The Way Christians Should Face Affliction.

The Erskines [Ebenezer (b.1680) and Ralph (b.1685) Erskine were great eighteenth-century Scottish preachers] endured much tribulation before they entered into glory. In addition to the religious controversies that dampened their joy in the ministry for twenty-five years, they endured much domestic grief. Ebenezer Erskine buried his first wife when she was thirty-nine; his second wife, three years before his own death. He also lost six of fifteen children. Ralph Erskine buried his first wife when she was thirty-two and nine of thirteen children.

The Erskines well understood that God has only one Son without sin but none without affliction. Their diaries are filled with Christ-centered submission in the midst of affliction. Here is what Ebenezer Erskine wrote when his first wife was on her deathbed and he had just buried several children: I have had the rod of God laying upon my family by the great distress of a dear wife, on whom the Lord hath laid his hand, and on whom his hand doth still lie heavy. But O that I could proclaim the praises of his free grace, which has paid me a new and undeserved visit this day. He has been with me both in secret and public. I found the sweet smells of the Rose of Sharon, and my soul was refreshed with a new sight of him in the excellency of his person as Immanuel, and in the sufficiency of his everlasting righteousness. My sinking hopes are revived by the sight of him. My bonds are loosed, and my burdens of affliction made light, when he appears . . . .”Here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him.” If he call me to go down to the swellings of Jordan, why not, if it be his holy will? Only be with me, Lord, and let thy rod and staff comfort me, and then I shall not fear to go through the valley of trouble, yea, through the valley of the shadow of death.

We have much to learn today about learning to live with affliction. We need affliction to humble us (Deut. 8:2), to teach us what sin is (Zeph. 1:12), and to bring us to God (Hosea 5:15). “Affliction is the diamond dust that heaven polishes its jewels with,” wrote Robert Leighton. Let us view God’s rod of affliction as writing Christ’s image more fully upon us so that we may be partakers of His righteousness and holiness (Heb. 12:10-11). Let our affliction move us to walk by faith and to wean us from the world. Thomas Watson wrote, “God would have the world hang as a loose tooth which, being twitched away, does not much trouble us.” May we, like the Erskines, allow affliction to elevate our souls to heaven and pave our way to glory (2 Cor. 4:7).

If you are a Christian presently undergoing profound trials, don’t overestimate those trials. Remember that life is short and eternity is forever. Your days on earth are nearly over. Think more of your coming crown and your eternal communion with the Triune God, saints, and angels. As John Trapp wrote, “He that rides to be crowned need not think much of a rainy day.”

You are merely renters here; a mansion awaits you in glory. Don’t despair. The Shepherd’s rod is held by a fatherly hand of love, not a punitive hand of judgment. Consider Christ in your afflictions – were they not much more than yours, and was not He wholly innocent? Consider how he perseveres for you, how He prays for you, how He helps you toward the goals He has for you. In the end, He will be glorified through your afflictions.

Puritan Reformed Spirituality by Joel R. Beeke