“Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.” (1st Tim. 5:23)
As much as I have been shown at the very beginning of this short letter to you, I am going to write some words that may cause you to falter. There is no intention whatsoever on my part to cause you to stumble or doubt, but I believe fully that if we do not seek the Lord our God with our entire soul, then we are not seeking Him.
“If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:14)
Look back on your life with Christ, has He honored His Word in this regard every single time? If you have not asked to consume it upon your own desires, if you have asked in complete confidence, not wavering as the waves of the sea, has He fulfilled that request every time you asked?
I will answer for you, as well as myself.
No, He has not.
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1st John 1:8)
So, is that it, even the most minute sin, does it stay His hand? Is our faith not strong enough, is there one tiny particle of doubt, and so we do not receive the answer we desire?
I have known physical pain in my life, more than some, not nearly as much as others, and I have asked Him to miraculously remove it, and nearly every time I have needed to go to a physician of the world, because the Great Physician did not heal me.
Will you say now that those doctors were the means to the answer of my prayers? What say you then of those who have no financial wherewithal for the necessary procedure, who have no health insurance, what say you to those who love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ to the glory of God who know pains, who pray diligently, who trust in His promises, but the pain does not abate?
Again, my friends, this letter is not meant to cause doubt, but to assist you in the realization of this truth, that sometimes our Father in heaven allows pain, and He does not remove it.
I offer you two verses on this topic, contemplate them well.
“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2nd Cor. 12:9)
“If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:” (2nd Tim. 2:12)
And if you will, one more.
“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;” (Phil. 3:10)
When the pain seems as if it is too much to bear at times, I hear in my mind, “This too shall pass.”
Why have I and others received physical pain?
Because it is His will.
Why does it remain, why does He not remove it?
Because it is His will.
But it will pass when I die.
This writer of poorly written letters must live what he writes, “No matter the circumstances or the possible consequences to ourselves.” In the pain, we follow, in the suffering we follow, when it becomes almost unbearable, we trust, no matter what His answer is.
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18)
But when the pain remains, you must admit this truth to yourself, there will be doubts, you will question His promises, you will search in every corner of your soul for perhaps a sin you have yet to repent of, you will believe it to be your fault.
But He may want you in pain.
His grace is sufficient, and this too shall pass, but it may not happen in this life.
Do not charge Him foolishly, accept what He brings into your life, complain a little if you need to, just not about Him. Recall the opening verse in this letter, why didn’t Paul heal Timothy?
Do not let the flesh and its infirmities rule in your life, it isn’t going to heaven with you.
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” (1st Cor. 15:50)
