Our struggles are Jesus' struggles

God's Word Speaks to Us

"The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed."  Psalm 2:2

Wisdom from Martin Luther

" . . . we never suffer injustice without God suffering it first & more than we and & that God the Father's solicitude for us is so great that He feels our suffering before we do & bears it with greater resentment than we ourselves." *

My Meditation

According to a recent "survey," every single family on Lois' side of the tree has one or more people that is either sick now or recovering from a serious illness. I know of at least one sister & one brother-in-law that are still recovering from Influenza. A sister-in-law is recovering from major surgery. A niece is struggling w/some serious health issues. A brother's mother-in law, who also happens to be my aunt, has had to deal with several serious health issues over the past month. I'm recuperating from Influenza & pneumonia. Bentley, our 4-year-old grandson, is getting over an ear infection. Hadley, our 8-year-old grand-daughter, recently experienced an illness knocked her off her feet for several days.

This Bible verse & words from Martin Luther remind me of three things. First, God does NOT cause our illnesses. He does let nature take it's course, & since we live in a sinful world, we're going to be plagued with sinful germs & viruses.

Secondly, God does NOT use illness to punish us. He DOES, however, allow us to be laid low so we are moved to turn to Him in prayer, guided by His Word. In other words, illness can actually be a blessing, since it can turn our hearts & minds to Jesus in ever-increasing ways. Along the same vein, scripture promises that "all things work together for the good of those who love God." It's hard to think of injuries, illnesses, & surgeries as good things, but they can be used by God to draw us closer to Him.

Finally, nothing we suffer has NOT been suffered by Christ himself. It's good for us to remember that while Jesus is true God, He is also true man. There's every reason to believe that during His time on earth He, too, put up w/blisters, coughs & colds . . . ultimately--& for our salvation--He suffered death on the cross.

Praise God that our Savior's death wasn't the end of things. He rose from the dead & takes an active part in our lives today, even when we have a hard time seeing it.

* Source:  Martin Luther Psalm by Psalm. (Concordia Publishing House,  2017