rare pearls.

God's love letters are often sent in black envelopes. The cloud that is black with horror, is big with mercy. We may not ask for trouble; but if we were wise, we would look upon affliction as the harbinger of an unusually great blessing.

Dread the calm: it is often treacherous; and the pestilence is often lurking beneath its wing. Fear not the storm: it brings healing in its wings, and when Jesus is with you in the vessel, then the tempest only hastens the ship to its desired haven.

God is too good to be unkind, and He is too wise to be mistaken. When we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.

I venture to say that the greatest earthly blessing that God can give to any of us is health, with the exception of sickness. The furnace of affliction is the most beneficial place for you, Christian.

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

Hebrews 12:5-11 ... And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. ❤

Divine Purpose of Affliction

Affliction, in some of its many and varied forms, is the lot of all the Lord's people. Indeed, if we do not have it, then we lack evidence of our true sonship, for the Father chastens every son whom He receives. Every believer is refined in the furnace of affliction.

To every follower of Jesus, how strong is the consolation flowing from this truth. God's afflictions are loving and parental towards His redeemed people; whereas towards His enemies, they are judicial and punitive. God refines His saints in the furnace of affliction, for their purification; but He places the ungodly in the furnace, for their destruction. The believer can welcome and patiently bear sickness, bereavement, and poverty; knowing that God's fatherly chastisements are not judgments, and His afflictions are not condemnations.

The furnace of affliction is needed in the process of sanctification:  to consume the dross which adheres so closely to the precious ore, to purify the heart, to center the affections on Jesus, and to wean the soul from enticements of this vain world.

The hour of affliction is the hour of softening, where: the hardness of the heart yields, the callousness of the spirit gives way, the affections become heavenly, and the conscience is made more tender. It is a season of holy meditation, of prayer, and of withdrawal from the world and from creature delights; while the soul is more closely shut in with Jesus.

Through these trials, the Holy Spirit comforts the afflicted soul by unfolding the deep and unchangeable love of Jesus, showing the believer that his sorrow is the fruit of Divine love, sent to draw the soul nearer to Himself. The Comforter opens the believer's ears to hear the voice of God's chastening rod, causing the disciplined heart to return from its wanderings and seek the wounded, bleeding, suffering Savior more eagerly than ever. In the furnace of affliction, the believer attains a deeper knowledge of God's all-sufficiency, and a truer knowledge of his own spiritual poverty and unworthiness.

In each season of affliction, the believer must turn from all creature sympathy, and look to Jesus, who was preeminently the man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief and suffering; making Him able to sustain and sympathize with His afflicted people.

In every stormy wind, in every darksome night, and in every rising fear, the voice of Jesus is heard saying, "Take courage, it is I! Do not be afraid. Your affliction did not spring out of the ground but came down from above; a heaven-sent blessing clad in a robe of ebony, sent entirely in love."

As you grow deeper into the loving heart of Jesus: sorrow shall wound you less deeply, affliction shall press you less heavily, and tribulation shall affect you less keenly.

[Octavius Winslow]

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Isaiah 48:10 ...  Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

Romans 8:28 ... And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

2 Corinthians 4:17 ... For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; ❤

Greatest Earthly Blessing

I bear witness that the worst days I have ever had, have turned out to be my best days. In the same way, when God has seemed to be the unkindest to me, He has then been the most kind. If there is anything in this world for which I would thank Him more than for all else, it is for pain and affliction. I am sure that in these things, His richest and tenderest love has been most manifested towards me. I am certain that I have never grown in grace, one-half so much anywhere else, as I have upon the bed of pain. I have learned to kiss the wave, that throws me against the Rock of Ages.

Affliction is the best piece of furniture in my house. It is the best book in a minister's library. Those who dive in the sea of affliction, bring up rare pearls.

God's love letters are often sent in black envelopes. The cloud that is black with horror, is big with mercy. We may not ask for trouble; but if we were wise, we would look upon affliction as the harbinger of an unusually great blessing.

