Divine Healing A DEVOTIONAL STUDY GUIDE. for. Andrew Murray s. Student s Study Guide. Stanford E. Murrell

Transcription

1 A DEVOTIONAL STUDY GUIDE for Andrew Murray s Divine Healing Student s Study Guide Stanford E. Murrell I c h t h u s Publications Apollo, Pennsylvania

2 Copyright 2017 by Stanford E. Murrell All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency. Our goal is to provide high-quality, thought-provoking books that foster encouragement and spiritual growth. For more information regarding Ichthus Publications, other IP books, or bulk purchases, visit us online or write to support@ichthuspublications.com. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version. Printed in the United States of America A Devotional Study Guide for Andrew Murray s Divine Healing: Student s Study Guide ISBN:

3 Dedication This Study Guide, based on Andrew Murray s book, Divine Healing, * is dedicated to a man I admire and esteem in the Lord, Joseph Jacowitz. During my recovery from open-heart, triple by-pass heart surgery in 2013, Joe asked me an important question. What spiritual lesson is God showing you through this ordeal? This book is a partial answer to that penetrating, pastoral inquiry. * This Study Guide was created specifically to accompany Divine Healing: 32 Life- Changing Meditations on Sickness, Faith, and Recovery (Apollo: Ichthus Publications, 2017), available at but may be used with any previously published edition of Andrew Murray s Divine Healing.

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5 Contents Introduction viii Preface Pardon and Healing Because of Your Unbelief Jesus and the Doctors Health and Salvation by the Name of Jesus Not by Our Own Power According to the Measure of Faith The Way of Faith Your Body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost The Body for the Lord The Lord for the Body Do Not Consider Your Body Discipline and Sanctification Sickness and Death The Holy Spirit the Spirit of Healing Persevering Prayer Let Him that is Healed Glorify God The Need for a Manifestation of God s Power Sin and Sickness Jesus Bore Our Sickness Is Sickness A Chastisement? God s Prescription for the Sick

6 22 The Lord that Healeth Thee Jesus Heals the Sick Fervent and Effectual Prayer Intercessory Prayer The Will of God Obedience and Health Job s Sickness and Healing The Prayer of Faith Anointing in the Name of the Lord Full Salvation Our High Privilege Ye Are the Branches Appendix A: A Divine Healing Testimony by ERIC SANTOS Appendix B: Healing by the Stripes of Jesus by C. H. SPURGEON

7 Introduction Andrew Murray (May 9, 1928 January 18, 1917) was a South African writer, teacher, and Christian pastor within the Dutch Reformed Church. Prior to his death at the age of 88, Andrew Murray enjoyed a long and distinguished career in the ministry. His writing skill was greatly used by God for he authored over 240 books, including this work on Divine Healing. As with any Christian worker, not everything in the ministry was easy. For a period of more than two years, Andrew Murray was incapacitated from engaging in active ministry. Then, in the providence of God, he was healed in answer to prayer. It was during this period of personal affliction that Andrew Murray learned something about Divine healing. Specifically, he saw an important distinction between suffering and sickness. For Andrew Murray, Christians are to suffer for Christ s sake. Every Christian disciple is to bear his cross. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me (Matt. 16:24). However, sickness is in a different category. Murray taught that Jesus speaks of sickness as an act of evil caused by sin and Satan. Because sickness is a work of the Devil, Jesus came to destroy it. Divine healing becomes possible today when this distinction is embraced, and specific gospel terms are met. What those gospel terms are, may be found in this study. vii

8 STUDENT S STUDY GUIDE FOR DIVINE HEALING For those interested in the subject of Divine healing, this is an important book to read and study, and for this reason. Divine healing is a valid phenomenon. It is true that some people have an incurable sickness. It is true that some people are physically deformed and will remain so until their life has ended. It is true that God often uses medicine and the skills of doctors to restore health. It is true that the body is so marvelously designed that it can repair damage done to it. But, it is also true that there are times when God directly intervenes to heal a person in order to manifest His grace and power in a way that no other means can. Because Divine healing is real, the Christian should want to know as much as possible about the subject, and what the Bible has to say on the matter. While Andrew Murray focuses on the positive aspect of believing in Divine healing, the whole counsel of God must be considered on this matter. To that end, the study notes I provide are designed to reveal another gospel truth, and that is the place for pain and suffering in the plan of God. There are many reasons for pain and suffering. In eternity, in the new heaven and the new earth, there will be no more pain, and no more sorrow. Occasionally, in matchless grace, God sometimes gives the Church a glimpse of the glory that is to come through acts of Divine healing. The Church is to believe in Divine healing, look for its manifestation, and pray for God to have mercy on those who are afflicted. For anyone who may be opposed to the preaching of Divine healing today, and the practice of praying for healing, consider the words of the Reformer, Martin Bucer ( ): If you immediately condemn anyone who doesn t quite believe the same as you do... pray tell, [who] can you still consider a brother? The longing of my heart is that the Lord will bless the reader, enhance faith in God s goodness, and bring Divine healing to many viii

