Sufferring Visits

Dear Friend,


It is important in life that we are kind and compassionate towards others because we might never know of the sufferings that they are going through in secret. We are to love others with the love of the Lord and esteem them higher than we esteem ourselves. It is easy for anyone to be selfish and self involved and not care about the problems of others, but the Bible tells us to bear one another's burdens. We read in Galatians 6:2, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” We are to be Christ minded and do unto others, as we would have them do unto us. Be encouraged and know that your kindness will not go unseen because the Lord who sees all things will return to you the blessings that you brought to those who were in need. (Philippians 2:3) (Luke 6:30-36) (Matthew 25:33-40)


I hope you are challenged and inspired by today's message.



When Suffering Visits

By Steve Goodier



One of England's most famous physicians was Dr. William Osler. Many stories are told of Dr. Osler, but one of the most revealing comes from World War I.


Friends recalled the day when he was working in one of Britain's military hospitals during the war. He was called out of the wards during his daily rounds to be given an important message; his own son had been killed on the fields of France.


Stunned by the news, he still came back to pick up his rounds. For a long period afterward he was noticeably different. And those who knew him best said that he changed as a physician that day. The cheerful note was gone from his voice and never again did friends hear the tune which he so often whistled as he went from ward to ward.


Though these things never returned, something eventually came to take their place. Everyone noticed a new compassion in his care of the soldiers who each day streamed in from the battlefield. Before, he had the professional concern of the physician, so important to the practice of medicine; now there was an added discernable note of a personal compassion, like that of a father for his son...


Osler was understandably hurt and, like most people who have experienced such losses, he likely became angry. In time, after working through pain and anger, he found a way to integrate the loss into his life. Though he was never the same, he chose not to let his son's death turn him into a bitter and resentful man. Instead, he channeled it into positive energy and love for others, caring for them as he would care for his own.


Helen Keller wisely said, “The struggle of life is one of our greatest blessings. It makes us patient, sensitive, and Godlike. It teaches us that although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”



Osler teaches us something about overcoming suffering. It can leave us bitter, or quite surprisingly, it can often leave us better. More patient. More sensitive. More compassionate. And a little more like how God must surely be.



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Holy God, I pray for those today who are in the middle of life's earthquakes. You know those for whom I am concerned. You know I care about their struggles which are too big for me to mitigate and too painful for me to truly bring comfort. I ask You now to bless them, be with them, and please deliver them quickly. You are our only true hope and Jesus is our only sure Redeemer. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray. Amen and Amen