Dread the calm: it is often treacherous; and the pestilence is often lurking beneath its wing. Fear not the storm: it brings healing in its wings, and when Jesus is with you in the vessel, then the tempest only hastens the ship to its desired haven.

God is too good to be unkind, and He is too wise to be mistaken. When we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.

I venture to say that the greatest earthly blessing that God can give to any of us is health, with the exception of sickness. The furnace of affliction is the most beneficial place for you, Christian.

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

Hebrews 12:5-12 ...   And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

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"Farewell"

My very Dear Sister in our precious Lord,

I rejoice to hear of your soul's prosperity under those afflictions which have attended your body. I have again been visited with illness and am weak. The hand the heart of our own God our God of love is in everything to us. In all, let us love, bless, and adore His name, for honorable and glorious are all His works, and most worthy is He of praise from us in all. Under the sweet, enlarging influence of God's free love, we love Him and as much when He frowns as when He smiles.

A believing, loving, adoring spirit, under divine chastisement, is an excellent spirit a God-glorifying frame of soul. Our afflictions, light as they are, as being laid upon us and we supported under them by the Lord's all-gracious and almighty hand, are made blessings to us. They may well be borne by us, not only as they are designed for, and shall end in, our soul's present and eternal advantage, but also, and chiefly, in that our God is and will be glorified thereby His displaying the glory of His infinite love, grace, mercy, wisdom, power, faithfulness, and fatherly goodness towards us in them and by our ascribing all honor in filial duty unto Him.

Our God is infinitely concerned for our good in every affliction. So let us be earnestly, yes only, concerned about His glory as to our duty therein, casting all our care upon Him who cares for us.

We shall bless God, when we come to heaven, for every kind and degree of affliction that we passed through on earth for every trial, and for every circumstance attending it, wherein we are enabled to glorify God.

After this heavenly temper, and an increase therein, let us labor while pilgrims on this earth. A submissive, patient, cheerful, thankful frame of spirit, under the afflicting hand of God, is that honor, that reverence which we owe to Him as a Father and ineffably sweet, and exceedingly profitable is this unto us as His children. In a little, little while, sin and sorrow shall be no more. A fullness, an eternity of joy and glory in the immediate presence of God and the Lamb awaits us.

Our afflictions are given to us as a fruit of the Father's grace, of the Son's purchase and intercession, and as a season of the Spirit's preparing us below for that glory which is prepared for us above. Oh, my dear sister, all things are ours, whether life, or death, or things present, or things to come. Time with all its changes, its comforts and crosses, and eternity with all its great and unchangeable glories, are ours! Christ is ours, and all things in and with Him, and we are His, and shall shortly be with Him where He is, to behold His glory! We shall be like Him, perfectly so for we shall see Him as He is! We shall not be long absent from but shall shortly be forever with the Lord to see, to love, to praise Him perfectly and eternally. Oh, blessed day! It hastens upon us. A day without clouds, without decline, without end! A magnificent, bright day, that will spread its glories over all, when the Lord will be our everlasting light, and our God our glory!

Then farewell forever! Farewell trials! Farewell sin! Farewell sorrow! Farewell death! Farewell darkness! Farewell pain! Farewell weakness! Mortality shall be swallowed in life! And in the meantime, my dear sister, let us go on in faith and hope of that eternal life which God, who cannot lie, has promised; and loving and adoring the Lord in all things, let us follow the Lamb, even wherever He goes, until we reach immortal glory with Him. And now, my dear child, unto the tender care of your everlasting Father, I commit you. May His presence be with you, and His blessing be upon you continually.

[Anne Dutton]

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God Has Two Fires!

God has two fires: 

One where He puts His gold, one where He puts His dross. 

The fire where He puts His gold, is the fire of affliction to purify them. 

The fire where He puts His dross, is the fire of damnation - to punish them.

[Thomas Watson]

 Isaiah 48:10 ... Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

Matthew 25:41, 46 ... Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: ...

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

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Rejoicing In the Midst of Trials and Afflictions!!

