July 3, 2023
Those afflictions which feed on, yea, eat out the hypocrite’s heart, the sincere soul can feed on, suck sweetness from, yea, hath such a digestion, that he can turn them into high nourishment both to his grace and comfort.
William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armour
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The sincere Christian can draw strength from his affliction. There are many powerful examples of this in scripture, such as David hiding in caves from his enemies yet writing psalms worshiping the Lord or Jonah praising him from the belly of the whale. But my favorite example is in Acts chapter 16 when Paul and Silas are imprisoned and sing hymns in jail, using the opportunity to convert the jailer. In my own life, I remember seeing this in my grandfather when he lost his house to a tornado at 80 years old. I never once heard him complain; I only heard him praise God for his mercy and for the blessings that came from it. These stories all reveal the marks of a sincere heart; they can draw spiritual nourishment from their tribulations. A hypocritical heart would not be able to see the blessings in these situations.