(J. R. Miller, "The Lesson of Love" 1903)
2 Corinthians 12:7
So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
We often think we could do better--if we were directing the affairs of our own lives. We think, “if things were in my hands I could get more happiness and greater good out of life” -- We would at once eliminate everything that is painful and unpleasant in our lives. We would have only prosperities, with no adversities; only joys, with no sorrows. We would exclude all pain and trouble from our life. Our days would all be sunny, with blue skies--and no clouds or storms. Our paths would all be soft and easy, without thorns or any rough places. We think we would be happier, if we could direct our own affairs, and leave out the painful, the bitter, the adverse, and the sorrowful.
And this is what most of us would probably say at first, before we had a chance to consider the question deeply and considered the final result. But really, if we would have the direction of the affairs, and the shaping of the experiences of our lives, put into our own hands, it would be the greatest misfortune that could come to us in this world. For we have no wisdom to know what is best for ourselves. Often we only consider our immediate circumstances. Today is not all there is to this life--there is a long future, perhaps many years in this world, and then immortality hereafter. What would give us greatest pleasure today--might cause us harm in days to come. Present gratification might cost us untold loss and hurt in the future.
We want pleasure, plenty, and prosperity--but perhaps we need pain, self-denial, and the giving up of things that we greatly prize. We shrink from suffering, from sacrifice, from struggle--but perhaps these are the very experiences which will do the most good for us, which will best mature our Christian graces, which will fit us for the largest service to God and mankind.
We should always remember that the object of living here, is not merely to have present comfort, to get along with the least trouble, to gather the most we can of the world's treasures, to win the brightest fame. We are here to grow into the beauty of Christ, and to do the portion of God's will that belongs to us!
There is something wonderfully inspiring in the thought, that God has a purpose for our lives, for each life. Each one of us has something God wants us to do and some place He wants us to fill. All through our lives we are in the hands of God, who chooses our place and orders our circumstances, and makes all things work together for our good--and His glory. It is the highest honor that could be conferred upon us, to occupy such a place in the thought of God. We cannot doubt that His way for us is better than ours, since He is infinitely wiser than we are, and loves us so.
It may be painful and hard--but in the pain and the hardness, there is blessing. In this life, we will never fully know the reasoning of the divine mind for the pains and sufferings that come into our lives, or what God's design for us is, in these present trials. Yet without discovering any reasons at all, however, we may still trust God, who loves us with an infinite love--and whose wisdom also is infinite!
When we get to heaven, we shall know that God has made no mistake in anything He has done for us, however He may have broken into our plans--and spoiled our pleasant dreams! It should be reason for measureless gratitude, that our lives are not in our own poor feeble hands--but in the hands of our infinitely wise and loving Father!
"My times are in Your hands!" Psalm 31:15
2 Corinthians 12:7So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
We often think we could do better--if we were directing the affairs of our own lives. We think, “if things were in my hands I could get more happiness and greater good out of life” -- We would at once eliminate everything that is painful and unpleasant in our lives. We would have only prosperities, with no adversities; only joys, with no sorrows. We would exclude all pain and trouble from our life. Our days would all be sunny, with blue skies--and no clouds or storms. Our paths would all be soft and easy, without thorns or any rough places. We think we would be happier, if we could direct our own affairs, and leave out the painful, the bitter, the adverse, and the sorrowful.
And this is what most of us would probably say at first, before we had a chance to consider the question deeply and considered the final result. But really, if we would have the direction of the affairs, and the shaping of the experiences of our lives, put into our own hands, it would be the greatest misfortune that could come to us in this world. For we have no wisdom to know what is best for ourselves. Often we only consider our immediate circumstances. Today is not all there is to this life--there is a long future, perhaps many years in this world, and then immortality hereafter. What would give us greatest pleasure today--might cause us harm in days to come. Present gratification might cost us untold loss and hurt in the future.
We want pleasure, plenty, and prosperity--but perhaps we need pain, self-denial, and the giving up of things that we greatly prize. We shrink from suffering, from sacrifice, from struggle--but perhaps these are the very experiences which will do the most good for us, which will best mature our Christian graces, which will fit us for the largest service to God and mankind.
We should always remember that the object of living here, is not merely to have present comfort, to get along with the least trouble, to gather the most we can of the world's treasures, to win the brightest fame. We are here to grow into the beauty of Christ, and to do the portion of God's will that belongs to us!
There is something wonderfully inspiring in the thought, that God has a purpose for our lives, for each life. Each one of us has something God wants us to do and some place He wants us to fill. All through our lives we are in the hands of God, who chooses our place and orders our circumstances, and makes all things work together for our good--and His glory. It is the highest honor that could be conferred upon us, to occupy such a place in the thought of God. We cannot doubt that His way for us is better than ours, since He is infinitely wiser than we are, and loves us so.
It may be painful and hard--but in the pain and the hardness, there is blessing. In this life, we will never fully know the reasoning of the divine mind for the pains and sufferings that come into our lives, or what God's design for us is, in these present trials. Yet without discovering any reasons at all, however, we may still trust God, who loves us with an infinite love--and whose wisdom also is infinite!
When we get to heaven, we shall know that God has made no mistake in anything He has done for us, however He may have broken into our plans--and spoiled our pleasant dreams! It should be reason for measureless gratitude, that our lives are not in our own poor feeble hands--but in the hands of our infinitely wise and loving Father!
"My times are in Your hands!" Psalm 31:15
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