To others, you may be insignificant despised, unknown, unimportant. You may be poor in possessions, sick in body, misunderstood by many, and even dismissed by fellow believers. You may be walking through valleys of pain, battling weakness, enduring loss, or carrying deep burdens that no others could realize. But dear child of God, lift up your eyes and take heart your name is written in Heaven! 

Not scribbled in pencil, not etched in sand, but written in Heaven secure in the eternal book of God, sealed by the blood of the Lamb. You may be rejected on earth, but you are known and loved in Heaven. Your name, personally inscribed by the omnipotent hand of God, is known in the courts of glory. Angels may not know your name now, but they will when they welcome you, Home.  Jesus turns His redeemed children away from both their successes and failures in this poor world and points them to the everlasting treasure of eternity in Heaven. What happens here on earth may rise and fall, but what is written in Heaven is sure and steadfast. 

Beloved, your name is not written in Heaven because of your merit, success, or popularity. It is there, because God sovereignly chose to set His love on you in eternity past. Then, in His infinite mercy, He effectually called you out of darkness, and into His marvelous light! Though you are despised on earth, Heaven is your eternal Home. Though suffering is your earthly lot, your future is glorious. Though your life may appear insignificant, your inheritance is vast. Others may not value you, but Heaven rejoices over you. 

So, rejoice! not in your temporal circumstances, or in what others think of you, but in what God has promised. You are His, and your name is forever written in Heaven. One day soon, you will hear the Savior call your name to welcome you Home: "Enter into the joy of your Lord!" Regardless of earthly poverty, weakness, neglect, or suffering your name is engraved in Heaven! Let this truth comfort you, anchor you, and fill you with profound, unshakeable joy. 

[Charles H. Spurgeon] 

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Colossians 3:1-2 ... If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Luke 10:20 ... Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. ❤

To a Fellow Minister

Dear Sir, 

I received your letter and dare not say that I am sorry for your fall, nor indeed for any afflictions that God lays on His children; they are tokens of His fatherly love, and needful medicine for us. Rather would I pray that while God keeps you in the furnace, you may be still, and feel your dross and tin being purged away. The Lord Jesus gives me a dose of this medicine most days; and I am never so well as when I am taking it, though I frequently make a crooked face at it.  If your heart is as my heart, it will need many a bitter potion to cleanse and strengthen it! 

Afflictions have been to me some of my greatest mercies. No lasting gain do I get, but in a furnace. Comforts of every kind make me either light or lofty, and swell me, though imperceivably, with self-sufficiency. Indeed, so much dross, native and acquired, is found in my heart, that I have constant need of a furnace. Jesus has selected a suitable furnace for me, not a hot and hasty one, which seems likely to harden and consume me, but one with a gentle and lingering heat, which melts my heart gradually, and lets out some of its dross. 

Though I cannot love a furnace yet the longer I live, the more I see of its need and its use. A believer seldom walks steadily and brightly, unless he is well-furnaced. Why do you write to me with so much reverence? Is this befitting language from one sinner to another sinner? Ought the dust of the earth to elevate his kindred ashes? Should a frog croak out a compliment to a toad? May the Lord water your soul, and your vineyard, and teach you to know nothing, and preach nothing but Jesus Christ! 

For His sake, I am your servant, 

John Berridge

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God's Rod is a Pencil to Draw Christ's Image Upon Us!

Affliction is never accidental for the believer. Every trial, pain, and hardship is sovereignly appointed by God for His glory and our good. The world sees suffering as meaningless, or merely as an obstacle to their happiness. But Scripture teaches that suffering is a tool in the hands of our loving Father to purify our faith, to humble our pride, and to draw us nearer to Jesus. 

God often uses affliction: to bring His people to repentance, to teach them humility, to refine them in the furnace of affliction, to draw them closer to Himself, to cause them to live a more holy life, to strengthen their faith, and to conform them to Christ. God's rod is a pencil to draw Christ's image upon us! God's people never grow strong in grace without trials. 

