“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” (Isaiah 53:4, KJV)
Something dawned on me during the worship service on Sunday. As many know, I have been dealing with bladder cancer for somewhat short of a year now. This has included three surgeries, chemo treatments to the bladder, numerous cystoscopies (bladder scopes), biopsies, CT Scans, an MRI, and a PET Scan. The diagnostic scans, cystoscopies, biopsies, and even the chemo treatments for the bladder have not been that bad. On the other hand, the surgeries have resulted in some uncomfortable irritation which have taken sometime to get over. Yet, individually while all these things have been tolerable, the combination of it all has begun to wear on me.
So, I began to internally and probably on one or more occasions verbally complained like this. “I am tired of it and want to come to the end of the process of all the appointments, tests, and procedures. I just would like life to get back to normal.”
Saturday in a men’s group that I lead once a week and Sunday during the morning sermon, the Lord spoke to me in a special way. Let me first explain how the Lord spoke to me on Sunday. You see, regardless of how much suffering or pain I have endured through the surgeries and other procedures, nothing comes even close to comparing to the agony Christ suffered on the cross. Isaiah recorded that He bore all our “our griefs, and carried our sorrows.” What Jesus endured for us pales in comparison to anything we can endure or imagine in this life. I guess that experiencing this suffering perhaps gives me a humble perspective of the agony of the cross. My savior Jesus loved us so much that He endured the infinite suffering of all our physical pain, our emotional distress, and the suffering of the guilt and punishment for our sin. My present sufferings have blessed me with a greater love for what my Savior endured for me.
During my meeting with the men on Saturday, I realized something else. We have been going through the book of James and discussing the applications in it. We looked at James 5:7-11, where James instructed on being patient in suffering. The following verses spoke to me in a particular way.
“Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” (James 5:10–11, KJV)
We went back to James 1 and read the following again.
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2–4, ESV)
So, I concluded that the Lord was using this to strengthen me. Apparently, I still fall infinitely far from the perfect image of our beautiful Savior. So, I take comfort in the fact that the Lord is still working through the struggles of the present to bring me closer to that glorious image.
Then again Sunday we heard of Paul’s requesting for the thorn in his flesh to be removed three times. The Lord’s answer to that request and Paul’s response were profound.
“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9, KJV)
The Lord allows us to go through times of suffering, but He has never left us or forgotten us in those times. Moreover, He is doing something in us beyond what we can fully comprehend. My friends we have a glorious future and for that we should be thankful.
Renewing the Heart 