Everyone who sees me mocks me. They sneer and shake their heads
saying, "Is this the one who relies on the LORD? Then let the LORD save
him! If the LORD loves him so much, let the LORD rescue him!" (Ps.
22:7-8).
When someone is seriously ill, we think of it as a
terrible trial. But emotional and spiritual suffering is worse. We
experience emotional suffering when someone betrays or rejects us. We
may feel that God has deserted us.
This is just what happened to
the writer of today's Scripture. It was bad enough coping with
sickness. It was a terrible feeling that God had forsaken him. But when
his so-called friends mocked him because he trusted God, it was too
much. In their opinion, the only reason why people believed in God was
to have someone help them when they were in trouble. So they ridiculed
him and this made his suffering even harder to bear. The words and
attitude of his friends showed a total lack of love.
When you
are seriously ill,some of your "Christian" friends will probably tell
you that your condition is caused by a lack of faith. Jesus suffered -
and He definitely didn't lack faith in His Father. Others might say that
you must have done something terrible to suffer God's wrath in this
way. Both wicked and good people suffer. Don't allow anyone to add
spiritual suffering to your physical pain by planting seeds of doubt in
your mind that your faith is not strong enough. Ignore them and hold on
to Jesus through good times and bad.
I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess.
~ Corrie ten Boom ~
Saint James Assembly of Faith
No comments:
Post a Comment