Recently I had the privilege of hearing Mark Talbot speak on suffering. I really appreciated what he had to say about one of the amazing things that God accomplishes in our trials...
"By being joyful in faith, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer, we witness to a redemption that is yet to be completed. And thus we display to a watching world that the normal travails that humans undergo in this world (including even things such as the loss of our health, the loss of our life work, the loss of our loved ones, or even the impending loss of our very lives) do not need to lead to cursing or despair. We display that our hope lies elsewhere and thus the eyes of the watching world are lifted off of us to look with us to the return of a glorious Savior!"
He also reminded us that we are not to expect our life here to be our "best days". Though I've experienced many days of blessing, better days, by far, not even worthy of comparison, are coming when we see Jesus face to face! These trials make us give up our improper optimism about finding ultimate joy and satisfaction in this life, and instead force us to find our hope, peace, rest, deep-seated joy and satisfaction in the Lord Jesus Christ ALONE. Those who seek all that in Him will never be disappointed!
He also reminded us that we are not to expect our life here to be our "best days". Though I've experienced many days of blessing, better days, by far, not even worthy of comparison, are coming when we see Jesus face to face! These trials make us give up our improper optimism about finding ultimate joy and satisfaction in this life, and instead force us to find our hope, peace, rest, deep-seated joy and satisfaction in the Lord Jesus Christ ALONE. Those who seek all that in Him will never be disappointed!
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