“Those who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls.” – Charles Spurgeon
Whether or not this is the intended point Spurgeon was trying to get at, it makes me think of 1 Corinthians 1:3-4: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” Afflictions come in many different forms, and one that many of us deal with on a daily basis is in our minds. Swimming in the depths of the sea of mental affliction can be very scary, exhausting, and feel never-ending. Spurgeon accurately describes that “The mind can descend far lower than the body, for in it there are bottomless pits. The flesh can bear only a certain number of wounds and no more, but the soul can bleed in ten thousand ways, and die over and over again each hour.”
I don’t know about you but the ocean terrifies me. It’s beautiful, I love sea life, and I’ll swim in it but not too far. At night? Absolutely not. My husband and I have walked the beach at night and you couldn’t pay me enough to get in that water when it’s dark. This is what I imagine when I read Spurgeon’s description of mental illness; like being in the middle of a dark ocean with no end in sight or ground below you for who knows how long. What makes it dark is not just the affliction itself, but also because of the unfortunate fact that many of us suffer alone in silence; it’s unseen so in order to get proper care we must be believed and taken seriously– which many of us aren’t. Not only that, but a lot of times we are told it’s actually our own fault. We go to someone for help and more often than not we’re minimized, belittled, scolded, or told that it’s just because of our own sin. It feels like being stabbed in a broken heart. While sin does play a part in everything we go through (because we’re sinners), the reality is that Christians are sinners, saints, and sufferers all at the same time. Mental suffering is real, it’s painful, and can even be paralyzing.
Now I know that there are a lot of people who are well-meaning and not just trying to hurt someone, so I don’t want it to sound like I’m saying everyone is a jerk. Oftentimes it comes from ignorance and not knowing how to handle the situation out of inexperience. But even if it comes from a good place it doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. That kind of brings me to the point I’m looking to make here; we do need to go through trials in order to understand each other so that we are able to offer the proper care, support, and help in meaningful ways. Have you ever been in a position where you’re at a low point and then you talk to someone and just think to yourself, “Have you ever been through anything?” It’s not that we want them to experience hard times but it definitely is a big difference when talking to someone who has been where you are and can point you to how the Lord helped them in the same way. We don’t enjoy pain and neither does God enjoy when we’re in pain; suffering is not a good thing in itself. But because we live in a fallen world it’s our reality for now, and God absolutely does use things that are not good for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28). Jesus Himself, God With Us, humbled Himself by becoming a Man to suffer and die for His people and be tempted in every way yet without sin, in order to be our sympathetic High Priest (Hebrews 4:15). No one knows suffering and understands our pain like Jesus, and not just because He’s all-knowing but because He’s been there, and lower. He dove into the deepest, darkest sea of affliction in order to bring back for us the most precious treasure we could ever receive; our eternal salvation and adoption as beloved sons and daughters of the Most High God.
Not only are God’s fingerprints all over everything, but so are His footprints. He knows; you can be confident that He understands on a very personal level. He cares, and because He loves His children He works all things together for our good, for the good of others, and for His glory. And because of the sure hope we have in Jesus, we patiently rejoice in suffering (Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 4:13, Philippians 3:10, Romans 12:12); not as a bunch of masochists but as fellow heirs with the risen Jesus Christ (Romans 8:12-17). We have the blood-bought promise from our Father in heaven that our suffering has a purpose, yet it will not have the final say. Our eternity with God that’s awaiting us cannot even begin to enter our imaginations, with a weight of glory that will not be comparable to the trials we endure now (1 Corinthians 2:9, Romans 8:18). This life is not our home; we are passing though as pilgrims and most of the time we will be swimming in scary seas of affliction. But as we live each day, we have the word of God to light our paths and the joy set before us to give us the strength to keep going (Hebrews 12:1-2, Psalm 119:105, John 1:4-5).
I’m not home with Jesus yet and I know I have a lot to learn and much experience to gain, but I can testify to looking back at some of my hardest times so far (that almost broke me) and being thankful for it because of how God is using it for my growth, to bring me closer to Him, and to fill my hands with a few pearls that I can now gladly pass on to others. Whatever you’re going through, entrust it into the hands of the Master Craftsman and watch how He makes all things new and beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11, Revelation 21:5).
–Katrina
Gospel Assurance 