Part 2 – Necessary Sorrow
May I say that it is not the necessary trouble and sorrow that weigh so heavily, it’s the unnecessary trouble and sorrow. For instance, it’s the unnecessary and imaginary trouble and sorrow that do the most damage. David became weary and said, “I shall one day die at the hand of Saul.” And yet, the truth of the matter was that he died in a ripe old age, full of years and a completed ministry – Mary and Martha suffered some unnecessary sorrow. Bible faith will bring you always to the conclusion that our Father never makes a mistake.
“My Father’s way may twist and turn,
My heart may throb and ache,
But in my soul, I’m glad I know
He maketh no mistake.
“My cherished plans may go astray,
My hopes may fade away,
But still I’ll trust my Lord to lead
For He doth know the way.
“Though night be dark and it may seem
That day will never break,
I’ll pin my faith, my all in Him,
He maketh no mistake.
“There’s so much now I cannot see
My eyesight’s far too dim,
But come what may. I’ll simply trust
And leave it all to Him.
“For by and by, the mist will lift
And plain it all He’ll make,
Through all the way, though dark to me,
He made not one mistake.”
Paul said to Timothy, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows,” I Timothy 6: 10. These are unnecessary sorrows for the Christian and yet so much of our time is consumed in fretting and worrying and anxiety concerning money matters and the trifles of this world. God said in Psalm 50:15, “And call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.”
It’s not the trouble and sorrow that bring glory, it’s the faith that brings the Saviour to the scene – It wasn’t the death of Lazarus that brought glory to God, it Was the power of Christ and His Word in the cemetery at Bethany that raised him from the dead. There’s no glory for God in sickness and suffering and death apart from the grace to bear and to give victory and deliverance.
Tears are not a blessing unless they become telescopes through which we see the Saviour. “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved,” Psalm 55:22.
