Sadness

Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

Psalm 34:19 KJV


It's a sad day in my life. In fact it's been a sad week in so many ways. Literally, I've prayed for hours during the past week because of my sorrow. So I really don't have anything profound to say tonight.

I take great comfort in the above verse. Even in times like this, where I feel like I'm walking through the Valley of The Shadow of Death, I trust that Jesus will be with me and he weeps with me.

And I'm not alone on earth either. Think of all the saints that suffered in this life (this is a very abbreviated list):

Moses - forced to exile
Noah - ridiculed
Job - lost everything and was despised
Daniel - thrown in the Lion's Den
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abenigo - thrown in a furnace
David - ran for his life from Saul
Elijah - hid for his life
Isaiah - according to legend he was sawn asunder
Ruth - forced to glean because of poverty
Jeremiah - according to legend he was stoned
John The Baptist - beheaded
The Apostles - most were martyred
Paul - ship-wrecked, imprisioned, beaten, and martyred
Jesus - crucified

So when I'm suffering, I'm in good company. My only hope is to remain faithful as these people did.


John Wheeler