I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.”
“The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:1,24
Jeremiah knew that a Christian’s life has two sides:
(1) Our afflictions – however many and severe they may be .
(2) Our redemption from our corruptions.
Jeremiah experienced that God permits afflictions to come upon us, yea, he even suffered under that which he knew that God had sent. This can create a great conflict in our way of thinking. We may have difficulty in reasoning these things out.
But we must, as a human being, remember the rock from whence we are all hewn and in what world we live in. God did not invent sin, thus His actions are not responsible for our corruptions and mortality. God’s hand can often be seen in association with our sufferings. Jeremiah suffered as a result of God’s judgment upon his society. Even though God sent judgments that were adversely felt, it was merely a response on God’s part to the spiritual condition of Jeremiah’s countrymen.
Knowing Christ as our Saviour from our sin condition, enables us to recognize what we see happening: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 No matter how tough things are, we are able to recognize that the reason things are not a whole lot worse, is due to Divine mercy.
These two sides of life that a Christian can see in and of ourselves, are also witnessed in the life of Christ. Being the Divine Son of God never exempted Him from sorrow and suffering. But, Christ’s sufferings were due to the spiritual condition of the world into which He came. He had to bear these sufferings. But, God used them for His perfection, as He did for Job and has promised to do for us, as we remain unwavering in our faith towards Him: “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:7 By faith, a Christian can see that our worst trials and tribulations are far better for us than if we had won the biggest Super Lotto! “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Thus we have hope in our experiences, no matter how severe!
SHARING
