A Word on Suffering

I think one of the responsibilities of a blogger is to share the wisdom of others on certain issues, especially something as big as suffering. I like to put thoughts of the day on here by Dr Billy Graham and here is another great one:

Suffering teaches us patience. These words were found penned on the wall of a prison cell in Europe: ”I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when I dont feel it. I believe in God even when He is silent.”

The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.

Psalm 145:18

This is my Story – Fanny Crosby

I dont know about you but I love hearing stories about Christians from days gone by who have overcome adversity and rejoiced in Jesus all the more!

My cousin Paul sent me this artice he had done and I thought it was well worth posting!

Frances Jane “Fanny” Crosby (1820-1915) was an American hymn writer and poetess, who wrote over 8,000 hymns during her life.

At the age of just six weeks she had an infection in her eyes. The family doctor was away and another doctor was called for. He recommended hot mustard poultices for her eyes, which destroyed her sight. He left town when he heard the news, and it transpired later that he was not a qualified doctor!

At the age of 14, Fanny went to the Institution for the Blind in New York remaining there for 23 years, 8 as a pupil and 15 as a teacher.

During a revival meeting in a Methodist Church, she trusted the Lord Jesus as her Saviour. She had been concerned about her spiritual condition for some time and that evening the hymn “Alas! And did my Saviour bleed, and did my Sovereign die? was sung. When the line ”Here, Lord, I give myself away” was reached, she said, “My very soul was flooded with celestial light. I sprang to my feet shouting hallelujah! and then for the first time I realised I had been trying to hold the world in one hand and the Lord in the other.”

One time a preacher sympathetically remarked, “I think it is a great pity that the Lord did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon you.” She replied quickly, “Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I should be born blind?” “Why?” asked the surprised preacher. “Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Saviour!”

No wonder she was moved to write the following words:

Blessèd assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour, all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour, all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest
I in my Saviour am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

It Is Well With My Soul

Behind many songs and hymns there are incredible stories that have inspired them. This is especially true of the hymn‘When peace like a river (it is well with my soul).

The hymn was written by a man named Horatio Spafford who lived in the 1800′s. Spafford went through a period of his life where several horrible tragedies befell him. In 1871 his only son died and then soon after his business fell victim of the great Chicago fire, which completely ruined him financially. Then, only two years later, Spafford’s family were on a boat that was Europe bound which tragically sunk after a collision with a sailing boat. All four of Spafford’s daughters died, only his wife survived. All these events took place within a two year time frame. I can’t even begin to imagine how he must have felt with all that he had been through.

It is indeed in the darkest moments of life that God seems to work in the human soul most. As Spafford was on a boat going to visit his wife who had arrived safely in Europe he passed the watery grave that his daughters lay in. As he did, he felt inspired to write the following words:

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

I think it is incredible that he could write these words even after all that he had been through. What a hope during storms, to know that God rules. I hope that as hard times come in all our lives we learn to say with Spafford:

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Our Response to Haiti

I’m sure that all of us have seen the disturbing, life-shattering pictures and reports coming out of Haiti since the earthquake last week.

For all the power man believes they have, there is nothing that the human race can do to prevent events such as these, we are completely at the mercy of God. In light of this we need to be praying for the nation of Haiti and its leaders and the many thousands of destroyed lives.

It is very easy sat from my comfortable room at home typing out this blog to think that actually what has happened in Haiti doesnt really bear any significance on my life.

After the Tsunami 5 years ago, John Piper posted an article and I think these words from it are as true for this tragedy as they were then.

Every deadly calamity is a merciful call from God for the living to repent. That was Jesus’ stunning statement to those who brought him news of calamity. The tower of Siloam had fallen, and 18 people were crushed. What about this, Jesus? they asked. He answered, “Do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13: 4-5).

The point of every deadly calamity is this: Repent. Let our hearts be broken that God means so little to us. Grieve that he is a whipping boy to be blamed for pain, but not praised for pleasure. Lament that he makes headlines only when man mocks his power, but no headlines for ten thousand days of wrath withheld. Let us rend our hearts that we love life more than we love Jesus Christ. Let us cast ourselves on the mercy of our Maker. He offers it through the death and resurrection of his Son.

The tragedy in Haiti, far from being all about us or me, still calls for us to repent of our rejection of God. We could use those same words of Jesus to apply to this situation today, that unless we repent, we too will perish.

Different Lives – Being Aliens and Strangers

This morning I listened to a sermon by Ian Barclay on Romans 12:1-2. I have heard a lot of people explain these two verses before, especially in the context of proving that our worship is not just our singing!

Ian started by looking at the doxology that comes just before in Romans 11: 33-36, this doxology is so brilliant it deserves to be posted here in full:

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

What you realise is that Paul has been clearly talking about some awesome stuff in Romans 1-11 that led him to this conclusion. Ian stated that what Paul has explained and discovered comes in 5 points.

1. Paul explained the legal term of justification, that we are now justified in God’s sight through Christ.

2. We were once slaves to sin, but now we have been freed from the bondage of sin.

3. Christ the Lord has been sacrificed as our propitiation.

4. God has credited Christ’s Righteousness to our account. Our account now overflows with Righteousness because of Jesus.

5. We have been adopted, bought into God’s family through Jesus’ blood.

These 5 amazing truths that are the basis and hope of our whole faith lead us to agree that we need to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. It is no longer the sacrifice of killing an animal, a dead offering, but now our lives are living sacrifices, what a different perspective this puts on everything we do!

This should all mean that we are living different lives, being ‘aliens and strangers in the world‘ as Peter puts it. I know that, today especially, I feel much like an alien in this world of uncertainty, pain and trial. Praise God for those 5 awesome truths that convey real hope for all who trust in Jesus!

Storms…

Sometimes when things are rubbish in life it is really easy to over complicate things and to get into a deeper mess. The easiest thing is, so often, to look to yourself to solve the problem. Below is (yet another!) great thought from Billy Graham on how to deal with storms in life.

Are storms in your life making you afraid?

You can have peace despite the storms

Stay close to Jesus Christ. Read God’s Word. Pray

You will keep in perfect peace
him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

Isaiah 26:3