Blessing of Affliction

I have been hashing through some deep wounds from my past that God has brought to light, and that I need to deal with. It has been tough.

On Wednesday a friend gave me this great book. It is called, "The Hidden Smile of God: the Fruit of Affliction in the Lives of John Bunyan, William Cowper, and David Brainerd." by John Piper. As a child I loved "Pilgrim's Progress", so I was excited to read it. I'm just through the first chapter, but wanted to share this part. It is about how to rightly suffer affliction.

Piper points out that Bunyan's solution is to "live upon a God that is invisible." In a quote from "Seasonable Counsel", Bunyan says,

"We are apt to overshoot, in the days that are calm, and to think ourselves far
higher, and more strong than we find we be, when the trying day is upon
us....We could not live without such turnings of the hand of God upon
us. We should be overgrown with flesh, if we had not our seasonable
winters. It is said that in some countries trees will grow, but will bear
no fruit, because there is no winter there."

(What does that mean, to "live upon a God that is invisible?" I am trying to fully wrap my mind around that concept.)

It has been amazing how God has even used my recent struggle for good. Last Friday a student sat on my couch and asked why my parents would have willingly jeopardized our safety. He could not comprehend putting your family through what we have been through just to tell others about Christ. (He is Jewish.) I was able to tell him that our eternal condition is far more important than our physical well-being and comfort.

Then last night, one of our students was struggling, and began talking to me about his pain. We agreed together that it is easier to go through trials if we know two things: 1) That God is Sovereign, and 2) That there is a purpose in our suffering. But this kid happens to be Muslim. So in the midst of still dealing with my own heartache, I found myself saying that a loving God ordained affliction in my life in order to draw me to Himself.