“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray“– James 5:13

How do you respond to afflictions? It makes a difference! Sadly, our response is not always what it should be. A recent article from the Baptist Bible Hour regarding this text reminds us of what we should do– according to the Bible.

“As James writes, from his pastor’s heart, to the people of God, his entire letter is full of practical instruction and direct admonition. He does not have a flowery style or a theoretical bent; he is interested only in getting clear, candid counsel into the hands and hearts of believers.

And when he comes to the matter of affliction—gut-wrenching, spirit-pounding, heart-crushing affliction—this practical pastor gives his guidance in only three words: let him pray.

“Is that it?” we might ask. What about formulating an exit strategy? What about checking all our options for circumventing the pain? What about gathering a support group to cheer us up and cheer us on? The greatest therapy, the surest solution, the sweetest healing that we will find, James says, is in fervent and honest and faith-full conversation with God.

James is not suggesting a momentary, fleeting mention of our trial—perhaps in the middle of blessing our breakfast food—as the answer to affliction. The verb he uses is in the present tense: let him, in other words, continually be praying.

Perhaps you know what it is like to be so pressed by a sorrow or pain or trial that you pray, not only as you breath, but in order to be able to keep on breathing. There are times when God’s people truly find Him their only source of strength, of life, of purpose, and of joy. They pray, not because they have to, but because they can’t not pray.

Whether your affliction is earth-shattering or hardly-worth-mentioning, take your trial to God in prayer. And out of the fountain of close communion with your Father, will flow the calming, refreshing, restoring waters of spiritual renewal.”

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong (2 Cor. 12:10).
WOW! That’s quite a testimony. I wonder how many people could honestly say the same. To endure hardships is one thing, to enjoy life while doing so is another. Considering all that Paul suffered it seemed impossible that he could cheerfully bear up under the heavy load. Just think about what Paul was saying. A. B. Simpson was trying to help us do just that when he wrote the following:

“The literal translation of this verse gives a startling emphasis to it, and makes it speak for itself with a force that we have probably never realized. Here It is: “Therefore I take pleasure in being without strength, in insults, in being pinched, in being chased about, in being cooped up in a corner for Christ’s sake; for when I am without strength, then am I dynamite.”

Here is the secret of Divine all-sufficiency, to come to the end of everything in ourselves and in our circumstances. When we reach this place, we will stop asking for sympathy because of our hard situation or bad treatment, for we will recognize these things as the very conditions of our blessing, and we will turn from them to God and find in them a claim upon Him.

George Matheson, the well-known blind preacher of Scotland, —-, said: “My God, I have never thanked Thee for my thorn. I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but not once for my thorn. I have been looking forward to a world where I shall get compensation for my cross; but I have never thought of my cross as itself a present glory.

Teach me the glory of my cross; teach me the value of my thorn. Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbows.”

“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.”–2 Cor. 4:18

This is something we all too often forget. Everything you see is temporal. The things of earth are passing away, they will perish, but the things of eternity are permanent. Still, the average person has a strong attraction for and attachment to the things that are seen, although they cannot take those things with them when they die. They spend their time, money, and energy in pursuit of things that will not endure. Is that not foolish?

The wise man does just the opposite. He is focused on that which can’t be seen with the natural eye. He is concerned about things that matter rather than matter. He is busy investing His life in things that pay eternal dividends, rather than things that end in disappointment. He lays up treasure in heaven, as the Master tells us to do (Matt. 6:19-21).

Naturally the world thinks we are fools and laughs at us–but we will have the last laugh. It appears to them that we are depriving ourselves of pleasure, subjecting ourselves to needless hardships, and wasting our lives. But they are the fools. Lacking faith, they cannot see beyond that which is seen, so they set their sights on what they see–things that pass away. What a waste!

Those who know the Lord know better. They know that when the great fountains of the deep break-up, and the mountains crumble and fall, and the earth is stripped of its goods, they have a home and treasures in heaven that cannot pass away. By faith we see that the unseen things are the only things that shall endure–they are eternal. And that gives us something worth living for. What we do here makes a difference in eternity. Focus on ministry rather than material things. Life is a precious gift–don’t waste it!

This article by Charles Spurgeon is one of those you need to read slowly–again and again:

“For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.”2 Corinthians 1:5

There is a blessed proportion. The Ruler of Providence bears a pair of scales—in this side he puts his people’s trials, and in that he puts their consolations. When the scale of trial is nearly empty, you will always find the scale of consolation in nearly the same condition; and when the scale of trials is full, you will find the scale of consolation just as heavy. When the black clouds gather most, the light is the more brightly revealed to us. When the night lowers and the tempest is coming on, the Heavenly Captain is always closest to his crew. It is a blessed thing, that when we are most cast down, then it is that we are most lifted up by the consolations of the Spirit. One reason is, because trials make more room for consolation. Great hearts can only be made by great troubles. The spade of trouble digs the reservoir of comfort deeper, and makes more room for consolation. God comes into our heart—he finds it full—he begins to break our comforts and to make it empty; then there is more room for grace. The humbler a man lies, the more comfort he will always have, because he will be more fitted to receive it. Another reason why we are often most happy in our troubles, is this—then we have the closest dealings with God. When the barn is full, man can live without God: when the purse is bursting with gold, we try to do without so much prayer. But once take our gourds away, and we want our God; once cleanse the idols out of the house, then we are compelled to honour Jehovah. “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.” There is no cry so good as that which comes from the bottom of the mountains; no prayer half so hearty as that which comes up from the depths of the soul, through deep trials and afflictions. Hence they bring us to God, and we are happier; for nearness to God is happiness. Come, troubled believer, fret not over your heavy troubles, for they are the heralds of weighty mercies.