Bible Readings — Bible Questions Answered

The Ministry of Sorrow

Sensing the Limits of Life

What did David ask God to teach him? BR-ASI9 381.9

“Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.” Psalm 39:4. (See also Psalm 90:12.) BR-ASI9 381.10

Why is sorrow better than laughter? BR-ASI9 381.11

“Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.” Ecclesiastes 7:3. BR-ASI9 381.12

Note.—“Many of the loveliest songs of peace and trust and hope which God’s children sing in this world have been taught in the hushed and darkened chambers of sorrow. . . . Afflictions, sanctified, soften the asperities of life. They tame the wildness of nature. They temper human ambitions. They burn out the dross of selfishness and worldliness. They humble pride. They quell fierce passions. They reveal to men their own hearts, their own weaknesses, faults, blemishes, and perils. They teach patience and submission. They discipline unruly spirits. They deepen and enrich our experiences.”—J. R. Miller, Week-Day Religion, pp. 90, 91. BR-ASI9 381.13

Are the righteous freed from afflictions in this world? BR-ASI9 382.1

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” Psalm 34:19. BR-ASI9 382.2

Does God delight to afflict any? BR-ASI9 382.3

“For the Lord will not cast off for ever: but though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.” Lamentations 3:31-33. BR-ASI9 382.4

Does He afflict to leave the one chastened in despair? BR-ASI9 382.5

“Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: for He maketh sore, and bindeth up: He woundeth, and His hands make whole.” Job 5:17, 18. BR-ASI9 382.6

Whom does the Lord chasten? BR-ASI9 382.7

“For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.” Hebrews 12:6. BR-ASI9 382.8

Is this, for the time being, a source of pleasure? BR-ASI9 382.9

“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” Hebrews 12:11. BR-ASI9 382.10

Note.—“Many of the sweetest joys of Christian hearts are songs which have been learned in the bitterness of trial.” “Many a cold, icy nature is made warm and tender by the grief that crushes it.”—J. R. Miller, Week-Day Religion, pp. 89, 91. BR-ASI9 382.11

What, aside from sin, causes more sorrow than all else? BR-ASI9 382.12

Death, or the loss of loved ones. BR-ASI9 382.13

Does death bring to Christians unassuaged sorrow? BR-ASI9 382.14

“I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13. BR-ASI9 382.15

Note.—The loss of loved ones God often uses as a means of severing the ties which bind to earth. Persecution; sickness; the loss of sight, hearing, or limb; the loss of property; or other calamities may likewise be instrumental in drawing us nearer to God. (See Psalm 119:71; Isaiah 26:9.) BR-ASI9 382.16

What do our transient afflictions do for us? BR-ASI9 383.1

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” 2 Corinthians 4:17. (See Romans 8:28.) BR-ASI9 383.2