Suffering With Grace

:)

Beloved:
Is anyone among you suffering?
He should pray.
Is anyone in good spirits?
He should sing a song of praise. 
Is anyone among you sick?
He should summon the presbyters of the Church,
and they should pray over him
and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
The prayer of faith will save the sick person,
and the Lord will raise him up.
If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another
and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.
Elijah was a man like us;
yet he prayed earnestly that it might not rain,
and for three years and six months it did not rain upon the land.
Then Elijah prayed again, and the sky gave rain
and the earth produced its fruit.

My brothers and sisters,
if anyone among you should stray from the truth
and someone bring him back,
he should know that whoever brings back a sinner
from the error of his way will save his soul from death 
and will cover a multitude of sins.

JAS 5:13-20

There are many reactions one can be inclined to have when suffering. I would know – I’ve been sick now for 4 years and have spent a good ammout of it in the hospital, seeing doctors, getting infusions, etc. Not to complain, but to give an idea of what suffering has been in my life. All this suffering can make one wanto to just crumble and grumble and blame – wondering why, if God is omnipotent, He doesn’t save us from this pain. In reality, He chooses not to. He uses the suffering to form us and shape us, among the many reasons He may have. Only God knows His reasons.

         So in the midst of this suffering, what should one do? Pray, sing a song of praise or just prayer of praise, and summon the presbyters of the church who will pray over the sick and anoint the sick with oil. Along with everything else this verse discusses, it also emphasizes the importance of prayer in our spiritual lives. (pray over the sick, prayer of faith, prayer of confession, prayer for one another,  

`In the midst of my suffering, as hard as it was to endure, I was encouraged to offer it up for others who need my prayer (i.e. sould in purgatory, the sick, lonely, friendless,  etc..) This offering of my suffering made me feel like my suffering had a meaning and that I was not suffering for a purposeless cause.

So this week when suffering comes your way, who can you offer it up for? Are you sick? Offer it for the ill. Sad? For the depressed. Pray about it! J have a great day!