Affliction Working Glory (II Corinthians 4:15-18) by Rev. Heath Bleyenberg
I. The Meaning
II. The Recipients
III. The Importance
Samuel Miller on prayer in affliction: "Give us grace to wait on Thee, silently and with patience. Thou art nearer to us than we know, nearer than we can think. If we cannot find Thee it is because we search in far places. Before we felt the pain, Thou hadst suffered it; before the burden came upon us, Thy strength had lifted it; before the sorrow darkened our hearts, Thou wert grieved. Thou who dost walk in the valley of every shadow, be Thou our Good Shepherd and sustain us while we walk with Thee, lest in weakness we falter. Though the pain deepens, keep us in Thy way and guide us past every danger. Amen."
J. C. Ryle: “What careful reader of the Bible can fail to see that Adam, and Noah, and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Joseph, and Moses, and Samuel—were all men of many sorrows—and that those sorrows chiefly arose out of their own homes? The plain truth is, that home trials are one of the many means by which God sanctifies and purifies His believing people. These trials are spiritual medicines, which poor fallen human nature absolutely needs. By them He keeps us humble. By them He draws us to Himself. By them He sends us to our Bibles. By them He teaches us to pray. By them He shows us our need of Christ. By them He weans us from the world. By them He prepares us for 'a city which has foundations,' in which there will be no disappointments, no tears, and no sin.”