The Profit

Ps.119:71 “My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees. 72. Your instructions are more valuable to me than millions in gold and silver.”

Matthew Henry says, “Every tear of sorrow sown by the righteous springs up a pearl.” Every tear of sorrow sown by a child of God will only bring forth precious stones in all ramifications. You get promoted in every area, on every side. David said, ‘it was good that I was afflicted’. Have you come out of a situation and said, thank God I went through that? It was not pleasant, but you are totally grateful for the results the experience has produced.

It is at times of pain and suffering that we realize and appreciate our dependence on God. It is in times of pain and suffering that we actually depend on God the most. When everybody deserts you. All the people that are saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.” When they turn around and say, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” When you see that it is actually only Jesus you have, then you begin to grow spiritually. When all your business contacts fail you or when all the office politics crumbles. You discover that it is only Jesus you have. Then you begin to discover, as Tim Keller puts it, that Jesus is all that you need. Because you do not really know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.

It is unfortunate to see people that are down to nothing, and all they are still seeking is people’s approval. It just means they have not learnt, and they need to have a carry-over, a do-over. When you are down to nothing and you still have not discovered that Jesus is all you need, then you are to be pitied. But when you get to that point when you discover that Jesus is all you have; you really see Jesus as all you have and embrace Jesus as all you have. You will realize that at the end of the day, Jesus is all you need. Jesus, that is all, because in Him is life and the life is the light of men, and the light shines in darkness and darkness does not comprehend it. Through Christ you have everything. When you go through pain, it should lead to promotion and glory.

What can we learn from the life of Jesus and from how He dealt with the pain and the inevitability of the cross? What can we learn from how Jesus took the pain and turned it to glory? How did Jesus survive it? The first thing we learn from Matt.26:36-46 (please read) is, you have to embrace pain. How does pain lead to a promotion? Embrace it. Pain is your friend. Say it aloud, pain is my friend.  

Prayer (song): You’re all I want. You’re all I’ve ever needed. You’re all I want. Help me know you are near. Amen!