August 17, 2008

Suffering is an inescapable part of life in a fallen world. If we are not suffering presently, we will certainly encounter it at some point. We must prepare our hearts and minds to approach suffering with faith in God. Three anchors serve to help us hold firm in times of suffering. First, we know that God is sovereign over all things, even our suffering. Second, we know that God uses our suffering, for his own glory but also for our own good, to produce the peaceful fruit of righteousness in us. Finally, we know that God answers prayer, and we do not simply pray to endure our suffering, but we persistently appeal to him in faith to deliver us from it. God is near to us in our suffering, and desires that we would turn to him as our only refuge in suffering.