In the Charles Dickens novel “Great Expectations”, Estella – one of the main characters in that novel – utters the line, “Suffering has been my greatest teacher!” Multitudes among the family of humans could well utter that same line. I know I can.
Suffering prods the sufferer to look heavenward for help and relief. Suffering instills in the one so tried to trust in God and to grow closer to Him by searching their mind and heart so that they might confess and forsake anything in their life that is displeasing to God.
There has been a great deal of suffering in my life, both mental and physical. That suffering brought me nearer to our Lord. The road to His side was long and winding, slow and tedious, but finally I reached His side and felt Him slip His hand in mine. I’ll not look back ever again. World, I have had you. All that interests me now is the holy city to which I was granted citizenship many years ago.
Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),
Donald Wiley