God is incomparable. His righteousness is huge. He has done wonderful things.
Two of the wonderful things God has done are to guide me and to allow me to suffer.
He guides me on the best path for my life and that includes suffering. But even in the midst of it, He advises and watches over me. In fact, His unfailing love surrounds me.
After letting me suffer, He promises to restore me to life again. He will comfort me again.
I’m not suffering right now. In fact, I’m pretty content with my life. Suffering seems pretty distant. But a lot of the people I love are suffering. I think one thing that matters about these passages right now, is that they make me mindful of the suffering of others. And as I pray for them, I can be confident that God will restore them to life.
The friend that is sick unto death will not die. The one who is emotionally drained will be happy again. The one who is fighting addiction will be healed. The one who is grieving will find peace. The one who is angry and hurt will be filled with love.
More importantly, they will rejoice in Him and be glad. One day I will shout for joy with them.
Beyond the suffering, these passages are really about how wonderful God is. The words are emotional, passionate:
Praise Him
Rejoice in Him
Be glad
Shout for joy
When I’m praying for my friends, I need to release my emotions and get excited because of what He’s promised. Praise Him because He’s faithful to His promises.
I think “life” means happiness in Him. When He restores us to life I get excited. I’m glad God is who He is and He does what He does.
Life is good. God is good.
I am excited. God is good all the time. Life is good. Praise the Lord!
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