“Through Their Tears"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…

"Through Their Tears"       

     

     If we could find the born again believer who presently most experiences the peace and joy of the Lord Jesus Christ, might he or she dwell in a palace or a prison?  On a bed of rest or of pain?  By a still pond or a raging river?  Gazing upon vistas of beauty from a lofty summit, or looking up from a dark chasm?

    We do not know the answer.  God can be known in all circumstances, situations, and conditions.  However, David gives us a clue of that which may well be the case:

    "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1).

     The Bible never affirms our Lord to be "very" present in our pleasures.  Only in our troubles.  Again, this does not preclude the blessedness of our blessings.  Happy moments are gifts from the Heavenly Father who loves to please His trusting children.  He will do so in eternity to come, when every tear will have been wiped away and a forever of indescribable joy in His direct presence graces us with "the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge" (Ephesians 3:19).  We all rightly look forward to such an eternal state of blessing.  Presently, however, God must be known in both happy and difficult moments.  Again, the Psalmist declares the "very" of our Lord's presence not in the former, but in the latter.

    Somewhere just now, a brother or sister in Christ likely draws closest to the peace of the Lord Jesus from a venue that may seem to offer no pathway to such grace.  It does, however.  The Apostle Paul wrote of a "peace which passeth all understanding" known by those who in their trials pray and supplicate with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6-7).  Such tranquility can only be known in pain and difficulty.  Indeed, peace in pleasure is understandable.  Peace that passes understanding can only be known in conditions where it seems peace cannot be.  Herein we see the "very" presence of our Father in trouble.  His heart goes forth to hurting sons and daughters.  For those who will direct their weeping eyes to look upon Him, the Prince of peace shines ever more brightly through their tears.  Thus, the prison, the bed of pain, the raging river, and the dark chasm would be the best venues to search for the believer who in this hour most knows the peace and joy of our Savior.  The Prince, the Prince of Peace, is that faithful, that willing, that able, and that present - "very" present - in those places of challenge He Himself knows so well…

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

 (John 16:33)

"As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing."

(II Corinthians 6:10)

Weekly Memory Verse

    Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

(Galatians 6:2)