Troubles are the tools with which God polishes His jewels. The pruning knife is never out of His hand, and it is never used without wisdom or love. Affliction is not the end of the story. One day, every tear will be wiped away, every pain will be no more, and we will see our trials as God's instruments that shaped us for eternity. Until that day, we endure with faith, knowing that God is working out His perfect plan. 

[Charles H. Spurgeon] 

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Job 23:10 ... But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Romans 8:18 ... For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 ... For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.❤

"Joy-Suffering"

We are not called to rejoice at suffering in and of itself. Suffering is bad, suffering is hard, and suffering often comes at the hands of wicked people. Therefore, we do not rejoice in suffering because we love the suffering in and of itself. We rejoice in suffering because we look forward to what God is able to do through our suffering. Paul [in Romans 5:1-5] celebrated the fact that through our sufferings and afflictions God is bringing about endurance, proven character, and hope. 

[Heath Lambert]

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Proverbs 3:5-6 ... Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

1 Peter 4:13 ... But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

John 16:33 ... These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.❤

Necessity of Affliction

What a blessed motto and superscription over the dark lintels of sorrow: "There is a necessity for this!" Every arrow from the quiver of God is feathered with it! Write it, child of affliction, over every trial that your God sees fit to send! If He calls you down from the sunny mountain-heights to the darksome valleys hear Him saying: "There is a necessity for this!" If He has dashed the cup of earthly prosperity from your lips, curtailed your creature comforts, diminished your "basket and store" hear Him saying: "There is a necessity for this!" If He has ploughed and furrowed your soul with severe bereavement, extinguished light after light in your dwelling hear Him thus stilling the tumult of your grief, "There is a necessity for this!" 

 Yes, believe it there is some profound reason for your trial, which at present may be indiscernible to you. No furnace will be hotter than He sees to be needed. Be still and know that He is God! That "necessity," remember, is in the hands of infinite Love, infinite Wisdom, and infinite Power! Trust Him in little things, as well as in great things; in trifles as well as in disasters. Seek to have an unquestioning faith. Though other paths, doubtless, would have been selected by you had the choice been in your hands be it yours to listen to His voice at every turn of the road, saying, "This is the way, walk in it!"  We may not be able to understand it now, but one day we shall find that affliction is one of God's most blessed ministers, sent forth to "minister to those who are heirs of salvation." Sorrowful one! There is a reason for your chastisement. 

What! God loves me, when He is discharging His quiver upon me, emptying me from vessel to vessel, causing the sun of my earthly joys to set in clouds? Yes, afflicted, tempest-tossed one! He chastens you, because He loves you! This trial comes from His own tender, loving hand from His own tender, unchanging heart! Are you laid on a sick bed, are sorrowful months and wearisome nights appointed unto you? Let this be the pillow on which your aching head reclines: It is because God loves me! Is it bereavement which has swept your heart and desolated your dwelling? God appointed that chamber of death; He opened that tomb because He loves you! 

Believer! Rejoice in the thought that the chastening rod is in the hands of the living, loving Savior who died for you! Tribulation is the King's Highway, and yet that highway is paved with love. As some flowers require to be pressed before shedding their fragrance so does your God see fit to bruise you, to bring out your graces. If your heavenly Father's smile has for the moment been exchanged for the chastening rod, be assured there is some deep necessity for the discipline. There is nothing capricious in His dealings. Love is the reason of all that He does. There is no drop of wrath in that bitter cup you are called upon to drink! 

Erring human wisdom has no place in God's allotments. An earthly father may err yes, he is ever erring. But "as for God, His way is perfect!" (Psalm 18:13) This is the explanation of His every dealing: "Your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things!" In our seasons of trial, when under some inscrutable painful dispensation, how apt is the murmuring thought to rise in our hearts: "All these things are against me! Might not this overwhelming blow have been spared? Might not this dark cloud, which has shadowed my heart and my home with sadness, have been averted? Might not my trial have been less severe? Surely the Lord has forgotten to be gracious!" 

