12/15/2023 – Comfort! Comfort, my people!
Isaiah 40: “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your God. 2 “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended,That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the Lord’s hand Double for all her sins.” 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; 5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Our life in Christ is completely different from life without Christ. It must be. Yet sometimes the differences are not immediately evident. On the surface, in so many ways the life of a person who has been born of the Spirit is like any other life. One of the areas of apparent similarity is the area of suffering. Even though we are in Christ, as long as we are in the world, we will suffer afflictions. Our unity to Christ, our service to Christ does not exempt us…does not make us immune to sickness. We face trouble at home and at work. We get into accidents. One of the most pressing questions for the people of faith is: why do the righteous suffer?
Yes, the righteous suffer…but the difference is in the outcome, the effect of the suffering. For those who are in Christ, every suffering has a good purpose, designed by God for His glory and for our blessing. We must keep as a standard before us Romans 8:28 (All things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose).
Christ warned His disciples that in this world we would face affliction (John 16:33). But the effect of that affliction will be His victory manifested in our lives!
Christ redeems our suffering through a specific work, which is one of the most important works of God in our lives: the work of consolation. The prophetic word appears often confrontational, and it does confront us with our sin. It does not hide the truth of God’s wrath and the punishment for our sin. But the word of God does not stop there. The essence of the prophetic message is that God will provide a way for forgiveness through repentance…that God will restore all that you have lost. He will heal every wound. He will dry every tear and will truly make everything all right!