15For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 14And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.
13As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 12 For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. 10Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: 11That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. He graduated from Bethlehem Seminary in Minneapolis and lives in the Twin Cities with his wife, Sarah, and their five children.9Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God. Bryan DeWire ( supports the team at Desiring God.
Both belief and suffering are loving gifts (Philippians 1:29). As Christian Hedonists, in both celebrations and agonies, our aim is to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4).Īs one of my mentors says, “God always gives us enough to remain hopeful and he always gives us enough to remain dependent.” That’s right. Even though we are treated (for good reason) as sorrowful, like Paul we can also continue rejoicing (2 Corinthians 6:10). For example, we are called to “rejoice with those who rejoice” and to “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). The Bible speaks to such waves of joy and pain. And another has a newborn with significant disabilities. Another friend has a three-month old with leukemia. Life is good.Īnd, at the same time, one of my friends suffers from a debilitating health problem that seems incurable. This “or” makes explicit the paradoxical truth that we can have healthy souls in the midst of peace and (often simultaneously) in the midst of sorrow after sorrow.įor instance, I'm surrounded by good things: my wife and daughter and friends, not to mention just celebrating my own birthday. Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say / When peace like a river attendeth my way / Or at least this happened for me when I was recently singing one of my favorite hymns, "It Is Well with My Soul." After the very first line I dropped in "or," like this: Things easily passed over appear in a new light. Sometimes adding a simple conjunction can go a long ways.
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