9 INTRODUCTION people, for their good, and for His glory. And just in case you are thinking that Divine healing was reserved for the apostolic church exclusively, be sure to read the testimony of Eric Santos for just one example as evidence that God is still actively working among His people, healing them in supernatural ways. * Stanford E. Murrell Viera, Florida * Appendix A on page 217. ix

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11 Preface The God Who Heals Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases (Psa. 103:2 3). BEHOLD THE LORD: Healing a fever Matthew 8:14 15 Healing a leper Matthew 8:1 4 Healing a sick servant Matthew 8:5 13 Healing a demon possessed person Matthew 8:28 32 Healing a paralytic Matthew 9:1 8 Healing internal bleeding Matthew 9:20 22 Healing blindness Matthew 9:27 31 Healing a withered hand Matthew 12:9 14 Healing a deaf mute Matthew 9:32 33 Healing a demoniac in Capernaum Mark 1:21 28 Healing the weak Mark 6:53 56 Healing a demon possessed child Mark 7:24 30 Healing speech impediment Mark 7:31-37 Healing blindness Mark 8:

12 STUDENT S STUDY GUIDE FOR DIVINE HEALING Healing various kinds of sickness Luke 4:40 41 Healing dropsy Luke 14:1 6 Healing leprosy Luke 17:11 19 Healing blind Bartimaeus Luke 18:35 43 Healing a severed ear Luke 22:45 54 Healing an official s son on his deathbed John 4:46 54 Healing a man crippled for thirty eight years John 5:1 4 Healing a paralytic at the Gate Beautiful Acts 3:1 7 Healing every form of sickness Acts 5:12 16; 19:11 12; 28:7 9 Healing the palsy Acts 9:33 34 Healing a cripple Acts 14:8 10 Healing a person demon possessed Acts 16:16 18 Healing a viper bite Acts 28:3 6 Neither the time of day, the passing of years, or geographical distance was a hindrance in Divine healing. The type of sickness, disease, or demon possession could not prevent Divine healing. Christian, rejoice. The LORD is able to heal all of thy diseases. * * * REVIEW 1. How is the publication on Divine Healing by Andrew Murray to be regarded? 12

13 PREFACE 2. What produced such great faith in Divine healing in the heart of Andrew Murray? 3. What is declared about the Lord in Exodus 15:26? 4. What does the Church possess in Jesus? 5. What charge does Andrew Murray level against the Church? 6. What would be developed and sanctified if the presence of the Lord that healeth was realized by the Christians? 7. What is the appointed means by God for the cure of the sick? REFLECT 1. Do you think that if Andrew Murray had not been unable to minister for two years due to sickness he would have been interested in Divine healing? 2. What is your interest in this topic? Why are you reading and studying this material? 13

14 STUDENT S STUDY GUIDE FOR DIVINE HEALING 3. Do you have any preconceived ideas on this topic? What are they? 4. Why is the subject of Divine Healing such a controversial issue? 5. Do you believe the promise of Exodus 15:26 was restricted to the Exodus Generation, or is it valid for today? HEARTWORK 1. I do not believe that Divine healing is a valid Biblical teaching. True False 2. I do believe that Divine healing is a valid Biblical teaching. True False 3. I do not believe in Divine healers. True False 4. I do believe that some Christians have a spiritual gift of healing. True False 5. I would not want to be anointed with oil and prayed for. True False 6. When I am sick, I want to be anointed with oil and prayed for. True False 14

