Purpose in Pain – Isaiah 38:17

Indeed, it was for my own welfare
that I had such great bitterness;
but Your love has delivered me
from the Pit of destruction,
for You have thrown all my sins behind Your back.

---

Can we truly see the good in our suffering and struggle? Can we endure the struggles Father God allows us to experience in order to be able to rejoice in His goodness and blessing even more fully? The bitterness we face, the struggles we endure, the difficulties of this life only accentuate the great blessings of God and the wondrous joy of Heaven that awaits us. They simply contrast the amazing blessing we have in the forgiveness of sins. He has thrown our sins behind His back. They are at the bottom of the sea. They are separated from us as far as the east is from the west. Our difficulties are for ‘our own welfare’.

Lord Jesus, you know how grievously I have failed in this lately. Ill health and my increased awareness of the brevity of this life have troubled my spirit. Age is no friend to the body. Please give me the strength to endure to the end that I may live with You into eternity with the crown of Life You have secured and promised.