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A cup of love!
(John
MacDuff, "Gleams from the Sick Chamber" 1882)
"But what could I say? For He Himself had sent this
sickness. Now I will walk humbly throughout my years
because of this anguish I have felt." Isaiah 38:15
God Himself has mixed your bitter cup, and led
you to your 'Gethsemane of suffering'.
All your sufferings . . .
the existence of them,
the duration of them,
the intensity of them,
are appointed by your heavenly Father.
"Though now for a little while, if need be, you may
have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials." 1 Peter 1:6
Your heavenly Father
can inflict no unnecessary pang.
You may presently be pain-stricken, and woe-worn.
There is a divine necessity for your present "fiery trial."
No drop in the cup can be spared! "I will
correct you
in measure." Your heavenly Father, tenderer and more
loving than the tenderest earthly parent, tempers the
fury of the flames, saying, "Thus far shall you go, and
no farther."
Happy for you, that you can write "if need be" . . .
over that severest hour of distress,
over every night of throbbing temples,
over sleepless eyes,
over every fresh thorn sent to buffet,
over every heavy cross sent to carry.
When we are assured that nothing which is
appointed by our Father can come to us wrongly,
our cup of suffering becomes a cup of love!
"Shall I not drink the cup my Father has
given me?" John 18:11
"For our light and momentary troubles are
achieving for us an eternal glory that far
outweighs them all." 2 Corinthians 4:17
What verse is more soothing sight for a suffering
couch, or for a dying pillow? What verse is more
consolatory for a weary, burdened body? and above
all, for a weary, burdened, sin-stricken heart?
"God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
Revelation 7:17
A tearless Heaven will make amends for all!
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