15 PREFACE PERSONAL APPLICATION 1. Begin to make a list of as many Biblical passages on healing as possible. 2. Consider what the prayer of faith means. 3. Ask God the Holy Spirit to illuminate His Word to your heart on this matter. 4. Guard your heart against any and all preconceived views on this subject that might stop faith from flowing. 5. If you are in good health, give God the glory, and thank Him for that health in this very hour. SCRIPTURE MEMORIZATION And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee (Exod. 15:26). 15

16 1 Pardon and Healing REVIEW 1. What two natures are combined in every person? 2. Why are individuals doomed to destruction? 3. What are two witnesses to the right of death over an individual? 4. What two manifestations of Divine power went together in salvation which Jesus came to bring? 16

17 PARDON AND HEALING 5. In the eyes of God, what are united as closely as the body and the soul? 6. What important distinction does Andrew Murray make between suffering and sickness? 7. What did Jesus never teach a sick person to do? 8. Why did Jesus come into the world according to 1 John 3:8? 9. What is one way Jesus makes known the love of the Father? 10. What two doctrines did Jesus unite in His teaching of the disciples? 11. Why did Jesus heal? 17

18 STUDENT S STUDY GUIDE FOR DIVINE HEALING 12. What were the Jews, in the days of Jesus, more ready to believe: pardon for sin or Divine healing? 13. What are Christians in the Church today more ready to believe? 14. What two gospel conditions must be met in order to receive Divine healing today? 15. List four natural results of receiving Divine healing. 16. What two truths does unbelief attempt to separate? 17. Whose praise may the redeemed always cry out? 18

19 PARDON AND HEALING REFLECTION 1. Can sickness show any proof of the love and grace of God? SUGGESTION. Certainly, sickness is proof of God s sovereignty. And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? (Exod. 4:11). Sickness can also be an occasion to manifest the love and grace of God in His sovereignty, reflected in the healing by Jesus of a man born blind. When Jesus was asked who sinned that the man should be born blind. Jesus replied, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work (John 9:3 4). The truth of the matter is that there are many reasons for suffering in life. 2. Do you agree that sickness belongs to the spiritual domain? Why? SUGGESTION. If there had been no Fall, there would be no curse, and therefore no sickness. The promise of God is that one day the curse will be removed. And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him (Rev. 22:1 3). 3. If sickness is dramatically distinct from suffering, if sickness is an evil rooted in sin and Satan, can Divine healing take place according to gospel terms? 4. What difference is there between Divine healing, natural healing, and medical healing? 19

20 STUDENT S STUDY GUIDE FOR DIVINE HEALING 5. If sickness is a work of the Devil, can the Devil cure the sickness he has induced? What effect would this have in the Church and society? SUGGESTION. If the Devil can cure a sickness he has induced it would enhance the authority of practitioners of false religions. HEARTWORK 1. I find it easy to believe in forgiveness of sin. True False 2. I find it difficult to believe in Divine healing. True False 3. When I am sick, I blame God for my poor health. True False 4. When someone I love is sick or dying, I am angry with God. True False 5. There is a valid distinction to be made between sickness and suffering. True False PERSONAL APPLICATION 1. Determine whether or not you embrace the concept of a dramatic distinction between sickness and suffering. 20

21 PARDON AND HEALING 2. If you believe in Divine healing, make a commitment to honoring the gospel terms to receive it. The gospel terms include confession of sin, and a purpose to live a holy life. 3. Take a moment, right now, to pray and bless the LORD, and to remember His benefits. 4. Remember this Grand Principle: Jesus came to deliver men from sin and sickness that He might make known the love of the Father. (Andrew Murray) 5. Sing a song of praise. When upon life s billows you are tempest tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings, see what God hath done! Count your blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. Johnson Oatman, Jr SCRIPTURE MEMORIZATION But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins (then saith he to the sick of the palsy), Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house (Matt. 9:6). 21

