Thu, Nov 22nd - 11:06AM

Thanksgiving

The Value of My Wounds

See now that I, [even] I, [am] he, and [there is] no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither [is there any] that can deliver out of my hand.  Deut. 32:39

The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so [do] stripes the inward parts of the belly.  Prov. 20:30

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.  Heb. 12:11

          Jesus has healed my by His stripes and by His death on the cross.  My sins were completely forgiven by His sacrifice there.  And now, in order to prove that this work of atonement has been effected in me He is, and has been making a new man out of me.  The vehicle most effective for this transforming of my life has been the pain of suffering.  Without this experience of suffering I can truly say that I would be no different in my inward character and outward actions than before I came to know Him.  I’m sure that the many positive blessings bestowed upon me as a result and effect of my salvation have helped to work gratitude into my heart.  But, I believe it is the pain that has, and continues to have the greatest effect of good upon me.

          The great problem of my life is sin.  This is the problem every man faces continually from his birth to his death.  Yes, there are countless other problems in life that are encountered along the way, but their significance is quite subordinate to this problem of sin.  Sin is the obstacle to a full relationship with God.  Not only this, but it inhibits and prevents the moral-spiritual development of the human soul, thus affecting every relationship a person has and every endeavor he undertakes. There is no difficulty in life whose origin cannot be traced to sin, either the person’s who is experiencing the difficulty or the sin of another.  Furthermore, all human problems have value because they have the potential to bring individuals to a crisis in their thinking, with the option of turning to God and negating the effects of sin in their lives.

          So it has been for me and, indeed for every true child of God.  Problems bring on the anguish of suffering, whether physical or mental or both.  Confusion in the mind is often a part of the dilemma, and the soul is forced to think and to decide upon a course of pursuit.  For the Christian, the process is carefully guided and superintended by the Spirit of God so that the desired end may be achieved.  That end is holiness, a total separation of the heart to God, granted in degrees through the suffering-chastening process.  It is my wounds that have made me what I now am in Christ, and that continue to help shape me and build me into a son of the living God.  As extreme pressure and heat has the effect of purifying precious metals, so also in the spiritual realm do these elements cause the practical purification of the one who has been called to salvation in God’s eternal kingdom.  Pain is somehow a needed reminder of the total inability of the human nature to perfect itself, and become conformable to the stringent requirements of a holy God.  It is, of course in love that He inflicts this pain, ever so needful as it is  to the full healing of our beings.  And it is only in seeing the true nature of the One who loves us that we can understand what is happening in our lives.  Nothing else, in the way of explanation, whether religious or natural really makes sense to the wounded of heart and soul.

          Even as I sit here and write these words, my pain is inwardly pressing on me.  But, I have consolation in God.  There is comfort in an accurate knowledge of His holy and loving purposes for me.  He is producing the fruit of righteousness in me, love, joy, peace, longsuffering and the like.  I am becoming more like Jesus as I patiently bear the yoke of His dealings with me.  My Lord did not argue nor resist in any way when His Father bruised Him, and so it must be with me.  There is also comfort in knowing God’s true intention in bringing me through my afflictions.  He truly loves me, much more than any human ever shall, and He has my best interests at heart.

Like as a father pitieth [his] children, [so] the LORD pitieth them that fear him.  Ps. 103:13

And finally, there is an end to my suffering, not only a very wonderful spiritual goal to be achieved, but a definite end to the pain.

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle [you].  1Pet. 5:10

We have the American holiday tradition of Thanksgiving, and all that that has come to signify in our culture.  I have thanksgiving in my heart because I know what benefits and blessings I have been the recipient of.  It is my wounds that I am most blessed by, and therefore most thankful for.  Temporal blessings are good when truly appreciated.  By supplying the pains He has given me, which are minor in comparison to those He endured on my behalf, my Lord has enabled me to come to a fuller and richer appreciation of all He has given me in His Son.

What shall I render unto the LORD [for] all his benefits toward me?  I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.  I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.  Precious in the sight of the LORD [is] the death of his saints.  O LORD, truly I [am] thy servant; I [am] thy servant, [and] the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.  I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.  I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the LORD'S house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.  Ps. 116:12-19