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Sorrow With Hope, March 16
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
.
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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