A place of spiritual refreshment

(J.R. Miller, "The Glory of the Commonplace")

"He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters" Psalm 23:2

A young Christian who had been for many weeks in a hospital, undergoing a painful operation and then slowly recovering, wrote me in the days of her convalescence, "I have found my little white bed here in the hospital a bit of God's green pasture." Not only had it proved a place of rest and peace to her — but also a place of spiritual refreshment.

The hard things are not meant to mar our life — they are meant to make it all the braver, the worthier, the nobler. Adversities and misfortunes are meant to sweeten our spirits, not to make them sour and bitter.

"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word." Psalm 119:67

"It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes." Psalm 119:71

"I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me." Psalm 119:75