Troubles and Disappointments

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble! Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas!" Psalm 46:1-2

John Newton Letter, November 2, 1761

My dear sister,

Let us not be greatly discouraged at the many tribulations, difficulties and disappointments which lie in the path which leads to glory. Our Lord has plainly told us, that "in this world, you will have many trials and sorrows." Yet He has also made a suitable provision for every case we meet with and is Himself always near to those who call upon Him, as a sure refuge, an almighty strength, a never-failing, ever-present help in every time of trouble!

Jesus Himself was a man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief for our sakes. He drank the whole cup of unmixed wrath for us! Shall we then refuse to taste a sip of the cup of affliction at His appointment, especially when His wisdom and His love prepare it for us and He proportions every circumstance to our strength; when He puts it into our hands, not in anger but in tender mercy, to do us good, to bring us near to Himself; and when He sweetens every bitter sip with those comforts which none but He can give?

Every believer that ever lived was once as we are now--they had their afflictions and their fears, their enemies and temptations; they were exercised with a sinful heart and a wicked world! Now they are all before the eternal throne of God and the Lamb! While we are sighing, they are singing! While we are fighting, they are triumphing!

The time is short and the world is passing away! All its troubles and all its vanities will soon be at an end! In a little while, "we shall see Him as He is!" Every veil will be taken away, every seeming frown will be removed from His face and every tear wiped away from ours! We shall also be like Him! Even now, when we contemplate His glory as shining in the looking-glass of the Gospel, we feel ourselves, in some measure, transformed into His image! What a sudden, wonderful, and abiding change we shall then experience when He shall shine directly, immediately, and eternally upon our souls, without one interposing cloud between!

"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:3

- John Newton