Divine Qualifications of Suffering

Although we all suffer from various ailments and infirmities, our service unto the LORD need not be hindered.  The work that God has called us to is a spiritual one, and the apparent weaknesses of the vessel is a boon rather than a disqualification!  Sometimes we think if we were stronger, healthier, or without discomfort we would be much more valuable for the kingdom of God.  You may take that up with Him if you like, but I believe God has us right where He wants us!

In his book Lectures to My Students in pages 156-157, C.H. Spurgeon wrote from a similar perspective:

These infirmities may be no detriment to a man's career of special usefulness; they may even have been imposed upon him by divine wisdom as necessary qualifications for his peculiar course of service.  Some plants owe their medicinal qualities to the marsh in which they grow; others to the shades in which alone they flourish.  There are precious fruits put forth by the moon as well as by the sun.  Boats need ballast as well as sail; a drag on the carriage-wheel is no hindrance when the road runs downhill.  Pain has probably in some cases developed genius; hunting out the soul which otherwise might have slept like a lion in its den.  Had it not been for the broken wing, some might have lost themselves in the clouds, some even of those choice doves who now bear the olive-branch in their mouths and show the way to the ark.

When we are hurting physically or downcast in soul, the temptation is to keep ourselves in focus rather than God.  Our pain and disappointment blinds our eyes from the view of our Messiah and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  We long for the leeks and onions of Egypt when God is currently providing us with manna from heaven, water from the rock, and quail on the breeze.  We neglect the use of what we have because of our perceived lack.  If we say we believe scripture, we must also confess we lack no good thing.  Psalm 34:8-10 reads, "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! ⁹ Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. ¹⁰ The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing."

If we lack, it is because we have not met the conditions of God's gracious promise:  "...those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing."  Are you faithful to seek the LORD even in the midst of misery?  May God help us to do so no matter how we feel.  Blessed is the man who relentlessly trusts in God!