Today is the commemoration of Ruth.
Today's readings are Psalm 21.1-7, Judges 16.4-30, and Galatians 4.12-31.
The beginning of our reading from Galatians 4 struck me today. Paul first proclaimed the Gospel to the Galatians because of an ailment which apparently brought him or delayed him there. This reading strikes me because I too am suffering from an ailment as I read today and write this. We may well wonder why in God's providence we are chosen to endure the sufferings we do. There's a sort of wonder in this, as we think we would have arranged our lives differently. It is fairly common for elderly and infirm people I visit to ask why they are still in this earthly life. And there are many times when all of us wonder about our viability or usefulness.
We never know what our Lord will use his difficult providences for. We don't know when we might be used as instruments of God's blessing upon those around us, maybe even those who are charged with caring for us in our times of illness. Do we always understand those struggles? Certainly not! But we can know our God understands them perfectly and is using them for his glorious purposes. May he give us grace, in times of ease and in times of hardship, to trust in him and serve him in the ways he has ordained.
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