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Sorrow With Hope, June 29
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning
them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which
have no hope.
1 Thessalonians 4:13
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To the afflicted ones I would say, be of good comfort in the hope of
the resurrection morning. The waters of which you have been drinking
are as bitter to your taste as were the waters of Marah to the children
of Israel in the wilderness, but Jesus can make them so sweet with His
love....
God has provided a balm for every wound. There is a balm in Gilead,
there is a Physician there. Will you not now as never before study the
Scriptures? Seek the Lord for wisdom in every emergency. In every
trial plead with Jesus to show you a way out of your troubles, then your
eyes will be opened to behold the remedy and to apply to your case the
healing promises that have been recorded in His Word. In this way the
enemy will find no place to lead you into mourning and unbelief, but
instead you will have faith and hope and courage in the Lord. The Holy
Spirit will give you clear discernment that you may see and appropriate
every blessing that will act as an antidote to grief, as a branch of healing
to every draught of bitterness that is placed to your lips. Every draught
of bitterness will be mingled with the love of Jesus, and in place of
complaining of the bitterness, you will realize that Jesus’ love and grace
are so mingled with sorrow that it has been turned into subdued, holy,
sanctified joy.
When Henry White, our eldest son, lay dying, he said, “A bed of
pain is a precious place when we have the presence of Jesus.” When
we are obliged to drink of the bitter waters, turn away from the bitter
to the precious and the bright. In trial grace can give the human soul
assurance, and when we stand at the deathbed and see how the Christian
can bear suffering and go through the valley of death, we gather strength
... and we fail not, neither are we discouraged in leading souls to Jesus.
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