“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort er ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
February ends and March opens, and the season of Lent continues. I have been living here in this Assisted Living facility for 9 ½ months and while there are times that living in a wheelchair brings about the saying “suffering succotash” when my knuckles smash into the door way while going from here to there. There are many residents here who ‘suffer’ more than I do because they don’t remember their lives being any different. Satan daily reminds me that I am suffering. In the above verses the apostle Paul shares a glimpse of his human frailties and needs. You need to read that entire letter to capture the moving emotion that surged through his soul.
It is in this letter alone that he records the specifics of his anguish, tears, affliction, and satanic opposition. In this letter alone, he spells out the details of his persecution, loneliness, imprisonments, beatings, feelings of despair, hunger, shipwrecks, sleepless nights, and that ‘thorn in the flesh’ that is his companion of pain. During this season of Lent this scripture helps us to better appreciate his suffering and Jesus suffering; and our perceived suffering. And Paul, like Jesus brings us words of comfort; something that we can bring to those we see suffering.
God allows suffering so that we might have the capacity to enter into others' sorrow, affliction and suffering. God also allows suffering so that we might learn what it means to depend on Him, not on our own strength and resources. It forces us to lean on Him totally. I’m well aware that one of the reasons our suffering is prolonged is that we take so long from saying ‘Thank you, Lord’ with an attitude of genuine appreciation. Lord Jesus, Job and I thank You for this situation I am in here sitting in my wheelchair in room 4216. I’m going to close today with the words from the hymn ‘O Word of God Incarnate’ that were written by William How in 1867.
“O Word of God incarnate, O Wisdom from on high, O Truth unchanged, unchanging, O Light of our dark sky; we praise Thee for the radiance that from the hallowed page, a lantern to our footsteps, shines on from age to age. The Church from her dear Master received the gift divine, and still that light she lifteth o’er all the earth to shine; it is the golden treasure where gems of truth are stored; it is the heaven-drawn picture of Christ, the living Word. It floateth like a banner before God’s host unfurled; it shineth like a beacon above the darkling world; it is the chart and compass that, o’er life’s surging sea, ’mid mists and rocks and quicksands still guide, O Christ, to Thee. O make Thy Church, dear Savior, a lampstand of pure gold, to bear before the nations Thy light, that all behold; O teach Thy wandering pilgrims by this their path to trace, till, clouds and darkness ended, they see Thee face to face.”
Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you,
Jay