{"id":251,"date":"2017-08-07T19:23:04","date_gmt":"2017-08-08T02:23:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drbarrick.org\/?p=251"},"modified":"2018-09-05T21:41:38","modified_gmt":"2018-09-06T04:41:38","slug":"blessing-even-in-affliction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drbarrick.org\/?p=251","title":{"rendered":"Blessing&#8211;Even in Affliction"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"251\" class=\"elementor elementor-251 elementor-bc-flex-widget\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-fa4cca3 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"fa4cca3\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-66 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7d5d74c\" data-id=\"7d5d74c\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-194f40e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"194f40e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSometimes our lives seem as fragile as a bluebell clinging to its perch on an ancient chapel&#8217;s stone wall. The prophet Jeremiah caught the deep emotional pain disobedient Jerusalem must endure as the Lord brings upon her the covenant curses as discipline. Lamentations 3:1-6 reads as follows in the ESV:\n<blockquote><b><sup>1&nbsp;<\/sup><\/b> I am the man who has seen affliction\nunder the rod of his wrath;\n<b><sup>2&nbsp;<\/sup><\/b> he has driven and brought me\ninto darkness without any light;\n<b><sup>3&nbsp;<\/sup><\/b> surely against me he turns his hand\nagain and again the whole day long.\n<b><sup>4&nbsp;<\/sup><\/b> He has made my flesh and my skin waste away;\nhe has broken my bones;\n<b><sup>5&nbsp;<\/sup><\/b> he has besieged and enveloped me\nwith bitterness and tribulation;\n<b><sup>6&nbsp;<\/sup><\/b> he has made me dwell in darkness\nlike the dead of long ago.<\/blockquote>\nAs I read and meditated on this significant central chapter of the Book of Lamentations, the thought came to mind that, through Christ, the believer&#8217;s experience, even in the midst of affliction&#8211;be it discipline for disobedience or just refining fire&#8211;should be markedly different. Significantly, an interior portion of Lamentations 3 (vv. 19-33) focuses on the steadfast love and mercy of God. Thankfully, we, unlike Jeremiah&#8217;s lament on behalf of disobedient Jerusalem, might sing the following (a psalm of my own composition attempting to reflect the truths of Scripture texts reflecting similar terminology and phraseology):\n<blockquote><b><sup>1&nbsp;<\/sup><\/b> I am the one who has seen blessing\neven in affliction&#8211;<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\"><b><sup>a<\/sup><\/b><\/a>\nhe has removed his wrath and protects me with his rod.<a href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\"><b><sup>b<\/sup><\/b><\/a>\n<b><sup>2&nbsp;<\/sup><\/b> He has brought me out of darkness\ninto his glorious light;<a href=\"#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref3\"><b><sup>c<\/sup><\/b><\/a>\n<b><sup>3&nbsp;<\/sup><\/b> surely his good hand is upon me\nagain and again the whole day long.<a href=\"#_ftn4\" name=\"_ftnref4\"><b><sup>d<\/sup><\/b><\/a>\n<b><sup>4&nbsp;<\/sup><\/b> He has made my flesh dwell secure;\nhe has healed my bones&#8211;\nand kept each one from breaking.<a href=\"#_ftn5\" name=\"_ftnref5\"><b><sup>e<\/sup><\/b><\/a>\n<b><sup>5&nbsp;<\/sup><\/b> The LORD surrounds me all day long\nand preserves me amidst shouts of deliverance.<a href=\"#_ftn6\" name=\"_ftnref6\"><b><sup>f<\/sup><\/b><\/a>\n<b><sup>6&nbsp;<\/sup><\/b> He is my lamp and has turned darkness\ninto his marvelous light.<a href=\"#_ftn7\" name=\"_ftnref7\"><b><sup>g<\/sup><\/b><\/a><\/blockquote>\n<strong>Footnotes:<\/strong>\n\n<a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\"><b><sup>a<\/sup><\/b><\/a> Genesis 33:11; Psalms 21:3-7; 144:15; Romans 4:5-9; Ephesians 1:3\n\n<a href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\"><b><sup>b<\/sup><\/b><\/a> Psalms 23:4; 85:1-3; Romans 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9\n\n<a href=\"#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\"><b><sup>c<\/sup><\/b><\/a> 2 Samuel 22:29; Job 33:28-30; Psalms 27:1; 112:4; Isaiah 9:2; 42:16; Micah 7:8-9; John 8:12; Romans 13:12; 2 Corinthians 4:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:5; 1 Peter 2:9\n\n<a href=\"#_ftnref4\" name=\"_ftn4\"><b><sup>d<\/sup><\/b><\/a> Ezra 7:6, 9; 7:28; 8:18, 22, 31; Nehemiah 2:8, 18; Psalm 111:7; Isaiah 49:2; Matthew 8:3\n\n<a href=\"#_ftnref5\" name=\"_ftn5\"><b><sup>e<\/sup><\/b><\/a> Job 19:26; Psalms 16:9; 34:19-20; 51:8; 73:26; Proverbs 3:7-8; Isaiah 58:10-11\n\n<a href=\"#_ftnref6\" name=\"_ftn6\"><b><sup>f<\/sup><\/b><\/a> Deuteronomy 32:10; 33:12; Psalms 31:21; 32:7, 10; 125:2\n\n<a href=\"#_ftnref7\" name=\"_ftn7\"><b><sup>g<\/sup><\/b><\/a> 2 Samuel 22:29; Job 29:3; Psalms 107:13-15; 112:4; Isaiah 9:2; 42:16; Micah 7:8; John 8:12; 12:35-36; Acts 26:17-18; Romans 13:12; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Ephesians 5:7-10; 1 Thessalonians 5:5; 1 Peter 2:9\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-6d53331\" data-id=\"6d53331\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ba20402 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"ba20402\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"380\" height=\"507\" src=\"https:\/\/drbarrick.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_5875-copy.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-233\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/drbarrick.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_5875-copy.jpg 380w, https:\/\/drbarrick.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_5875-copy-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 380px) 100vw, 380px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sometimes our lives seem as fragile as a bluebell clinging to its perch on an ancient chapel&#8217;s stone wall. The prophet Jeremiah caught the deep emotional pain disobedient Jerusalem must endure as the Lord brings upon her the covenant curses as discipline. Lamentations 3:1-6 reads as follows in the ESV: 1&nbsp; I am the man [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,22],"tags":[914,915,916,917,918,919,772,920,921,337,173,922,45],"class_list":["post-251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life","category-old-testament","tag-affliction","tag-blessing","tag-darkness","tag-deliverance","tag-divine-protection","tag-faithfulness","tag-jeremiah","tag-lamentations-3","tag-light","tag-salvation","tag-security","tag-steadfast-love","tag-william-d-barrick"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drbarrick.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drbarrick.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drbarrick.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drbarrick.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drbarrick.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=251"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/drbarrick.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":253,"href":"https:\/\/drbarrick.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions\/253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drbarrick.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drbarrick.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drbarrick.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}