Deeper Life #86

Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

—John 15:14

A DEFINITION OF life, love, OR suffering is not possible, for these words refer to the incalculable elements in human experience. Their very essence is implicit, not explicit.

Suffering is grand when the heart is right with God. Through suffering we gain a friendship with God. Oh, unspeakably blessed is the suffering of the sanctified! Lest you should faint or wail, hear our God reassure us, “Fear not . . . I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1). Catch the majesty, the might, the awe, the unspeakable satisfaction of that statement!

My goal is God Himself, not joy, nor peace,

Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God;

’Tis His to lead me there, not mine, but His—

“At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.”

“In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11). This is ours by the sheer might of the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to cleanse us and reorient us, to baptize us in the Holy Spirit. That soul, incandescent with the Holy Spirit, then walks and talks with God as friend with friend, and lets God do as He wills with him.

Suffering according to the will of God—not so much for personal perfecting, but for enabling God to express His intentions for our lives—is the sublimity of the suffering of the sanctified!

Prayer Thought: Thank You, Lord, for expressing Your will through the suffering You permit in my life.

SUGGESTED READING: John 15:10–17