No! These afflictions are errands of mercy in disguise! "He does not afflict willingly." There is nothing capricious or arbitrary about your God's dealings. Unutterable tenderness is the character of all His allotments! He appoints no needless pang. He has precious lessons that could not otherwise have been taught! Afflicted one! Be assured that there is some deep necessity in all that He does. In our calendars of sorrow, we may put this luminous mark against every trying hour: "It was needed!" Some excess branch in the tree required pruning, to increase its fruitfulness. Mourning one! 

He might have dealt far otherwise with you! He might have cut you down as a fruitless, worthless cumberer! He might have abandoned you to drift disowned and unpiloted on the rocks of destruction, joined to your idols! He might have "left you alone" to settle on your lees and forfeit your eternal bliss! But He loved you better. It was kindness--infinite kindness, which blighted your fairest blossoms, and hedged up your way with thorns! Trust His heart, when you cannot trace His hand! 

[John MacDuff] 

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Revelation 3:19 ... As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Hebrews 12:6 ...  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

1 Peter 1:6 ... Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: ❤

Called to Suffering?

If your Lord calls you to suffering, do not be dismayed, for He will provide a deeper portion of Christ in your suffering. The softest pillow will be placed under your head though you must set your bare feet among thorns. Do not be afraid at suffering for Christ, for He has a sweet peace for a sufferer. God has called you to Christ's side, and if the wind is now in His face, you cannot expect to rest on the sheltered side of the hill. 

You cannot be above your Master who received many an innocent stroke. The greatest temptation out of hell is to live without trials. A pool of standing water will turn stagnant. Faith grows more with the sharp winter storm in its face. Grace withers without adversity. You cannot sneak quietly into heaven without a cross. Crosses form us into His image. They cut away the pieces of our corruption. Lord cut, carve, wound; Lord does anything to perfect Your image in us and make us fit for glory! 

We need winnowing before we enter the kingdom of God. O what I owe to the file, hammer, and furnace! Why should I be surprised at the plough that makes such deep furrows in my soul? Whatever direction the wind blows, it will blow us to the Lord. His hand will direct us safely to the heavenly shore to find the weight of eternal glory. As we look back to our pains and suffering, we shall see that suffering is not worthy to be compared to our first night's welcome home in heaven. 

If we could smell of heaven and our country above, our crosses would not bite us. Lay all your loads by faith on Christ, ease yourself, and let Him bear all. He can, He does, and He will bear you. Whether God comes with a rod or a crown, He comes with Himself. "Have courage, I am your salvation!" Welcome, welcome Jesus! 

[Samuel Rutherford]

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1 Peter 3:14 ... But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;

Romans 8:17 ... And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

James 1:2 ... My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;❤

My Father, Pity Your Foolish Child!

Throughout His life Jesus was the Man of Sorrows, and many of His disciples go mourning all their days by reason of continued illness, unkindness, loneliness, anxiety, successive sorrows, stripes repeated before the former wounds are healed one woe treading on the heels of another, as with Job. Some thorn is always rankling. When one rocky crag has been surmounted, another has to be scaled. When one troublous torrent has been waded, another and yet other roars across our path. 

You may plead that your heavenly Father would relieve the pain, heal the sickness, spare the life, remove the danger, calm the anxiety, restore the love, restrain the sin, abate the anger, disperse the cloud, calm the storm, send the sunshine. "My Father, pity your foolish child, but bear with me while I confess that this bitter cup depresses my spirit, raises doubts, disturbs my faith, irritates my temper, drives me to frivolity, hinders prayer and tempts me to seek relief wrongfully. 

I am taught that affliction should make me humble and patient, gentle to others, weaned from earth, submissive to You but this cup seems to produce opposite results. Oh, let this cup pass from me! My soul is bowed down to the dust! My tears have been my food day and night! O my God, my soul is cast down within me; all Your waves and Your billows are gone over me. Abba, Father, let this cup pass from me! "Behold me, even me; listen to my complaint. Behold this cup how bitter it is, how full, how long I have had to drink it! In my ignorance it seems unsuited to my temperament. How wearied and faint I am! How earnestly I desire to be spared the further drinking of it. O my Father! witness these tears, hear these cries, consider my soul's agony! 

