Devotionals | You Are Not the Only One

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Rejoicing and being thankful is not so easy when

one has recently experienced a divorce
your baby, your precious one, died suddenly
you feel like you would rather die than have another treatment for your physical challenge
you are all alone in a nursing home and you feel as if no one knows that you exist
you are on the verge of bankruptcy and may become homeless
your child is suffering and there is nothing you can do to help them
you are so depressed that there is no tunnel or a light
you have lost a loved one to addiction or death
you are feeling all alone, and there is nowhere to go

If you are facing anyone these situations, it appears to be insane to tell you to “rejoice” and “give thanks.” We experience these events in our lives because we must be able to give God the glory regardless of what we are facing–good times or bad– He still remain our Jehovah Jireh.

Sometimes I have to think about “what is it that I am supposed to be gaining from this situation?” “How can I bring glory to His name when I am in so much pain I am almost going out of my mind?” “How can I glorify Him when my friend just lost her baby?”

Invariably He reminds me that He reminds me that he has experienced the same thing.

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. [God is describing what Jesus looked like after he had been beaten by the soldiers of Pilate – because of my sins.] ³He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. [Again, standing before Pilate for His trial what happened? ]” “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” [“He was despised”] Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”[“He was rejected.”]Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.”

And it continues

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, [Can you imagine smiting your own children so that people who hate you can live?] and afflicted.

Here is why we can count it all joy. God the one who designed every single atom in our bodies, the bodies of the animals, plans and earth thing that exists upon this earth chose to have His son bruised, wounded, chastised, brutalized, and at the final moment – He God could not stand to look at it anymore so He God turned His back on His son and walked away the pain that He God experienced was great! (See the theological thesis of “The Suffering of Christ on the Cross in the Theology of Jürgen Moltmann.

But he was wounded for our transgressions,

he was bruised for our iniquities:

the chastisement of our peace was upon him;

and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; [even though we rejected Him] and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

What happens when we experience oppression? Today we post it all on social media and what should happen to the person who has caused that oppression. What did the man Jesus do?

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. DEATH CAME ⁹And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

He suffered so we could be justified? Is it possible that in our suffering He could be glorified and an unbeliever’s doubts erased because they see our example of His patience, His long-suffering, His joy! It is not easy to count it all joy when one is suffering. However, today we have Christian radio to listen to. We can listen and worship in our mind if we have no voice. We can praise Him is our actions by loving someone who needs to know that someone loves them.

We can glorify Him in our praise and joy even when all hell has broken loose in our lives because we know that “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me, ”Says the Lord.” (Isa 54:17 NKJV).

We can thank Him for His promise of perfect peace, healing, and joy (Colossians 1:20). We can thank Him for his duplicitous blessing of (i) peace with God (Romans 5:1); and (ii) the peace of God (Philippians 4:7). He keeps us in perfect peace through our t is the one: (1) “whose mind is [consistent in our relationship with Him]”; and (2) “those who trust in Him.” Both expressed knowledge of faith and faith lived out gives us the ability to rejoice in the good times and also in the bad times.