GOD COMFORTS THE DISCONSOLATE
“God comforts the disconsolate—he has an infinite counterbalance of consolation, joy, and hope. Does He wound? It is to heal. Does He cause deep sorrow? It is to turn that sorrow into a deeper joy. Does He empty? It is to fill. Does He cast down? It is to lift up again. Such is the love that moves Him, such is the wisdom that guides him, and such too is the purpose secured in the Lord’s disciplinary conduct with His people” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, April 17th).
“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. It is true that we often cannot see the connection between the adversity and God’s purpose. It should be enough for us however, to know that He sees the connection and the end result He intends” Jerry Bridges (ref#192, p233).
“[T]he principle of true devotion is that God alone is the Guide and Ruler of all prosperity and adversity, and that he is never in undue haste, but that he distributes all good and evil with the most equal justice Ps 79:13” John Calvin (ref#313, p44).
“Jesus is the great physician. [A]ll his commands are meant to make us well and happy. If they have some painful side effects, that is not because the doctor is unkind or unwise. It is because the disease is so bad that severe medicines may be required. Every command from Jesus is meant for our good” John Piper (ref#220, p241).
“[S]aints thrive most internally, when they are most externally afflicted. Afflictions lift up the soul to more rich, clear, and full enjoyments of God. ‘Behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her’ (Hos 2:14), or rather, as the Hebrew has it, ‘I will earnestly or vehemently speak to her heart.’ God makes afflictions to be but inlets to the soul’s more sweet and full enjoyment of His blessed self” Thomas Brooks (ref#225, Dec 17th).
“I can’t impress this on you too strongly. God is looking over your shoulder” (2 Tim 4:1-2 MSG). “[A]ccept the hard times along with the good” (2 Tim 4:3-5 MSG). “[H]e’s an honest judge. He’ll do right not only by me, but by everyone eager for his coming” (2 Tim 4:6-8 MSG).
“Through your faithful prayers and the generous response of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, everything he wants to do in and through me will be done. [E]verything happening to me in this jail only serves to make Christ more accurately known, regardless of whether I live or die” (Phil 1:18-21 MSG).
Bonnie's Prayer Affair 