[Newman Hall] 

Matthew 26:39 ...  And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

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God's School

Affliction is God's school in which holy virtues are acquired, and Christian character is formed.

[Hannah More]

Isaiah 48:10 ... Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. 

Psalm 119:71 ... It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. 

Hebrews 12:11 ... Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. ❤

God's Cup!!

God's mode of dealing is often wrapped in mystery. We fail to understand why one is elevated to the highest rank while others seem to waste their days in poverty and obscurity. But no doubts should arise. It should be firmly fixed in our persuasions, that in all these matters, God's hand prevails. "The Lord brings death and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth; He humbles, and he exalts." (1 Samuel 2:6-7)  

In the same way, afflictions, sorrows and trials are all appointed by the same unerring wisdom! God's hand holds a cup which is mixed in accordance with His sovereign and righteous will. According to His good pleasure, He causes all men to drink from it. But what will be the portion of the wicked? "It is God alone who judges. For the Lord holds a cup in His hand; it is full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours the wine out in judgment, and all the wicked must drink it, draining it to the dregs!" (Psalm 75:7-8)  

Let the unsaved tremble! They are forewarned that they must drink God's cup to the dreg's indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish forever! 

[Henry Law] 

Deuteronomy 32:39 ...  See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

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"Afflictions"

Afflictions teach us to value the blessings of God which in prosperity we are apt to forget.

God's afflictions are not to destroy us, but to wean us from the world and bring us closer to Christ.

It is folly to doubt God's goodness because of His chastening rod, for the rod is in the hand of infinite love.

[Richard Baxter]

Afflictions are but God's furnace to refine His gold. 

Christ's school of affliction is the best school in this world.

God would not rub so hard, if it were not to fetch out the dirt that is ingrained in our natures.

Afflictions are God's medicines to cure His people.

[ Thomas Brooks]

As the winter prepares the earth for the spring, so affliction prepares the soul for glory.

The greatest afflictions are less than we deserve.

God empties us of worldly comfort to fill us with heavenly joy.

[William Bridge]

God's people are like gold they are purified by fire. 

God does not strike as an enemy to destroy, but as a father to correct.

[Jeremiah Burroughs]

Sanctified afflictions are better than unsanctified prosperity.

The furnace of affliction is where God polishes His jewels.

[John Flavel]

God's wounds cure sin's kisses kill.

[William Gurnall]

Afflictions quicken our desires for eternal things.

Afflictions are blessings to the soul, though they seem bitter to the flesh.

[John Owen]

Your afflictions are your father's love-tokens.

When I am in the cellar of affliction, I look for the Lord's choicest wines.

[ Samuel Rutherford]

God breaks the cistern to drive us to the fountain.

The fire does not destroy the gold, but only refines it.

God's hammer breaks us in pieces, that He may fashion us into His own likeness.

God squeezes the sins out of His saints by affliction.

It is better to go limping to Heaven, than leaping to Hell.

[ Richard Sibbes]

A sick bed often teaches more than a sermon.

God's rod is a pencil to draw Christ's image more distinctly upon us.

[Thomas Watson]

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Happy Sickness!

Affliction comes upon all! 

None are exempt from the suffering's incident to our fallen nature. The young, the old, the rich and the poor alike feel the withering touch of affliction and of sorrow. Disease invades the strongest constitution, and affliction prostrates the mightiest energy. Often those in the prime and vigor of life are laid down on the bed of sickness and made to feel that they are dying creatures. How true it is, that "How frail is humanity! How short is life, and how full of trouble!" (Job 14:1)  

The children of God are not exempted from the afflictions of this life, but it is their blessed consolation to know that in all their sorrows and sufferings, they have a caring and divine Friend to sympathize with them! Oh! How often does the blessed Jesus wonderfully manifest His love to His afflicted ones! How often does He whisper words of peace and love and consolation in their ears! How often, in the manifestation of His love, do their souls overflow with joy, even when their bodies are racked with severe pain! 