22 STUDENT S STUDY GUIDE FOR DIVINE HEALING SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL Why People Suffer As the Muslim religion wages war on the world, it is seen that much pain and suffering is the result of the conflict of ideas. When worlds collide, there is violence. The world of Islam is very different from the world of the Judeao-Christian heritage. The word catastrophe, calamity, or tragedy, is often used to speak of terrible events, such as what happened in New York on September 11, 2001, or what happened in Paris in November, 2015, or what happened in Brussels on March 21, The examples are myriad. On these days, devotees of the religion of Islam killed unsuspecting individuals going about their daily lives. One phrase that is often used in connection with the violence of Islam is senseless tragedy. These words form an oxymoron, because in order for there to be a tragedy, there has to be some sense, or standard of good, which has been violated. The word tragedy presupposes some kind of order, or purpose in the world. Therefore, the word senseless, is inappropriately used. There are tragedies in the world. There are disastrous events that result in loss, or injury, but these events are not senseless, from a Christian point of view. Nothing is senseless in God s universe. A person may not comprehend what is taking place, but that does not mean the event is senseless. To the perpetrator of a crime, what he or she is doing makes perfect sense. The bombing of the World Trade Center made sense to the Islamic terrorists. They wanted to kill in the name of Allah and receive an eternal reward for destroying the so-called infidels. The intoxicated 22

23 PARDON AND HEALING person who gets into a car and drives is making perfect sense in his own frame of reference. He wants to move from one place to another. The best way to get there is in a car. Nothing happens without a purpose, or meaning. If God is God, if God is sovereign, if God is a God of providence, then nothing ever happens that is senseless. Dr. R. C. Sproul tells the story of a biology class he had to take in college. He remembers the professor saying that scientists are not interested in teleology. As a philosophy major, Mr. Sproul understood what teleology referred to, which is why he was astonished at what the professor had to say. Teleology comes from the Greek, telos, meaning, end, goal, or purpose. One of the great quest in the history of philosophy is the meaning and purpose of life, as well as the existence of animals, plants, and the universe itself. Philosophy is profoundly interfered in the purpose and meaning of things, and yet, in a science class, that was said to be ruled out of bounds. What the professor was saying, was that what was learned in the course would be meaningless. It was an astonishing admission. What the professor was really saying, was that science would limit itself to questions of what, how, when, and where, but not why. When people turn to acts of terrorism, the question of why, is very important. Why did God allow the Attack on America s World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York on Septembers 11, 2001? Why the rise of Islamic terrorism? Why pain and suffering? Why the Holocaust? Why cancer? Why? The why question is raised because for the Christian nothing is an accident. There are only incidents in the unfolding of redemptive history. God is a God of purpose. God is not chaotic. God does not play dice, as Albert Einstein once said. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, suggested that September 11, 2001 was God s judgment upon America for its allowance of abortion, homosexuality, and other moral issues. 23

24 STUDENT S STUDY GUIDE FOR DIVINE HEALING That created a backlash of commentary, even by Christians. Falwell eventually recanted his initial assessment. The honest answer for such events is, I do not know. However, that answer does not mean there was not purpose to the events. It just means that individuals do not have enough information, at times, to come to a fixed conclusion on why God allows certain events to take place. Was God involved in 9/11? The answer is yes. It was according to God s purpose, but what that purpose was is unclear. What commentators must also be careful of, is to declare with confidence, that the events of 9/11 were not an act of Divine judgment on America. They too should suspend dogmatism on the matter. God does bring calamity on nations as an act of judgment. The Bible clearly teaches the destruction of many nations, apart from gospel repentance. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown (Jonah 3:4). The tragedies that befall people throughout the ages, is a question of the ages. Jesus addressed pain and suffering. And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? (John 9:1 2). It is not unusual for parents, who have a child born with an affliction, to view the child as a punishment from God, and not a blessing. Healthy children are considered to be a blessing from God. A child born blind, or afflicted in some way, is viewed as a form of Divine judgment. Jesus said that such is not the case. The man born blind, of whom the Lord was asked, had not sinned, nor had his parents sinned that the man should be born blind. Rather, the purpose of the man s blindness was to reflect the grace, mercy, and power of God. Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him (John 9:3). 24

25 PARDON AND HEALING The idea of pain and suffering being part of the plan of God was a foreign thought to the Jews to whom Jesus spoke, and it is a foreign thought to many Christians today who have been mistaught to believe that all sickness is of the devil. That is simply not a Biblical teaching. Disease and sickness is a direct result of the Fall. It is part of the curse upon creation that shall one day be reversed in the new heaven and the new earth. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away (Rev. 21:4). Until then, pain and suffering are designed to show forth the power of God, and to manifest the work of God in the lives of individuals. People who start ascribing to the Devil what is really a work of God inadvertently glorify the Evil One, and give him more power and authority than he has. What is even more arrogant is to start rebuking the Devil for something he is not responsible for, as if the Christian has the authority in and of themselves to rebuke Satan. Not even Michael the Archangel was so presumptuous. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee (Jude 9). If a person is known to be demon possessed because God has revealed that, then appropriate steps can be taken to deal with the evil spirit as Paul did. And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. 18 And this 25

