Tuesday; June 30


          2020 could very well go down as the Year of the Virus; yet, it might also be known as the Year of Suffering.  We are reaching the halfway point of the year and to be honest with you, it hasn’t been one of my favorite years.  With illness, economic struggles, civil and political dissensions as well as our own individual issues, I am not looking to repeat the first half of 2020 anytime soon.  The other day I was participating in a discussion about suffering and someone asked the question, “why”.  Why is there suffering?  It would go without saying that we all know that we are going to have struggles and challenges in our lives, but have you ever pondered why this happens?  While I will not dare to speak for God on this topic, I came across a couple of interesting passages that might give us something to consider.  In Psalm 119:71 David noted, “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.”.  According to David, maybe suffering is a way that God helps us to focus on the truth of His Word.  Whether it is to get us to change our ways by bringing us back to the Bible or help us grow in spiritual maturity by helping us dig deeper into His message, could suffering be a way to refocus us on His message?
          I don’t know if this is the reason for what we have experienced in 2020 or not, but we need to remember God’s encouragement, “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (II Corinthians 2:16-18).   Let’s hope that the second half of 2020 is better than the first – but even if it isn’t, let’s not lose sight of the eternal blessings God has in store for His faithful disciples.
         Think About It!

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