All the afflictions of the children of God are designed for their good. They come from a kind and wise heavenly Father from a God of love; and one of their designs is their purification and sanctification. Afflictions make us fit for glory. They enable us to obtain a correct view of the emptiness of all worldly vanities. They tend, through grace, to fix our souls on Jesus, in whom alone we can find true happiness and immortal joys. 

Happy sickness, that leads the soul to Jesus the only source of blessedness! Afflictions, then, promote our spiritual welfare, and are ordered for our good. 

[David Harsha] 

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Psalm 119:71 ... It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.

Psalm 119:75 ... I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.

John 16:33 ... These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. ❤

The Pruning Knife...

To the true believer, afflictions are blessings in disguise. Every trial is intended for my good. My foolish heart would be too much attached to the earth, if the spade were not inserted to loosen the fibers, and disengage the root that when transplanted, I may bear a richer fruit in the Paradise above. 

My heavenly Father, whose love and wisdom are infinite knows exactly what I need, and how much suffering is needed to promote the spirituality of my heart and mind. Shall I then repine at His dispensations of love? 

A murmuring spirit increases every evil, doubles the affliction, and adds a sting to sorrow. If our hearts are in Heaven, then the trials of earth will be light and momentary for the Savior's love will sweeten every care, lighten every cross, and disarm affliction of its sting! 

Oh! that we may learn wisdom by every afflictive Providence and yield more fruit by every application of the pruning knife! 

[Thomas Reade] 

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John 15:2 ... Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Hebrews 12:10-11 ... For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

1 Peter 4:12-13 ...  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. ❤

God's Chastening Rod!

They know from whence all their trials spring even from the hand of God Himself! They see their afflictions to be the fruit of their heavenly Father's love, sent for the production of the most gracious ends. They feel within themselves the humbling, sanctifying efficacy of their afflictions. They perceive that their trials are instrumental to the carrying on of God's work within them, and to the enhancing of that weight of glory which shall be granted to them at the last day. They know that their afflictions, of whatever kind they are, "do not spring out of the ground!" (Job 5:6) 

They understand that their trials are all appointed by God in number, weight, measure, and duration. If it is disease of body, it is God who inflicts the wound. If the trial comes from any other quarter, it still is God's chastening rod that strikes us, with a view to our spiritual good, "that we may be made partakers of His holiness. 

They realize that "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." (Hebrews 12:11) 

Our trials, of whatever kind, are to humble us, to purge away our dross, to make us cleave more closely to our Savior, and to fit us for our eternal rest! To view them in this light will greatly compose our minds. Instead of murmuring against the Lord we shall be thankful to Him. Instead of increasing our misery our trials shall be a source of joy. "Hear the rod and the One who appointed it!" (Micah 6:9) 

There is no rod which has not a voice to us. By putting us into His furnace, we shall be purged from our dross, and come out of it as vessels better fitted for His service! (Malachi 3:2-3) Well therefore may the consideration of the end for which afflictions are sent, and of the benefit to be derived from them; reconcile us to the difficulty of them and dispose us patiently to wait for the removal of them. Could Job have foreseen the outcome of his troubles, they would have been deprived of more than half their weight! 

All of our afflictions, of whatever kind they are, will endure but a little time! The Apostle speaks of all, even the heaviest afflictions, as "light and momentary!" "What is your life? You are but a mist that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away!" (James 4:14) And when once this frail life is ended, there is an everlasting termination of all our sorrows! Every genuine believer enters immediately into "God's presence, where there is fullness of joy for evermore!" Into that blissful world, nothing that is afflictive can ever enter to disturb their peace! "God will wipe every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever!" (Revelation 21:4)  

How little will the transient clouds that once occasioned a momentary gloom be remembered, when our dwelling is forever fixed in the full splendor of the Sun of Righteousness. Surely, we need not be much cast down at trials, however painful to flesh and blood when we consider that their duration is but as the twinkling of an eye, and that they will so soon terminate in inconceivable and everlasting felicity! 

