The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
“The Pleasant and the Painful”
“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” (Isaiah 53:1-2).
At present in God’s eternal purposes, the Lord Jesus Christ does not always appear in appealing ways to our hearts and minds. Certainly He blesses us in modes and measures that bring smiles to our faces and happiness to our hearts. However, we presently require Him to act in ways far from pleasing for the fulfillment of His will and our ultimate best interests.
“We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).
Our Heavenly Father must administer and allow challenges in order to initially bring us to Himself, and to thereafter maintain our walk of faith and faithfulness. Thereby, we recognize our need for Him, discovering His character and nature in ways happy blessedness cannot reveal. The Lord - “full of compassion” - doubtless takes no pleasure in seeing our sufferings, of whatever mode and measure (Psalm 86:15). He doesn’t even “have pleasure in the death of the wicked” (Ezekiel 33:11). God knows, however, our present need for the experience of His love that may seem anything but. “Through much tribulation” serves as our Father’s devoted care for us no less than “the Lord will bless His people with peace” (Psalm 29:11). It will never feel this way, of course. But it will always be this way.
The day will come when “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4). This is not that day. No, this is the day wherein we require the blessing of the pleasant and the painful. Both flow with the current of our Father’s devoted love and perfect purpose. One will be the obvious expression of such favor through Christ. The other will seem less so, and perhaps even contradictory to God’s grace and mercy. May we therefore heed the Holy Spirit’s witness by the Word He inspired that all things do, in fact, work together for good to those who love the Lord (Romans 8:28-29). Our Father’s ultimate purpose of fully conforming us to the spiritual and moral image of Christ could never be fulfilled by happy blessing alone. And of this we can be sure: He will not be deterred in fulfilling such a glorious purpose…
“Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
(Philippians 1:6)
“We glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience, experience; and experience, hope, and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
(Romans 5:3-5)
Weekly Memory Verse
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
(Revelation 21:4)
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