By Lee Roy Anderson
Can suffering be a blessing? Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:4. Jesus in His sermon on the mount taught this God principle: God blesses those who mourn for they will be comforted. A translation could be made; blessed or happy are those who suffer the brokenhearted, for they shall be comforted. This is a promise in the Old Testament. Isaiah 81:1. The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearth, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. See Luke 7:22-23. Hardship and suffering force us to evaluate our life priorities. Life is fleeting. Years slide away quickly leaving us at death’s door.
Hardship and suffering can spur us forward to make better choices of how we will spend our short time here in this life. Suffering helps us have a realistic appraisal of life. Life is a risk-taking adventure filled with both good and bad experiences. We have choices when it comes to our responses to personal life situations. We can walk forward with God by our side or we can walk alone. If we are using our eyes of faith we can identify and encounter God through any heartache. Because of the redemptive value of Christ’s suffering on the cross we can see that God can take our human suffering and use it in a redemptive way. We never have to face trials alone. Sins can be forgiven. A heavenly home can be anticipated. By simple faith we can have a wounded Healer as a precious friend who never leaves us. The old rugged cross testifies to Christ’s understanding of our needs and the empty tomb willfulness to His unlimited presence, power, and grace to love and support daily.
We are comforted in our suffering because we have an understanding savior. See, John, 11:35. Jesus wept and we also have a strengthening God. See, Philippians 4:19. This same God will take care of me and supply all my needs from His glorious riches. Christ will walk with us. Let us remember that a broken heart can do two things. It can receive a kindness from others and it can show us our need for God’s comfort and compassion. It certainly is true that no one understands like Jesus. Casting all your care upon him for he careth for you. 1 Peter. A teacher once asked her children’s Sunday school class to define the Gospel understanding of the words, “my yoke is easy”, several answers were offered, but one sweet little girl said, “It is God putting His arms around our necks.” This is the blessedness of those who suffer.
