George Mattheson, was a young man engaged to a young lady when he visited a doctor and was told he was going blind and eventually would lose his sight. Upon hearing the news, his fiance said, she could never be married to a blind man and broke off the engagement. She rejected him.
Heartbroken, George wrote a song…
O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.O light that follows all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.O Joy that seeks me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.O Cross that lifts up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be
While his fiance love had been “conditional” he comforted and strengthened himself with THE TRUTH AND THINKING OF HIM WHOSE LOVE WAS ASSURED, UNCHANGING, THE LOVE OF GOD FOR HIM.
SUFFERING AND GOD’S LOVE
God Loves You
In Romans 5:4-9, Paul speaks of suffering being part of life and in the suffering, God gives two assurances of His love to the suffering one. For often in suffering we can ask “why?” and we can doubt we are loved by God, but no-dear friend, He does love you and ASSURES YOU.
A. Romans 5:5 – “The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to us is that He may pour out lavishly the assurance within our hearts irrespective of surrounding circumstances, difficulties, great perplexities or suffering that He loves you. He loves me. He loves us. This verse is giving in the context of “suffering.” Some translations use the word, “tribulations.” It comes from the word which speaks of pressures. Great pressures. In the midst when doubts seem to assail. God assures us through the Gift of the Holy Spirit within, that He loves you!
At times, we take our eyes off Him and we like Peter begin to look at the waves and begin to sink emotionally as the waves of pressures and difficulties, sufferings overwhelm and we grasp for solid footing as we “feel” how can God love me? It is then once again God takes the suffering soul to the place of Calvary to remind them to THINK about The CROSS.
B. Romans 5:8 – “BUT GOD DEMONSTRATED (Proved) His love for is in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”
The CROSS IS GOD’S reference point for you. When doubts would seek to cloud your judgment, seek to question God’s love for you – Think on the cross, think on your Heavenly Father who so loved you, He gave His Son for you.
Think on The Lord Jesus, He loved you! The cross assures you. The Spirit assures you. No matter who rejects you, be assured today – GOD LOVES YOU with a love that WILL NOT LET YOU GO!
Praise Him, rest in His love that tenaciously sought you out and assures you. His love for you, will never let you go!