THE GREATEST BLESSING

Job 42

I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.

A robust 76-year-old man responded to my comment about his good health by saying, "It’s the greatest of all blessings." I replied, "Are you sure you really mean that? I know a man who is thankful for illness because that’s how he learned to depend on God’s presence and power." Smiling my friend said, "You’re right. Trusting God is a far greater blessing than good health. If it takes sickness and pain to think about the glory of God and heaven, I say, praise the Lord for sickness and pain."

The psalmist wrote, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted" (Psalm 119:71). It is in a time of trouble that many believers discover the tenderness of God and experience his presence. They learn that God is with them. They would rather not go through the difficulty again, but they look back upon it as worth every bit of pain that they endured. Good health and financial prosperity are great blessings, and we should be thankful for them. But we need not get discouraged when we encounter illness or adversity. Through them we can come to know God better, and we can say with Job, "I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You." And that is the greatest of all blessings.

’Tis alone for His appointing that our feet on thorns have trod; Suffering, pain, renunciation only brings us nearer to God.