26 STUDENT S STUDY GUIDE FOR DIVINE HEALING did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour (Acts 16:16 18). What is contended for is that care must be taken not to presume to know why something has happened, such as Jerry Falwell did concerning 9/11, or to presume to know the source of some affliction, as the Jews did with the man born blind. Care must be taken not to rebuke the Devil without certain knowledge that he is responsible for something lest his pride be inflated, and other Christians are taught to fear his power to hurt them, a power he does not have. Presumptuous sinning is just as bad a sin as any other, and it is sin condemned. But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him (Num. 15:30 31). When personal tragedy comes, it is not wrong to ask God, why? Upon reflection, I can personally surmise some things. But, I am not sure. What I am sure of is the grace of God. I have survived facial reconstruction, non-hodgkin s lymphoma, open-heart, triple-bypass surgery, a hip replacement, multiple eye surgeries, diabetes, high blood pressure and that s just for starters. Modern medicine is part of God s grace and mercy, but ultimately He is the Great Physician, He is Jehovah Rapha, the One who heals. When Jesus was asked, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?, the Lord knew He was being presented with a logical fallacy. He was being presented with a false dilemma. Both 26

27 PARDON AND HEALING propositions of the question were equally invalid. No choice had to be made between the man and his parents. There were other possibilities. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? (John 9:2). Care must be taken to consider other options for a situation. Refusing to fall into an illogical discussion, Jesus rejected both false premises to the questions of the Jews to provide two alternative reasons for the man s blindness. Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work (John 9:3 4). Jesus gave two reasons for the man s blindness that had nothing to do with sin, or the Devil. First, the man was born blind in order to reveal a work of God in Him. Second, the man was born blind in order for Christ to do the work of the Father who sent Him. After providing a reason for what seemed a senseless act, a baby born blind, Jesus healed the man, and thus revealed who He was. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. 6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, 7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. 8 The neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? (John 9:4 8). Through the sufferings of the man, through all the hardship years of blindness, there was a reason for his pain and suffering. Not only would God reveal Himself in the man, not only would Jesus be glorified, but 27

28 STUDENT S STUDY GUIDE FOR DIVINE HEALING many friends and neighbors would be brought to faith in the person of Jesus Christ. While the disciples of Jesus were wrong in their understanding of the cause of the blindness of the man, they were not stupid, or ignorant men. They made their assumption based on knowledge of the truth of God, that the ultimate reason for pain and suffering in the world is sin. Get rid of sin, and suffering goes away. In heaven, there is no sin, and there is no suffering. There is no death. There is a connection between sin and suffering. But the immediate cause for a situation may not be a transgression of some particular person. Sometimes sin is the immediate cause of pain and suffering. The Lord revealed to David that the child born to him by Bathsheba would not survive infancy, and David wept. It was to no avail. The child died, and the sin of David remained ever before him. And Nathan departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick. 16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. 17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them (2 Sam. 12:15 17). And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin (Psa. 51:1 2). 28

29 PARDON AND HEALING God did forgive David. The Lord washed away the sin of David and Bathsheba and restored them to fellowship. God does send sickness as a judgment upon sin. Partaking of the Lord s Supper in an inappropriate manner can bring sickness, and even death. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep (2 Cor. 11:30). But there are other reasons for pain and suffering that must also be considered. That is the lesson of John 9. Paul, for example was given a thorn in the flesh for his own sanctification. In his pain and suffering, Paul learned the grace of God. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 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 (2 Cor. 12:7 9). There are many reasons why God visits His people with what we might call tragedy, with the experience being related to some immediate sin. Therefore, Christian, do not rush to judgment to ascribe an answer that is not really known. The God of history, and the God of providence, has promised that all things will work together for the good of those who love the Lord and endure the pain and suffering. The pain and suffering of this world is temporary. It cannot be compared to the glory to come. In this, the Christian rejoices. 29

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