[Charles Simeon] 

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 1 Peter 1:6 ... Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

 2 Corinthians 4:17 ... For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; ❤

It Will All End in Mercy!

If you are a sincere believer in Jesus, whatever may be your present difficult circumstances, however trying, however perplexing: "It will all end in mercy!" You may not think so now. You may be writing bitter things against yourself. You may be misinterpreting the designs of God's providence. You may be doubting the precious promises of God's holy Word. But notwithstanding your mistakes, your doubts, your fears, your false conclusions, "It will all end in mercy!" 

You do not think so; nor did Jacob once, nor did Joseph once, nor did Job once nor did thousands once, who are now in glory! They were mistaken, and so are you. They judged by appearances, and so do you. They changed their minds, and so will you. All your troubles are appointed in infinite love! They are all weighed out by sovereign goodness! They are all limited by perfect wisdom! There is no 'chance' in what happens to the Christian! 

Everything is divinely arranged and appointed! Cheer up, my poor weary fellow-traveler! You will soon arrive at Home; and then you will see clearly and enjoy sweetly the blessed truth that to the believer "all will end in mercy!" Take comfort, poor afflicted fellow-Christian! Your afflictions are God's furnace, in which He is refining you! He is only fitting you to occupy a mansion in Heaven, and to sing the sweet and everlasting song—the theme of which will be, "It all ended in mercy!" Fear not, poor feeble, fickle, faltering follower of Jesus! 

Though your faith is weak, though your fears are strong, though your doubts are painful, though you conclude that your case is singular and your condition hopeless; "the year of release is at hand," and then your doubts will expire, your fears will flee away, your groans will be silenced, your feeble hopes will be realized, for "It will all end in mercy!" 

My brother, are you in poverty, under persecution, or in bodily sickness? Cheer up! Your light shall soon "break forth as the morning!" Write it down in your memorandum book or impress it upon your memory. Or what is better still, pray the Holy Spirit to give you the sweet inward assurance of the fact that "It will all end in mercy.

[James Smith]

 

Romans 8:28 ... And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. ❤

God's File and Flail!

What profit is in affliction? 

Afflictions are disciplinary. Afflictions teach us; they are the school of the cross. 

Affliction shows us more of our own hearts. Water in a glass looks clear but set it on the fire and the scum boils up! Just so, when God sets us upon the fire, corruption boils up which we did not discern before. Sharp afflictions are to the soul, as a soaking rain to the house; we do not know that there are holes in the roof until the shower comes, but then we see it drop down here and there. Just so, we do not know what unmortified lusts are in the soul, until the storm of affliction comes, then the hidden evils of the heart come dropping down in many places.  

Affliction is a sacred eye-salve it clears our eyesight. Thus, the rod gives wisdom. Affliction quickens the spirit of prayer. Jonah was asleep in the ship, but at prayer in the whale's belly! Perhaps in a time of health and prosperity we prayed in a cold and formal manner; we put no fire to the incense. Then God sends some affliction or other, to stir us up to take hold of Him. "They poured out a prayer, when Your chastening was upon them." (Isaiah 26:16) In times of trouble we pray feelingly and fervently. 

Affliction is a means to purge out our sins. Affliction cures the pestilence of pride, and the fever of lust. Affliction is God's file, to scrub off our rust. Affliction is God's flail, to thresh off our husks. The water of affliction is not to drown us, but to wash off our spots. 

Affliction is a means to wean us from the world. The world often proves, not only a spider's web, but a cockatrice egg. Corrupting worldly things, are great enchantments. They hinder us in our passage to heaven. Affliction sounds a retreat, to call us off the immoderate pursuit of earthly things. When two things are frozen together, the best way to separate them is by fire; so, when the heart and the world are together God has no better way to separate them than by the fire of affliction. 

Affliction is a means to purify us. It works us up to further degrees of sanctity.

[Thomas Watson] 

Hebrews 12:10-11 ... For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

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