Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
A few days ago I had to go to the hospital in the middle of the night for what I will call a “medical incident.” Don’t worry, I’m fine, and it turned out to be nothing serious in the end, but at the time I felt very, very ill and was very, very worried. But as the verse above says, the God of all comfort comforts us in our affliction, and as I sat in the taxi and then in the hospital waiting room, I found various Bible verses just floating into my mind.
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20b)
I drew strength from knowing that Christ was with me anywhere I went that night, even as we careened through the streets of Accra at 1am. Certain parts of Accra are surprisingly lively in the middle of the night…
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
It wasn’t directly related to my situation, but somehow this verse kept popping up into my mind repeatedly. I drew two messages from this verse. First, our lives are not our own. As the Bible says, we were bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20) and our times are in His hands (Psalm 31:15). It’s up to God to determine whether we live or die according to His love and purpose for us.
Secondly, Jesus loved us enough to give His own life up for us. Whatever happens to us in this life, we must remember that someone who loved us enough to go that far will never act in anything other than our best interests, eternally speaking. Even when we don’t understand what’s going on we should trust in that much.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
The love of Christ was the theme of the Accra Reformed Conference in 2016. I thought I appreciated the message at the time, but strangely enough it meant much more to me when I could barely keep my head up than when I was sitting comfortably in a church pew. Or maybe it’s not so strange, because as another verse that came to mind says,
It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. (Psalm 119:71)
Earlier that evening when I was feeling fine (oh, how quickly circumstances can change), my mind was on every other thing but God’s word. On my schedule, on my plans for the weekend, on money, on business… It took disaster striking to focus my mind back on Christ like a sharp knife cutting away unneeded fat.
If God were a human being he would say “Ahaa, so you have remembered me now, eh?” But praise be to God that He is not like us. Instead of letting times of affliction distract and confuse us, I pray we will use them as an opportunity to drive us and our hearts back to God. And I’m praying for myself that this focus on the things of God will remain even now that I am feeling so much better by God’s mercy.
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride (Isaac Watts).
Last but not least, this beautiful hymn by Isaac Watts that I hummed to myself once I was feeling well enough to hum. Why that hymn? I don’t know. I like it well enough but it has never been one of my favourites. Perhaps it was my way of reminding myself of what really matters in this world and in our lives.
Conclusion
Don’t wait till you get into trouble to call on the name of the Lord. But trouble can’t be avoided in this world, the Lord Jesus told us as much (John 16:33). That’s why, as the opening verse said, I wanted to share with you the comfort that God gave me. It is my hope that you will be comforted in your own times of distress and will be able in turn to comfort others.
Grace be with you all.