Being a student in Faith Bible Seminary\u2019s M.Div. program, I tend to compartmentalize the year based on the school-year\u2019s semester schedule. Final exams and papers are complete and the spring semester is over, and now things are shifting to the summer semester courses.<\/p>\n
As I think back over this past semester, there are many things that stand out to me. One of those things is the amount of hardship that took place in the lives of certain people I know. Memories come back to me like they were yesterday. I can remember the shock and heavy heart that I felt as I heard of the different circumstances that people were going through: multiple people who lost their fathers to terminal illnesses, a friend whose baby daughter was miscarried, a young man being shot by a fellow classmate at Purdue, another Purdue student whose mother and sister were murdered, a son dying at the prime of his life, a best friend passing away, and many other hardships that were experienced by the members of Faith Church. The list could go on and on.<\/p>\n
I personally would have to say that I have not experienced a great deal of suffering compared to most people. God graciously decided that, up to this point in my life, I would not experience such pain and loss of losing someone very close to me. This does not mean that my life does not have this on the horizon, but it is up to me to trust the Lord\u2019s plan for my life as I move forward.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Even though I have not experienced the same circumstances that these people have experienced, that does not mean that I cannot encourage them with truth from God\u2019s Word. The Bible is very clear that God is the source of all comfort in times of pain and suffering, and He gives us comfort so that we may share the same comfort with others.<\/p>\n \u201c3 Blessed\u00a0be\u00a0the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and\u00a0God of all comfort,\u00a04\u00a0who\u00a0comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.\u00a05\u00a0For just\u00a0as the sufferings of Christ are\u00a0ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n – 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (NASB)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n One of the many comforts that we can share with people who are going through hardship and suffering is this: God\u2019s grace is enough for us to get through the day because we can depend on His promises. When life seems to be going along just fine, getting through the day tends to be something in the back of our minds. For those who are experiencing loss, getting through the day without losing hope can be a struggle. When our world seems to be crashing down, it is in that <\/span>time of testing<\/span> that we must choose what we will look to<\/span> for our foundation of hope in the midst of sadness.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Apart from God and the hope of salvation through Jesus Christ, this life can look very grim indeed. And when one looks at the big picture of their life, it can be discouraging because we wonder where the purpose of life is. But, with Jesus in our lives as our Lord and Savior from our sin, we have purpose. We have hope that there is joy during, and at the end, of this life. When we see the depth of our sin, and then see that grace is available to us through Christ\u2019s sacrifice, there is great joy to be found.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The apostle Paul was a man who was very accustomed to hardship and suffering, but he still found his hope in God\u2019s grace. He rested in the fact that God\u2019s grace remained over him so that he was no longer condemned before God for his sin (Romans 8:1), and he also found hope in the fact that God would not give him more than he could handle. In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Paul recalls a personal hardship that was difficult to accept. He asked God to take it away from him. God did respond, but He did not take it away. Instead, He gave Paul a much greater hope: \u201cMy grace is sufficient for you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c9 And He has said to me,\u00a0\u2018My grace is sufficient for you, for\u00a0power is perfected in weakness.\u2019\u00a0Most gladly, therefore, I will rather\u00a0boast\u00a0about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.\u00a010\u00a0Therefore\u00a0I am well content with weaknesses, with\u00a0insults, with\u00a0distresses, with persecutions, with\u00a0difficulties,\u00a0for Christ\u2019s sake; for\u00a0when I am weak, then I am strong.\u201d<\/p>\n – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As we read this passage in times of suffering, it can be hard to see God\u2019s grace for what it is. Our immediate surroundings are very evident while, what God is doing in the midst of it, can be not as obvious. But, we can rest assured that God\u2019s grace is enough because of what God\u2019s Word says. If we are in Christ, He cares for us with a love that cannot be matched. The cross is the biggest evidence of that. God adopted us so that we can receive the greatest gift of all; namely Himself.<\/p>\n If you are going through hardship, be encouraged that God\u2019s grace is enough. And if you know someone going through hardship, be sure to remind them of that. God cannot be limited by anything. He is infinite and perfect. He is just and full of love. His grace is greater than we can ever imagine.<\/p>\n I want to leave this post with a quote from C.H. Spurgeon that sums up the magnitude and sufficiency of God\u2019s grace in such a beautiful way. I find it encouraging and have shared it with others in hopes that they would be uplifted as well:<\/p>\n “The other evening I was riding home after a heavy day’s work; I felt very wearied and sore depressed, when swiftly and suddenly as a lightning flash that text came to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee.’ I reached home and looked it up in the original, and at last it came to me in this way. ‘My grace is sufficient for THEE,’ and I said, ‘I should think it is, Lord,’ and burst out laughing. I never fully understood what the holy laughter of Abraham was until then. It seemed to make unbelief so absurd. It was as though some little fish, being very thirsty, was troubled about drinking the [Thames] river dry, and Father Thames said, ‘Drink away, little fish, my stream is sufficient for thee.’ Or it seemed like a little mouse in the granaries of Egypt, after the seven years of plenty, fearing it might die of famine. Joseph might say, ‘Cheer up, little mouse, my granaries are sufficient for thee.’ Again, I imagined a man away up yonder on a lofty mountain, saying to himself, ‘I breathe so many cubic feet of air every year, I fear I shall exhaust the oxygen in the atmosphere;’ but the earth might say, ‘Breathe away, O man, and fill thy lungs ever, my atmosphere is sufficient for thee.’ Oh, brethren, be great believers!<\/strong> Little faith will bring your souls to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your souls.<\/strong>”<\/p>\n \u2013 C.H. Spurgeon. Quoted from Personal Reminiscences of Charles Haddon Spurgeon<\/i> by W. Williams<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"God’s Grace<\/h2>\n
Good Company<\/h2>\n
Joy For The Soul<\/h2>\n