 | Isaiah 63:9 "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days."
Not long ago, I overheard two brothers talking at a dinner table. The elder brother was mentioning how his younger brother was all worked up over a particular matter. He couldn't believe his brother was all worked up because, as he put it, "There's nothing to that!" But then the voice of reason and rebuke came from the mouth of the brothers' older sister, who said, "He's only five years old!" Well, you might have guessed it-this conversation happened around my dinner table and with my three kids! Weston was all worked up over a certain subject at school, and Wilson couldn't believe that subject was causing all the grief!
Wouldn't life be great if all you had to worry about was a subject in kindergarten? Perhaps you have thought, "Oh, to be five years old again!" But putting it all into perspective, that little problem seems as big to a five-year-old as your "big problem" seems to you as a big person! And there is probably someone in this world who envies your position and would think, "Oh, if that were all I had to worry about!"
How wonderful that God, Who is the Creator and LORD of hosts, condescends to sympathize with people like us! It is beyond comprehension that a God who is far above everything, Who has no worry and no hurry, can be afflicted with the afflictions of His people. I can't understand it, but it is true: "In all their affliction he was afflicted." It is easy for an older brother to say, "That's easy," or for a parent to say, "Oh, to be a kid again," but a child's worries and troubles are just as real and worrisome as anything that troubles us. Yet the God of Hosts, the Ruler of all, is afflicted with our afflictions. He could care about Israel because He was there (" the angel of his presence"). Look up Judges 10:16, Zechariah 2:8, and Acts 9:4 sometime. God cared about His people so much that "in all their affliction he was afflicted."
Hebrews 4:15-16 reminds us, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." I don't know what your need is today or what you are worrying about right now, but chances are that in five years you will think, "Why did I worry about that?" God would have a right to think that way about your problem because He is not worried and He is not hurried. Yet the God whose power exceeds this world also has a heart that condescends to our small problems today. And that is a wonderful thing to know.
"In all their affliction he was afflicted. . . ."
| Prayer Requests: 1. Conference on Marriage & the Home this weekend (5/6-5/8) 2. Ranch evangelists preaching this weekend in Mt. Zion, PA, and Asheboro, NC 3. Praise--We are grateful for God's protection during the recent flooding in Middle Tennessee. We experienced minor flash flooding but no major damage to the Ranch property. | | | |
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